Thursday, July 2, 2015
Why Should Climate Philanthropy Care About Energy Access?
Investing in clean energy access provides a disruptive opportunity to revolutionize electricity systems and get on the right side of the politics of development -- philanthropy just hasn't realized it yet.
To be fair, philanthropy needs to step up it's game on climate across the board. Our investment is woeful -- only 2 percent of all philanthropic funds are devoted to transitioning to a clean energy economy and staving off the worst impacts of climate. That's why some big name foundations are calling on their colleagues to step up giving, and act on climate.
All said and done there is quite a case to be made for clean energy access. But outside the admirable efforts of the Rockefeller Foundation or the newly announced super efficient appliances work supported by Climate Works this issue still largely remains under the radar. It's high time we seized this opportunity and asserted a vision of the future that puts the needs of the poor first - by building a clean energy future from the bottom up....