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Non-profit

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)

Website:

www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/
Location:

San Francisco, CA
Tax ID:

26-4129153
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2021):

Revenue: $14,303,055
Expenses: $12,208,984
Assets: $26,425,515
Type:

Climate Research and Advocacy Organization
Formation: 1

References

  1. Climate Policy Initiative, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Part I, Lines 12, 18, and 20. Accessed July 28, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264129153/202233119349301573/full
Founder:

Thomas C. Heller
Global Managing Director:

Barbara Buchner 1

References

  1. People – Team – Barbara Buchner. Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed July 28, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/people/barbara-buchner/

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is a left-of-center research, analysis, advisory, and advocacy organization and think tank headquartered in San Fransico, California. The organization focuses on influencing finance, policy, and land use, particularly in areas of climate change and environmentalist practices. 1

The organization has a reach around the world, operating from principal offices in Washington, D.C. and London, England, with affiliate offices in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. 2 The group oversees several programs, maintains a staff of over 150 people worldwide, and participated in 100 projects in 2022. 3

CPI has established additional entities it maintains under the Climate Policy Initiative umbrella organization, including Climate Policy Initiative India Private Limited, Climate Policy Foundation, and Yayasan Cendikia Perebahan Iklim Indonesia (CPI Indonesia). 4

Partners

Climate Policy Initiative has partnered with dozens of public and private sector organizations and companies, as well as government entities, including Green Finance Platform; 5 Allianz; Africa Finance Corporation; Bloomberg New Energy Finance; Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate; Deutsche Bank; European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the London School of Economics and Political Science; UN Environment Programme; Penn Institute for Urban Research; University of Oxford; and the World Resources Institute. 6

Financial Supporters

Climate Policy Initiative receives funding and grants from organizations and companies around the world. The MacArthur Foundation, the 12th largest foundation in the United States in 2014, allocated $7.25 million to CPI over the period from 2016 through 2022 for “climate solutions.” 7

In 2022, Climate Policy Initiative Indonesia received $208,270 from the Ford Foundation, one of the largest foundations in the world for since its formation in 1936. 8 The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, one of the wealthiest grantmaking foundations, granted CPI $14.965 million over the 2016 through 2022 period. 9 ClimateWorks Foundation, founded by William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the McKnight Foundation, allocated $4.148 million to CPI from 2016 through 2023 for various programs, including sustainable finance, power, forests and land use, and cooling. 10

The Rockefeller Foundation granted Climate Policy Initiative $3.764 million over the 2015 through 2019 period. 11 The Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation, a generous supporter of left-of-center environmentalist organizations, allocated $528,000 in 2020 12 and $203,000 in 2019 13 to CPI. Climate Policy Initiative received a grant from the Stichting IKEA Foundation totaling $1.5 million for a CPI project on an India PURE Finance Facility. 14

People

Thomas C. Heller

Thomas C. Heller, a climate policy lawyer, academic, and advocate, founded Climate Policy Initiative in 2009 and worked as its executive director from 2009 through 2016. He then sat as chairman of the board and worked as strategic senior advisor. 15 Prior to founding CPI, Heller was a professor at Stanford University for over 30 years where he focused on international legal studies, economic development, and the performance of legal institutions. He has particular interest in policies of other governments, including China, India, Brazil, and Mexico, and other emerging markets. 16

Heller currently works as director of Stanford University’s Sustainability Finance Institute at the Precourt Energy Institute. He is a regular guest of the World Affairs Council, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the World Economic Forum. 17 Since 2010, he has sat as vice chair of the governing board of the Global Green Growth Institute, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Heller has participated as lead author and a contributor to various reports that come out of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Beginning in 2008, Heller has been involved in directing Project Catalyst, an analysis project in support of the Copenhagen Climate process. 18 He also is a member of the international advisory council for the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice. 19 He is a graduate of Princeton University and has a law degree from the Yale School of Law. 20

Barbara Buchner

Barbara Buchner, originally from Austria, is the global managing director at Climate Policy Initiative. She was named one of the 20 most influential women in climate change 21 and one of the 100 most influential people in climate policy. 22 She directs CPI’s Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab). She is a professor in practice for sustainable finance at the University of London SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance, a program director of the Climate Change and Energy Program at the Australian National University, and is an advisory board member of the Barilla Foundation and the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative. 23

References

  1.   Homepage. Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/
  2. “Independent Auditors Report and Consolidated Financial Statement. Climate Policy Initiative. Pg. 8. December 31, 2022. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CPI-2022-Audited-Financials.pdf
  3. CPI At a Glance. 2022 Impact Report. Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CPI-2022-IMPACT-REPORT.pdf
  4. “Independent Auditors Report and Consolidated Financial Statement. Climate Policy Initiative. Pg. 8. December 31, 2022. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CPI-2022-Audited-Financials.pdf
  5. “Knowledge Partners.” Green Finance Platform. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.greenfinanceplatform.org/partners
  6. “What We Do – About CPI.” Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/about-cpi/what-we-do/
  7. “Grantee Profile – Climate Policy Initiative.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/climate-policy-initiative-10093952/#:~:text=Climate%20Policy%20Initiative%20(CPI)%20is%20an%20independent,business%20models%2C%20and%20supporting%20solutions%20that%20can
  8. “Grants Database – Climate Policy Initiative Indonesia.” Ford Foundation. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/climate-policy-initiative-indonesia-143532/
  9.  “Grants Search – Climate Policy Initiative.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=climate%20policy%20initiative&sort=relevance&current_page=1
  10. “Grants Database – Climate Policy Initiative.” ClimateWorks Foundation. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climateworks.org/grants-database/?sort_by=newest&search=climate%20policy%20initiative&posts_per_page=100
  11. “Our Grants – Climate Policy Initiative.” The Rockefeller Foundation. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/grants/?post_type=grant&grant_active_status=&keyword=Climate+Policy+Initiative&from_month=1&from_year=&to_month=12&to_year=2023&submit=Submit
  12. “Consolidated Financial Statements – Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation Years End December 31, 2020 and 2019 with Report of Independent Auditors.” Ernst & Young, LLP. Schedule of Conditional Grants Committed, pg. 21. Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation. 2020. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.moore.org/docs/default-source/our-finances/audited-financial-statements/2020-2019-financial-statements
  13. “Consolidated Financial Statements – Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation Years End December 31, 2019 and 2018 with Report of Independent Auditors.” Ernst & Young, LLP. Schedule of Conditional Grants Committed, pg. 2. Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation. 2019. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.moore.org/docs/default-source/our-finances/audited-financial-statements/2019-2018-financial-statements
  14. “Independent Auditors Report and Consolidated Financial Statement. Climate Policy Initiative. Pg. 19. December 31, 2022. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CPI-2022-Audited-Financials.pdf
  15. “Thomas C. Heller.” Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/people/thomas-c-heller/
  16. “Climate Policy Across the Globe: Lessons Learned and Key Challenges.” The Brookings Institution. April 15, 2013. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130415_climate_policy_transcript.pdf
  17. “Thomas C. Heller.” Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/people/thomas-c-heller/
  18. “Climate Policy Across the Globe: Lessons Learned and Key Challenges.” The Brookings Institution. April 15, 2013. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130415_climate_policy_transcript.pdf
  19. “Thomas C. Heller- International Advisory Council.” Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.mrfcj.org/about/international-advisory-council/thomas-c-heller/
  20. “Climate Policy Across the Globe: Lessons Learned and Key Challenges.” The Brookings Institution. April 15, 2013. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/20130415_climate_policy_transcript.pdf
  21. “Barbara Buchner – People.” Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/people/barbara-buchner/
  22. “100 Most Influential People in Climate Change Policy 2022 – 2023. Apolitical. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://apolitical.co/list/en/most-influential-climate-100-2022
  23. “Barbara Buchner – People.” Climate Policy Initiative. Accessed December 16, 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/people/barbara-buchner/
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: July 1, 2009

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2021 Dec Form 990 $14,303,055 $12,208,984 $26,425,515 $778,716 N $13,095,518 $1,133,090 $70,472 $920,614
    2019 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $24,565,935 $635,594 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2014 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $14,014,643 $1,731,180 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2013 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $14,741,264 $741,181 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2012 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $3,097,240 $715,689 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF
    2011 Dec Form PF $0 $0 $11,069,251 $537,301 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)


    San Francisco, CA