Wednesday, September 11, 2024
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Unlocking philanthropy for climate action in India

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Climate change is the defining crisis of the 21st century. Floods, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, air pollution, food insecurity, loss of biodiversity, and mass migration – we are witnessing its consequences on almost a daily basis. The crisis is beginning to derail India’s development trajectory and actively impeding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is an urgent need for stakeholders to come together to explore pathways of building resilience in our societies and systems, to secure the interests of the marginalised and the most affected.

The need for philanthropy to step up

 Since independence, India’s large and vibrant philanthropic community has consistently supported the country’s journey towards progress and resilience. However, climate action or environmental resilience seldom appears on their giving radar. At present, it is estimated that climate action represents 0.5% of overall domestic philanthropic funding in India, which meets about 10% of our climate financing needs. Within climate giving, investments are primarily being made in mitigation, with insufficient focus on adaptation and building resilience. The latter two areas present enormous opportunities for philanthropists to shape the course of millions of lives.

One stumbling block that has withheld philanthropists from exploring the climate space is the perception that climate action requires deep technical expertise. In believing so, funders have missed the crucial intersections between climate and the and the sectors they have focussed the most on such as education, livelihoods, health, food security, agriculture, gender, and sustainable cities. Climate change has a devastating impact across sectors, and links to multiple other SDGs such as good health, food security, sustainable communities, and gender equality, among others. It is crucial that philanthropists recognise these linkages and intentionally embed them in their giving.

As the scale and the speed of the climate crisis magnifies, there is a critical need to fill the investment gap on climate action. India needs over US$ 1.5 trillion in climate investments between 2020 and 2030 across sectors like transport, energy, sustainable agriculture, waste management and city resilience in order to minimise the impacts of climate change. Philanthropy is often better positioned to respond quickly and plug funding gaps than governments (public) and businesses (private). Since philanthropy has a greater risk appetite, it should leverage this ability to enhance climate investments as well as nurture inclusive action to secure the interests and welfare of the most vulnerable in the face of the climate crisis.

Scaling philanthropic action on climate through ecosystem building

According to the India Philanthropy Report 2023, Ultra High Net-worth Individuals (UHNIs), High Net-worth Individuals(HNIs), and affluent givers are emerging cohorts who have high potential to strengthen the philanthropic ecosystem on climate action. Over 90% of Inter-Gen and Now-Gen donors want to be increasingly involved in emerging causes such as climate change; and are open to adopting catalytic ways of giving: willingness to share insights, unrestricted funding, and collaborative funding. Along with scale, funders are also factoring in depth of impact and vulnerabilities of affected communities in their giving journeys.

However, there continues to be an information-expectation-priority asymmetry in the sector which needs to be further supported with investment in strengthening ecosystems to unlock greater, and more equitable philanthropy. Through the course of our engagement with leading funders, at Dasra , we have been able to identify some levers that can enable philanthropists to achieve meaningful impact on climate action.

  • Adopting an equitable and intersectional approach that helps build linkages across key sectors and enable philanthropists to intervene on climate action while continuing their focus on their existing strategic priorities. Given the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities, Philanthropists should adopt an intersectional lens in giving which supports organizations and projects that prioritize vulnerable communities, including women and girls, immigrants and refugees of colour, indigenous communities, minorities, and the working class as a whole who are most at risk from climate change.
  • Enabling collaboration and consensus among stakeholders (including civil society, think tanks, governments) by creating and nurturing common platforms through which the ecosystem can come together, create common outcomes and opportunities for driving deeper impact by leveraging collective resources and knowledge, wider networks, diverse skill sets, further amplifying sectoral impact. This can be further supported by harnessing diverse resources and capital, and cater to platforms which foster greater learning, innovation, and collaboration. Philanthropy-driven collaboratives have proven to play a unique role in addressing these factors by building bridges and working at the intersection of government, businesses, foundations, civil society, and communities. Strengthening ecosystems by funding for capacity building of grassroots partners and innovative pilots can further create high impact on ground.
  • Investing in the power of storytelling and narrative building, which is crucial in mainstreaming the narrative of intersectional climate action rooted in community resilience. There is a need to shape an India View on Climate Action with a focus on Community Resilience by bringing in an intersectional lens in the climate narrative. Further, there is a need for amplifying best practices, and champions from the grassroots to build the India story which will help in creating a common understanding and language around the issue, driving change for the most vulnerable and building momentum for action. Listening to the communities and amplifying their voices will be an important foundation to strengthening their resilience, and philanthropy must adopt it as a core practice.

 Shifting Actions Collectively

Societal issues are both fascinating and complex. They are intersectional and thus demand intersectional action. While India has one of the most vibrant civil societies in the world, it needs all the support it can get from philanthropy to rise up to the challenge of climate change. Having wealth leads to responsibility. Philanthropists must ask themselves – what are we doing with our wealth, and is it for the greater good? Finding pathways for accumulated wealth to be directed towards communities and causes while driving philanthropy is not only essential for us as a nation to survive but to thrive.

There is evidence that philanthropy is slowly moving towards the greater understanding that climate is not a standalone cause but has adverse intersectional impact across sectors. The new generation of funders are now leveraging data, technology, and narrative building to make giving more effective and are overcoming existing sector barriers owing to their disruptive mindsets. A positive directional shift can be observed in philanthropic giving as we head towards India@100.

However, significant room remains for philanthropy to elevate efforts both in funding and strengthening the narrative for adaptation and community resilience in a sector that has hitherto primarily focused on mitigation. Philanthropists must further lend their voices in advocating for climate change efforts to influence local peer networks, act as role models, and lead the way in setting an example for strategic giving and inspiring others to follow a similar path.

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Views expressed above are the author’s own.



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