Non-profit

European Climate Foundation

European Climate Foundation (ECF) new logo (2018) (link) by LucieBas is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (link)
Website:

europeanclimate.org

Location:

Netherlands

Formation:

2008

Type:

International Environmentalist Nonprofit

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The European Climate Foundation is a left-of-center non-profit that funds climate change-orientated advocacy organizations in Europe. Its governing body contains high-ranking members of large foundations and organizations including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (also known as the Hewlett Foundation), the Bloomberg Family Foundation (Bloomberg Philanthropies), the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), The International Trade Union Confederation, and the ClimateWorks Foundation. 1

It has an annual budget of approximately €25 million (around $30.5 million)2 but had a confirmed budget of around €36.3 million (approximately $44.5 million) for its programs and expenditures in 2019. 3

The European Climate Foundation is funded by many large foundations, many based in the United States. Some of these funders include the Bloomberg Family Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Growald Family Fund, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. 4

Founding

The European Climate Foundation (ECF) is a left-of-center international non-profit that funds climate change-oriented advocacy organizations in Europe. ECF notes that it is not an “institution” but a “network” of more than 350 organizations. 5

ECF claims its role is to help “set the agenda” on climate change,6 and does so by using philanthropy to support left-of-center ideas on climate change including phasing out fuel options such as coal and prioritizing electric-powered cars. The European Climate Foundation’s target is to ensure a 40% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in Europe by 2030. It also aims to fulfill the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and demonstrate that climate change goes “hand in hand” with “social justice.” 7

The European Climate Foundation has offices in multiple countries in Europe including the Hague, Netherlands; Berlin, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; London, United Kingdom; Paris, France; and Warsaw, Poland. 8

Funding

The European Climate Foundation receives a vast amount of money from multiple foundations and organizations around the world. ECF does not disclose how much it receives from these funders, but it is listed as having an annual budget of approximately €25 million (around $30.5 million). 9

Although ECF does not provide its total revenue, it does list its funders. These funders, many of which are based in the United States, include Arcadia, the Bloomberg Family Foundation (Bloomberg Philanthropies), the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Good Energies Foundation, the Hightide Foundation, the IKEA Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, the Growald Family Fund, KR Foundation, the National Postcode Lottery of the Netherlands, the McCall MacBain Foundation, the Oak Foundation, Stiftung Mercator, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 10

Even though the European Climate Foundation does not list its income, some of these foundations provide information on the amount granted to ECF.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has granted tens of millions of dollars to ECF including just over $33 million in 2015, slightly more than $10 million in 2016, around $30 million in 2017, slightly under $8 million in 2018, around $8 million in 2019, and approximately $13 million in 2020—meaning the European Climate Foundation received approximately $102 million in total between 2016 and 2020. 11

The Children’s Investment Fund granted the European Climate Foundation $25,000,245 between 2016 and 2020 to “secure Europe’s climate leadership and put Europe on a path to an 80-95% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.” 12

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund granted ECF $170,000 in 2014 for “sustainable development,” and $200,000 in 2015, 2017, and 2019—all for “democratic practice.” 13

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation granted the European Climate Foundation $200,000 in 2018, $1.25 million in 2019, and a total of $3.8 million in 2020. 14

The KR Foundation granted an approximate total of $1.3 million to the European Climate Foundation in 2020. 15

According to its key figures table, the European Climate Foundation received 378 grants, had 357 grantees, and had a budget of around €36.3 million (approximately $44.5 million) for its programs and expenditures in 2019. 16

ECF stated that, in the same year, it spent around €1.8 million (nearly $2.2 million) on both “energy efficiency” and “climate-resilient finance,” just over €2 million (slightly under $2.5 million) on “industry and innovation,” marginally over €4.6 million (around $5.6 million) on “clean transportation,” just over €5.3 million (around $6.4 million) on “Europe wide programs,” just under €7 million (approximately $8.5 million) on “national programs,” and over €10.7 million ( just over $13.1 million) on “low carbon power generation.” The European Climate Foundation also spent just under €3 million (nearly $3.7 million) on “administration and in-house projects.” 17

Grantees of the European Climate Foundation include Transport and Environment, which received more than €750,000 (slightly under $1 million) in 2018;18 BankTrack, which received $110,413 in 2018;19 Bankwatch, which received around €375,000 (approximately $460,000) in 2018;20 the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, which received £360,000 (just under $490,000) in 2019;21 and Climate Assembly UK, which received £200,000 (around $271,000) from ECF. 22

Other recipients of the European Climate Foundation’s grants include Friends of the Earth Europe,23 Carbon Market Watch,24 Seas at Risk,25 Clean Energy Wire,26 Climate Analytics,27 Agora Energiewende,28 and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 29

The European Climate Foundation is also responsible for completing the formation of the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility (SEACEF). This organization aims to “catalyze” $2.5 billion for left-of-center climate investments in Southeast Asia. 30

People

The governing body of the European Climate Foundation includes high-ranking members of various foundations including Kate Hampton,31 the Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) a United Kingdom-based non-profit foundation that focuses on providing financial support to climate-change initiatives and environmentalist organizations. 32 CIFF pledged £150,000 (roughly $196,000) to Extinction Rebellion (XR), a radical environmental activist organization created in the United Kingdom in mid-2019. 33

Other members of the governing body include Jonathan Pershing, the program director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (also known as the Hewlett Foundation); Sharan Burrow of the International Trade Union Confederation; and Antha Williams of the Bloomberg Family Foundation (Bloomberg Philanthropies), which has spent more than $100 million on climate initiatives. 34 35

Charlotte Pera, the president and Chief Executive Officer of the ClimateWorks Foundation, is also on the governing body of ECF. 36 The ClimateWorks Foundation is a left-of-center “pass-through” funding entity that distributes funds from donors to environmentalist advocacy groups around the world. It increased its activity in Europe at the behest of the European Climate Foundation. 37

References

  1. Cécile, “Governance,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/governance/.
  2. “European Climate Foundation (ECF),” Devex, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.devex.com/organizations/european-climate-foundation-ecf-54475.
  3. Grégory, “Funding & Grantmaking,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/funding-grantmaking/.
  4. Grégory, “Funding & Grantmaking,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/funding-grantmaking/.
  5. Cécile, “Why ECF,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/why-ecf/.
  6. Cécile, “Why ECF,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/why-ecf/.
  7. Cécile, “Why ECF,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/why-ecf/.
  8. Cécile, “Contact,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/contact/.
  9. “European Climate Foundation (ECF),” Devex, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.devex.com/organizations/european-climate-foundation-ecf-54475.
  10. Grégory, “Funding & Grantmaking,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/funding-grantmaking/.
  11. “Grants,” Hewlett Foundation, May 1, 2020, https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=european+climate+foundation.
  12. “EUROPEAN CLIMATE FOUNDATION,” Ciff, accessed January 4, 2021, https://ciff.org/grant-portfolio/european-climate-foundation/.
  13. “Stichting European Climate Foundation,” Rockefeller Brothers Fund, July 6, 2019, https://www.rbf.org/grantees/stichting-european-climate-foundation.
  14. “Stichting European Climate Foundation,” The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/stichting-european-climate-foundation-3/.
  15. “List of Grants 2020 – KR Foundation,” krfnd.org, accessed January 4, 2021, http://krfnd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/List-of-grants_2020-1.pdf .
  16. Grégory, “Funding & Grantmaking,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/funding-grantmaking/.
  17. Grégory, “Funding & Grantmaking,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/funding-grantmaking/.
  18. “Funders,” Visit the front page!, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.transportenvironment.org/funders.
  19. “Financial Report 2018 – BankTrack,” banktrack.org, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.banktrack.org/download/banktrack_financial_report_2018/190605financialreport2018digital.pdf
  20. “Donors & Finances,” Bankwatch, accessed January 4, 2021, https://bankwatch.org/about/donors-finances.
  21. “Who We Are,” Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, accessed January 4, 2021, https://eciu.net/about/who-we-are.
  22. “Budget,” Climate Assembly UK, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.climateassembly.uk/detail/budget/.
  23. Foeeurope, “Our Funding,” Friends of the Earth Europe, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.foeeurope.org/about/financial.
  24. “Our Funders,” Carbon Market Watch, November 2, 2020 https://carbonmarketwatch.org/about/our-funders/.
  25. Super Utilisateur, “Funders,” Seas at Risk – Home, accessed January 4, 2021, https://seas-at-risk.org/about-us/funders.html.
  26. “CLEW – Funders,” Clean Energy Wire, August 6, 2020, https://www.cleanenergywire.org/clew-funders.
  27. “Climate Analytics – Partners,” Partners and Funders / Climate Analytics, accessed January 4, 2021, https://climateanalytics.org/about-us/partners-and-funders/.
  28. “Funders,” Agora Energiewende, February 10, 2020, https://www.agora-energiewende.de/en/about-us/funders/.
  29. “Funding & Partners,” WWF, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.wwf.eu/about_us/funding_partners/.
  30. Michael Patrini, “European Climate Foundation’s US$2.5 Billion Clean Energy Investment Fund for Southeast Asia,” Global Legal Chronicle, July 10, 2020, https://www.globallegalchronicle.com/european-climate-foundations-us2-5-billion-clean-energy-investment-fund-for-southeast-asia/.
  31. Cécile, “Governance,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/governance/.
  32. “List,” Ciff, accessed January 4, 2021, https://ciff.org/grant-portfolio/list/.
  33. “Not American, but He’s Got a Rich Footprint in U.S. Environmental Politics,” RealClearInvestigations, accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/01/06/a_british_billionaires_big_investments_in_us_environmental_politics_121359.html.
  34. “Brown, Bloomberg Announce Plan to Track Climate Progress,” U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News & World Report), accessed January 4, 2021, https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2017-07-12/brown-bloomberg-announce-plan-to-track-climate-progress.
  35. Cécile, “Governance,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/governance/.
  36. Cécile, “Governance,” European Climate Foundation, accessed January 4, 2021, https://europeanclimate.org/governance/.
  37. “The Price of Climate Action,” Google Books (Google), accessed January 4, 2021, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WDUKDQAAQBAJ.
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