ClimateWorks Foundation

The ClimateWorks Foundation facilitates collaboration among funders, provides critical research, and makes strategic grants that support global initiatives responding to climate change. In 2016, parties to the Montreal Protocol adopted the Kigali Amendment to phase down hydrofluorocarbons—refrigerant gases with high global warming potential—over the next 30 years and replace them with climate-friendly coolants. As one of the most successful international treaties, the Montreal Protocol oversaw the successful reduction in ozone-depleting substances, and this amendment seeks to extend this impressive track record to hydrofluorocarbons; the use of hydroflurorcarbons is expected to increase exponentially as global access to cooling expands and this will have seriously detrimental climate impacts.

In partnership with eighteen foundations that made a commitment to support this amendment, ClimateWorks Foundation developed the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program. This program seeks to increase and accelerate significantly the climate and development benefits of the refrigerant transition initiated by the Kigali Amendment and provide for a simultaneous improvement in the energy efficiency of cooling in developing countries. Collectively, the foundations are deploying $52 million over the next three years to improve the energy efficiency of cooling and refrigeration equipment, enhance access to cooling technology in developing countries, and incentivize market innovations to spur adoption of climate-friendly refrigerants. The grant represents the Foundation’s contribution to this pool of resources that supports the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program’s global efforts. Successful implementation of this international deal, coupled with energy efficiency improvements to cooling systems, could avoid between a half and up to a full degree Celsius of warming by the end of the century. 

The ClimateWorks Foundation’s (ClimateWorks) mission is to mobilize philanthropic investments to prevent global average temperature increase from exceeding two degrees Celsius. ClimateWorks creates global emission reduction strategies, coordinates philanthropic funding, and directly supports organizations addressing climate change. ClimateWorks conducts its work through an international network of affiliated organizations by supporting smart policies within the economic sectors and geographic regions that have the greatest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including India and China. Located at ClimateWorks, the Climate Mitigation Philanthropy Accelerator Platform project is a collaboration among foundations to use their unique assets effectively, in collaboration with grantees that have significant fundraising operations, to increase climate mitigation philanthropy worldwide, by as much as ten times, to support the breadth and depth of philanthropically-supported programs across the globe.

The ClimateWorks Foundation’s (ClimateWorks) mission is to mobilize philanthropic investments to prevent global average temperature increase from exceeding two degrees Celsius. ClimateWorks creates global emission reduction strategies, coordinates philanthropic funding, and directly supports organizations addressing climate change. ClimateWorks conducts its work through an international network of affiliated organizations and by supporting smart policies within the economic sectors and geographic regions that have the greatest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including India and China. General operating support helps ClimateWorks maintain core staff and operations and lets it focus more specifically on raising resources for its specific campaigns and strategies. It also ensures the Foundation has access to ClimateWorks’ research, staff, and leadership and can share broad understanding and potential alignment with the Foundation’s policy goals and approaches. Finally, this important information and action network of global funders will help the Foundation determine the most promising international opportunities to enhance U.S. leadership on climate policy.