Alliance Online - December 2007

Leveraging philanthropy’s resources to combat climate change

Denise Lee and Allison Robertshaw

EVENT Third meeting of the Climate Change Philanthropy Action Network (CCPAN)
Date 15 September
Venue Taipei, Taiwan

Following on the launch of the Climate Change Philanthropy Action Network (CCPAN) in October 2006 and the successful gathering in London in July this year, CCPAN gathered over 20 new and existing members in Taiwan for its third meeting, and its first gathering in Asia. The event was a unique opportunity to bring together both foundations and philanthropists who are already active in the climate change area as well as those who are new to it. With delegates from a wide range of countries including the UK, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, the discussion focused on how to address climate change in Asia, as well as how to forge partnerships globally.

The meeting began with a number of interesting presentations on philanthropic intervention in climate change and both the opportunities and challenges that face donors. CEO and President of the Khemka Foundation Don Mohanlal introduced the theme of strategic philanthropy, and its importance for philanthropists approaching climate change mitigation. The next presentation, by UBS, encouraged donors entering this area to bring their core competencies to the table, be creative, and think through how they can best leverage the power of philanthropic capital, with its unique strengths, for the issue of climate change.

This was followed by an interesting talk by the World Food Programme on the effects that climate change is having on their work, as well as the challenges for NGOs like them to make addressing climate change part of their way of doing business even when it’s not their core mandate.

In the final presentation of the morning the Khemka Foundation focused on strategic frameworks for philanthropic giving in the climate change space. This included an overview of the Design to Win model for prioritizing opportunities, as well as the Foundation’s own decision-making process which involves asking questions such as: where do you want to work? Who do you want to influence? On what sectors do you want to exert pressure? And how do you want to accomplish your goals?

Following the morning session, the attendees had the opportunity to interact with one another by introducing themselves and the work they were doing. It quickly became apparent that the group brought to the discussion a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds. These ranged from funders from corporate foundations, interested in getting their companies more involved in looking at climate change, to grassroots funders who regularly donate small sums to innovative projects in environmentally sensitive areas around the world. Another key theme that came out of this session was the interest in addressing the climate change challenge not only by traditional grants but also through a more business/investment-based approach where organizations could use their funds to make non-traditional investments in long-term technologies which could provide the means for addressing climate change.

In the afternoon, the group had a chance to hear case studies from two groups actively involved in promoting solutions to global warming in the region. The first was the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. We heard about their history and the various policy discussions that are going on at the domestic and international level specifically seeking to influence how governments are addressing climate change. Two things became very clear: first, there are a number of opportunities for philanthropists to get involved in the policy arena; and second, with the upcoming COP meeting (Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity) as well as the G8 +5 and other formal and informal negotiating forums, now is a crucial time in international negotiations and philanthropists have an opportunity to effect change if they can move quickly.

The Balipara Foundation, which is active in the northern part of India, gave the second presentation of the afternoon. Their presentation brought to light one of the issues emerging among practioners in the climate change space – the need to approach climate change as part of a bigger question of sustainable development which both protects the environment and provides livelihoods for local communities. As the ongoing negotiations around climate change continue to shift focus to developing countries such as India and China, this issue will become an increasingly important one, and it will be crucial for those looking to bring governmental officials, organizations and foundations focused on poverty alleviation into the climate change movement to place the discussion within this larger frame.

As the event came to a close, there were three themes that emerged from the day’s discussion:

the need to take a holistic approach to environment and sustainability issues, including the threat posed by climate change;
the role philanthropic investment can play and the need to support businesses as well as traditional NGOs in finding solutions to climate change;
the importance of reaching out to other philanthropists who do not view climate change as core to their mission and exploring how to integrate it into their existing programmes.

The group was keen to continue the conversation over the coming months via the web portal and at upcoming meetings and teleconferences.

Denise Lee is Director of Environmental Initiatives at the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation. Email D.Lee@khemkafoundation.org
Allison Robertshaw is Manager of Climate Change Initiatives at the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation. Email a.robertshaw@khemkafoundation.org

For more information
www.climatephilanthropists.org

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