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Reuse to reduce
Climate innovators are developing plans to transition existing infrastructure to produce emissions-free energy.

Climate Change Fund

$14,940,000
Granted
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Our objective

It's not too late to be part of the solution

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face. It’s an incredibly complex problem borne out of how we produce and consume energy; and it is intertwined with challenges of economic development, energy poverty, and emissions-fueled air pollution. It is an environmental and humanitarian crisis we must urgently address.

Climate change is not neglected. Every year, over $1 trillion of social spending and $10 billion in philanthropic donations is spent on it. But the biases and blindspots of traditional, mainstream solutions mean much of that money isn’t doing as much good as it could.

Our Climate Change Fund (CCF) exists to leverage each dollar and fund the most effective, neglected climate solutions. Through the Fund, we:

  • Accelerate innovation in neglected technologies
  • Catalytically grow the most effective climate organizations
  • Promote policy leadership and paradigm shaping

The Climate Change Fund is a philanthropic co-funding vehicle that does not provide investment returns.

▲ Fund Manager Johannes Ackva reflects on the CCF's progress and opportunity

Our strategy

We focus on counterfactual impact and pursue a portfolio approach in our grant-making that recognises the global, complex nature of the problem.

We fund audacious advocacy, focusing our grantmaking on effective organizations leveraging large amounts of money through policy advocacy and thought leadership aimed at influencing the wider conversation and disseminating ideas. This includes advocacy to avoid carbon lock-in in emerging economies.

We focus on neglected solutions under-served by other stakeholders, like carbon removal, carbon capture and storage, and tools for industrial decarbonization, to ensure we’re making the most of every tool available to us.

We work to accelerate low-carbon innovation by finding and funding advocacy opportunities that strengthen the energy innovation ecosystem or promote innovation of certain technologies. Efficient, low-cost technology can spread around the world without intergovernmental cooperation or expensive policies, making it a more robust strategy at a time when climate action is often not the first priority for policymakers and the public.

When evaluating potential grants, we consider several factors, including evaluating organizational strength, timing and certainty, and filling funding gaps. Learn more about the rationale behind our grants in our analysis of climate action and philanthropy.

We don't solicit or accept applications for grants. Grant recipients are chosen through careful evaluations, and are based on our research and strategy.

Illustrative image

▲ Photo by Arjun Lama on Unsplash

Direct and co-funded grants

Date
Recipient
Grant
Amount
December 2023

General support

$875,000
November 2023

Supporting the PPA Transparency Norms Project

$1,000,000
October 2023
TerraPraxis

General operation support

$500,000

Advised grants

These grants have been identified, evaluated and advised on by Fund Managers; resources were deployed by external philanthropists through their giving infrastructure, separately from the Fund.

Date
Recipient
Grant
Amount
September 2023
Clean Air Task Force

For their Superhot Rock Geothermal Energy Program

$308,000
May 2023
TerraPraxis

Scaling their work and team across key innovation priorities

$625,000
January 2023
Project Innerspace

Mapping the quality and depth of geothermal resources

$1,845,000

Make real progress against climate change

Donate Now

Founders Pledge members

Contribute through your Donor Advised Fund (DAF) easily through the member app. Don’t have a DAF or want to discuss your options? Reach out to giving@founderspledge.com.

Donate on the member app

Not a member?

Contribute through Every.org or Giving What We Can. You can also contribute from any Donor Advised Fund; for details, reach out to giving@founderspledge.com.

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Our impact

Impact reports

2023 Impact Report

Meet the Fund Manager

Portrait

Johannes Ackva

Johannes has dedicated much of his adult life to this topic. From a teenage environmental activist to a climate policy expert advising major EU decision makers, Johannes is committed to solving the problem of global energy poverty, while simultaneously reaching net-zero emissions and protecting our planet.

Prior to joining Founder Pledge, Johannes spent five years working in a think tank advising decision makers on climate policy, and conducting academic research into the intersection between effective and feasible climate policies.

Learn More

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Scaling for maximal climate impact: the end-of-year update from Founders Pledge Climate
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How We Think about Expected Impact in Climate Philanthropy
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The Climate Change Fund at Two
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The War in Ukraine, Climate Risk & High-Impact Climate Philanthropy
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What “Think Global, Act Local” Means for US Climate Philanthropists
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Navigating the changing landscape of climate philanthropy
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The ideas of economists
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The implications of Biden’s victory for impact-focused climate philanthropy
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