Philanthropy can fight climate change more effectively if more donors focus on funding climate justice issues and battling inequality, according to a report from the philanthropy research organization Candid.
FILE - People march holding a banner with a message that reads in Spanish;"Environmental justice is social justice" during a global climate strike demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept. 24, 2021. Philanthropy can fight climate change more effectively if more donors focus on funding climate justice issues and battling inequality, according to a report from the philanthropy research organization Candid released Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
According to the report, only about 2% of global giving goes to climate change mitigation and less than 4% of that — about $60 million in 2019 — is designated for climate justice and equity-oriented work. Despite “all the buzz we hear about trust-based philanthropy and participatory processes,” Camarena said most donors don’t base their contributions on the expertise of the people who receive their money.
In 2019, Ariadne, a European network of foundations that support social change and human rights issues, recognized a need to increase funding for climate justice. In doing so, the network sought to address the problems of racism, classism, patriarchy, economic injustice and environmental harm that communities affected by climate change disproportionately encounter. Yet it also recognized that many donors didn't know how to get started.