By AEGN team
It has been two years since unprecedented bushfires devastated Australia. Images of families grieving lost ones, charred landscapes and communities fleeing to blackened beaches shocked the world. It was a sharp wake up call to what scientists have known for decades — climate action is needed now.
As we begin 2022, the urgency is clear: 2021 was one of the hottest years on record, and the last six years have all been among the hottest on record. The predictions for a warming world are scary: more extreme weather, more disease, more global conflict, more poverty. Scientists tell us we have eight years to turn this around. We must at least halve global emissions by 2030 to have a hope of meeting the goal of the Paris Agreement. We are, therefore, in the critical decade for climate action.
The good news is that momentum is growing for climate action. So too, is the realisation that the climate crisis presents humanity with an opportunity to build a better future — to create cleaner cities, develop sustainable agriculture, restore landscapes and improve people’s lives. When Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, addressed the AEGN annual conference in 2020 she said, “While climate change itself is devastating, addressing climate change — particularly if we do it in the next ten years — is actually the most exciting thing we’ve ever seen”.
It’s a sentiment shared by many already funding climate solutions. Hayley Morris, from AEGN member the Morris Family Foundation, put it this way: “We know this is the critical decade for the climate crisis … I like to think that in these unprecedented times, the innovation and the thinking that will come out of it could be positive”.
There could not be a better time to harness the power of philanthropy to help tackle climate change. Because there is a lot we can do right now. Philanthropy has a unique power to enable effective, strategic climate action at scale. However, navigating how and where to start can be overwhelming and confusing. That’s where the AEGN’s Climate Change Funding Framework comes in.
Following the Australian bushfires, the AEGN experienced many philanthropists wanting to start funding in climate. A common sentiment was: “I’m really concerned about climate change, I know I want to do something about it, but how do I start? How do I know what I’m doing will be impactful?” Climate action can be overwhelming and complex. So, the AEGN conducted extensive research to answer that question, interviewing 60 experts around the country about how philanthropy could help combat climate change in Australia.
Released exclusively to AEGN members in October 2021, the framework identifies 25 key areas to do just that. This framework empowers philanthropists to help address the climate crisis through strategic funding opportunities. The goal? To transform Australia from a climate laggard to a climate leader.
The framework seeks to galvanise philanthropic funding to bring Australia’s domestic emissions to zero as fast as possible; build globally significant sustainable carbon sinks; accelerate Australia’s transition from exporting fossil fuels to clean exports; and enable Australia to play a positive role on the global stage. The combined expertise of those interviewed uncovered:
- Seven change levers that funders can use to accelerate Australia’s transition to a decarbonised future. These levers unlock the potential to secure emissions reductions by influencing government policies, businesses, or the community. They shift power towards solutions, apply across all economic sectors and enable systemic change.
- Specific steps to achieve pollution reductions in all of Australia’s major emissions sectors — the sectors that need to be decarbonised to reach zero emissions, for example our electricity system, agriculture and transport.
- What opportunities can be gained in terms of jobs, equity, and co-benefits from acting on climate, to build a better future for all Australians. This includes facilitating a just and clean transition for fossil fuel communities and workers and respecting the distinct rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- How to build the capacity of Australia’s climate movement and of funders to get this work done and cooperate effectively to create impact at scale.
- Impacts and adaptation — with some climate impacts already locked in, Australians will need support to adapt to a changed climate.
- Importantly, the framework identifies the opportunities and gaps that are most strategic to fund today.
AEGN members also nominated organisations they have funded that work effectively in this space, so philanthropists have a readymade list of recommended NGOs to consider funding. These tools are designed to help new philanthropists get started in climate funding, and to help ensure strategic initiatives are supported.
The basis for the AEGN’s Climate Change Funders Framework is that philanthropy has the power to make transformational change. And the time to act is now.
“Philanthropy has many advantages, including a preference for long-term vision over shorter-term interests, taking a proactive rather than reactive approach, and seeking to foster cooperation rather than competition,” says Amanda Martin OAM*, CEO, AEGN.
Indeed, AEGN members are already using philanthropy to make transformational change.
For example, AEGN members recently funded a project that will support Aboriginal peoples to install solar power in their communities — which not only reduces diesel emissions but also improves peoples’ health and wellbeing.
AEGN members also recently funded a project that will grow a national advocacy voice to champion the roll out of electric vehicles across Australia, a vital part of slashing our transport emissions.
While the climate crisis is the greatest threat to our existence, climate action can change the world for the better. Healthy, balanced landscapes and ecosystems, sustainable food systems, clean cities where no-one is left behind — a world where people and nature can thrive is a world worth fighting for. And strategic climate philanthropy has a vital role to play.
To find out more about the Climate Change Funding Framework, visit the AEGN website: https://www.aegn.org.au/ccff/
Save the date for the Australian Environmental Philanthropy Conference — Tuesday 22 March to Thursday 24 March 2022. The gathering place for philanthropists concerned about delivering a solutions pathway to the climate and biodiversity crisis.
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*Medal of the Order of Australia
For more information contact Daisy Barham, Environmental Philanthropy Manager: daisy@aegn.org.au
