This is a decisive decade for tackling climate change and aligning with the 2015 Paris Agreement’s emissions reduction commitments to limit global temperature increase this century to a maximum of 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Any impact we can deliver before 2030 is vital for the future of our planet.

But as COP27 and other previous conferences have demonstrated, efforts to address climate risks, climate justice, and climate finance have proceeded at a glacial pace. Meanwhile, glaciers are melting with devastating impact, emission targets are missed, and countries are kicking funding commitments down the road, leaving the fight for a sustainable future with a $2.4 trillion gap.

What can we actually do to make a difference over the next six and a half years? We must leverage philanthropy to deliver effective and impactful action at speed and scale. We aren’t saying that philanthropy is the only action; we are saying that it is a critical action to prioritize now.

Governments can amplify impact, but they’re too slow. Climate technologies can also deliver significant impact, but they won’t scale up fast enough to make a difference before 2030. And sustainable and impact investing drives change rapidly, but many important climate solutions cannot deliver financial returns and, as a result, fall beyond the reach of even the best sustainable investing.

That points to direct philanthropic support to deliver solutions at the necessary speed and scale. Already, the catalytic power of charitable giving is yielding results. Whether enforcing environmental law, combating deforestation, defending ocean ecosystems, protecting carbon-sequestering whales, or delivering clean energy to last-mile communities in the Global South, climate charities are delivering a host of vital solutions for this decade.

We have seen these efforts and more yield impressive results, particularly when support is targeted at organizations on the front lines and in affected communities. They are often the charities with the skills, strategies, and networks to deliver real impact at speed and scale.

But climate philanthropy isn’t getting nearly the funding it needs to fulfill its incredible potential to close the gap on the need for action by the end of the decade. Less than 2 percent of global philanthropic giving goes to climate mitigation efforts. Increasing this total is our best opportunity—as individuals, businesses, and financial institutions—to make the most of this decisive decade for climate action.

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