Submission + - Leading philanthropic foundations can create climate "tipping point" (rtcc.org)
mdsolar writes: In the largest and most international declaration ever published by environmentalists, 160 winners of environmental prizes from 46 countries, have today called on the world’s foundations to use their financial power to fight global warming.
In an appeal published in the International New York Times they call on foundations and philanthropists to dig into their endowments to create a tipping point in climate action – “to trigger a survival reflex in society.”
The world’s philanthropic foundations own endowments worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
They invest those endowments to generate returns from which they can pay out grants or make loans. They use these to fund a multitude of causes, but as things stand only a minority tackle climate change, either as part of their mission or as their major focus.
Yet climate change is the issue that is arguably the single biggest threat to civilization.
In an appeal published in the International New York Times they call on foundations and philanthropists to dig into their endowments to create a tipping point in climate action – “to trigger a survival reflex in society.”
The world’s philanthropic foundations own endowments worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
They invest those endowments to generate returns from which they can pay out grants or make loans. They use these to fund a multitude of causes, but as things stand only a minority tackle climate change, either as part of their mission or as their major focus.
Yet climate change is the issue that is arguably the single biggest threat to civilization.