The European Climate Foundation (ECF) was established in early 2008 as a major philanthropic initiative to promote climate and energy policies that greatly reduce Europe’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to help Europe play an even stronger international leadership role to mitigate climate change.

The group of philanthropists who founded the ECF were deeply concerned over the lack of political action and the lack of general public awareness around the devastating future consequences implied by climate change. They formed the ECF – a ‘foundation of foundations’ – to collaborate in ensuring the necessary transformation from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.

The ECF has an annual budget of roughly €25 million. The majority of their funds are re-granted to NGOs and think tanks engaged in bringing about meaningful policy change. Their programme staff collaborate with grantees and experts from the field and funders to design and fund strategies based on a thorough understanding of decision-makers, decision-making processes, and political context. In 2012, they made 181 grants to 102 organisations.

What they do:

Supporting the transformation to a low-carbon economy requires a multifaceted strategy and a carefully selected portfolio of initiatives. Advocating for effective policy frameworks for reducing CO2 emissions in key industries and fostering investment in clean technologies is a critical first step. But it is only the first step. They also must work towards global agreements and EU directives flowing through to national laws and regulations, and verify that implementation leads to actual mitigation of climate change.

To that end, the ECF organises their programme staff and grant-making along three dimensions: sector programmes, cross-cutting initiatives, and geographic initiatives.