Giving to Amplify Earth Action Launches to Mobilize $50 Billion for Climate Action and Nature Conservation – ESG News
Asian partners have announced the allocation of $777 million to innovative solutions in education, climate and health in Singapore. Additionally, $3 billion will be invested in green tech start-ups in Hong Kong. These commitments were made as part of the Giving to Amplify Earth Action initiative (GAEA), supported by the World Economic Forum and various private sector and philanthropic partners. The aim is to mobilize billions of dollars to fund climate and nature solutions and accelerate public-private-philanthropic partnerships.
In January 2023, GAEA issued a call to action, urging partners to collaborate on designing a global initiative to finance new and existing partnerships. This effort is crucial to unlock the required $3.5+ trillion of annual financing needed to achieve net-zero emissions, reverse nature loss, and restore biodiversity by 2050.
The collaboration between governments and businesses is essential to address global challenges, especially those related to climate and nature, stated Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum and GAEA Global Co-Chair. He emphasized the need to involve philanthropy in order to provide the necessary financial support, stating that The public-private philanthropic vehicle created with GAEA is the best hope to safeguard the well-being of future generations.
Through the collaboration with knowledge partner McKinsey Sustainability, GAEA has identified 31 investment opportunities for public-private-philanthropic collaboration. These opportunities span various sectors, including phasing out coal, sustainable rice production, clean cooling options, green steel and electric vehicle adoption, and offshore wind power expansion.
One key aspect of GAEA’s strategy for 2024 is scaling and catalyzing corporate leadership. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) will serve as an anchor partner, working with corporates, governments, and philanthropies. With approved funding of $13.5 billion, the GCF has committed to managing $50 billion in climate investment by 2030, following its 50by30 vision.
The Green Climate Fund is proud to collaborate with GAEA, as this partnership enhances our impact as the world’s largest multilateral climate fund, stated Mafalda Duarte, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund. Duarte highlighted the importance of partnerships with businesses and philanthropies, which provide confidence to financiers across sectors and support the aspirations of developing countries. She believes that these collaborations can lead to investments in hope, solutions, and a shared future.
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024, GAEA intends to mobilize $1 billion of smart, catalytic capital toward climate and nature interventions by 2030 through the Corporate Philanthropy Challenge for People and Planet. To achieve this goal, GAEA has partnered with several corporate foundations and philanthropies, including the Ares Charitable Foundation, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, Foundation S (Sanofi), Google.org, Grundfos Foundation, Salesforce, Temasek Trust, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Workday Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation.
Commenting on corporate involvement, Suzanne DiBianca, Executive Vice-President and Chief Impact Officer of Salesforce, mentioned various avenues that corporates can explore to contribute to climate and nature solutions. She highlighted the importance of inspiring and encouraging corporate philanthropies to shift their focus and raise $1 billion in catalytic resources to drive new solutions, while keeping the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
In South-East Asia, GAEA and partners have launched the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) through a Temasek Trust initiative. Over 80 global members have pledged $777 million to catalyze innovative solutions for global environmental and social challenges.
Furthermore, the Institute for Sustainability & Technology (IST) in Hong Kong will establish the One Earth Impact investing alliance for Asia and Greater China. This alliance aims to raise $3 billion in venture capital investment for green innovation and tech start-ups over the next three years.
Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates and GAEA Global Co-Chair, expressed the view that philanthropy can address the gap between altruistic giving and impactful capital investments. He believes that significant financial resources and impactful results can be generated through such collaborations.
To further accelerate their initiatives, GAEA is launching the Big Bets Accelerator, which will focus on incubating innovative ideas and aggregating philanthropic, development finance, and public resources to support private finance flow. The accelerator will prioritize five thematic areas: nature, industry, energy, food, and climate intersections. GAEA aims to amplify and scale existing initiatives and explore new ones in collaboration with partners such as Breathe Cities, Mangroves Breakthrough, Energy Transition Accelerator, Humanitarian and Resilience Investing Initiative, and the Coal to Renewables Initiative.
With efforts focused on mobilizing substantial financial resources, GAEA is playing a vital role in driving climate action and nature conservation. Through collaborative partnerships and global engagement, GAEA is paving the way for sustainable solutions that can combat climate change and protect our planet’s biodiversity.
