The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation announces $600 million over a five-year period from 2018-2023 to nonprofits globally working on solving climate change. The pledge comes on the eve of President Macron’s December 12 convening of global government, business, and philanthropic sector leaders.
The Hewlett Foundation plans to participate in this Summit and in efforts to increase charity funding for climate solutions globally. Its climate pledge is the single largest funding commitment made in the foundation’s 51-year history, and represents a 20 percent increase in its climate-related charitable donations.
According to the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation President Larry Kramer said, “Huge numbers of people are already suffering from climate change from unprecedented flooding, super storms, drought, famine, wildfires, and pest-borne disease – and this is just a fraction of what our children and grandchildren will suffer if we don’t get this under control.” He further said, “The world has made incredible progress in recent years, in ways that both mitigate warming and generate new economic opportunities. But we still have a long way to go. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is proud to increase its commitment to creating a clean energy system, and we urge all leaders – whether in philanthropy, business, or government – to step up to this challenge and increase their own commitments to solving climate change. Everyone must find their role in the solution—our future depends on it.”
Added to this, Environment Program Director Jonathan Pershing said, “Our ability to meet the climate challenge with ingenuity, innovation, and enterprise will determine the safety, health, and livelihoods of people around the world. We urge fellow philanthropists and global leaders to join in our commitment to do more on climate change. We are also challenging all leaders to think long-term and make forward-looking decisions to support lasting energy transformations, and look forward to using our own charitable funds to help catalyze the necessary global change to solve this urgent problem. There’s no doubt that the world has the technology and the ability to solve this problem; what we need is greater commitment and resolve.”
The Hewlett Foundation, a nonpartisan private charitable foundation founded by the legendary Silicon Valley engineer and entrepreneur Bill Hewlett, has also concentrated its resources in improving education, alleviating global poverty, supporting the performing arts and preserving the environment in the North American West. The Hewlett Foundation’s charitable donations will support nonpartisan, non-profit organizations working on transitioning energy systems from fossil fuels to renewable energy, with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius by 2050 and avoiding unprecedented, widespread human suffering.
