Multilateral efforts to combat climate change may have seemed shaky, at best, during this week’s United Nations General Assembly. However, the philanthropy sector sent a clear message — in the form of multiple multimillion-dollar pledges — climate action has become a top priority.
Climate philanthropy experts told Devex that UNGA, which coincided with New York’s Climate Week, would be an opportunity to further progress made at recent global events such as last November’s U.N. Climate Change Conference and the recent Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.
And while the head of the U.N.-created Green Climate Fund referred to her own organization as “outdated” in a draft speech and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (who skipped the event) announced plans to roll back green policy measures, a slew of influential philanthropists made promises to deliver funding for global climate efforts.