European Climate Foundation

Across Europe, citizens are leading the transition to fossil-free and insulated homes, becoming architects of their own energy future. Last year we worked with communications agency Parallelozero to document the story of these people who are at the centre of the transition to energy-efficient, decarbonised #buildings across Europe. We surveyed our network of partners to select iconic, citizen-driven cases of building #decarbonisation and connected photojournalists with contacts on the ground in Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Italy, and Spain. As a result, over 500 photos capture how people are benefitting from better homes and more sustainable communities, buildings and cities. ➡ Read more about these unique reportages and view some incredible examples here: https://lnkd.in/dhgYn5xf

While trust in our governing institutions is at an all-time low, #democracy as an idea still resonates strongly. The call must be to reinvigorate democracy, says Laurence Tubiana in the OECD - OCDE. As part of the discussion on exploring new frontiers for #CitizenParticipation in the policy cycle, Tubiana writes about the need to reshape climate governance through democratic innovation. “We cannot just defend our current democratic institutions as if the status quo is all we can expect and hope for. They are clearly struggling to manage the complex climate challenge in ways that are responsive to the needs and interests of their citizens. As well as finding ways to improve the functioning of electoral democracy, we need imaginative approaches to further enhance how power is allocated across society and how public preferences are expressed and translated into laws and policies.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/dyepAjjr

🎥 We’ve started to work with the movie industry to achieve a more varied and encompassing representation of the climate crisis on screens and develop the imaginaries that could help advance climate action. In these efforts, in September we were at La Rochelle Festival de la Fiction, where our partner Nouvelle Séquence organised a unique conference. Key stakeholders from the movie industry in France - including France Televisions, Netflix France, Arte and ARCOM - called on #screenwriters to integrate more climate and environment into their stories. They also trained 47 screenwriters on climate and environmental topics through workshops by La Fresque du Climat and 2tonnes. We also attended the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival with ‘New narratives: the climate lens in cinema’, a first-of-its-kind roundtable about how contemporary #cinema addresses the climate crisis, not just as an apocalyptic backdrop, but as a central element shaping stories and characters. Find out more ➡ https://lnkd.in/dPsY_-Ce

🌍 At the Berlin Global Dialogue this week, the German government launched the next phase of the Green Guarantee Group (GGG) to unlock private capital for green investments. We're proud to support this crucial initiative, with ECF Executive Director Morgan Després as head of the GGG Secretariat.   Despite a rise in global #GreenFinance, over 90% of green investments continue to flow toward developed economies, leaving emerging markets and developing economies underfunded. The group seeks to address this imbalance, by focusing on guarantees as a way to unlock private sector investment and accelerate #SustainableDevelopment. Learn more ➡ https://lnkd.in/eaP3Gd83 #BGD2024

🗓 Today in Berlin: last chance to sign up for the Global Solutions Initiative event on financing the SDGs, featuring Morgan Després, our Executive Director of International Climate Finance. Learn more ➡ https://lnkd.in/dm8zb_z9

How can we reinvent the #COP process to be a real catalyst for #ClimateAction? Hear from our CEO Laurence Tubiana, Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Philippa Nuttall in the The Club of Rome podcast ➡ https://lnkd.in/emq2dKS7

🌍 This week, with the support of the Government of Brazil, Iswe Foundation and partners launched a Global Citizens’ Assembly for People and Planet to amplify the voice of humanity at #COP30 and beyond. On this occasion, our CEO Laurence Tubiana and Ana Toni, Climate Minister, Brazil make the case for a global, permanent climate assembly in Project Syndicate. Most people care deeply about addressing the climate crisis: in a survey conducted across 18 G20 countries, 71% of respondents agreed that major action is needed immediately. But trust in government action is lacking, with only 39% believing that their own government will act effectively. One way to address this gap is to allow #CitizensParticipation in the elaboration and implementation of climate policies and measures designed by governments. Instead of having climate policies imposed by technocrats from above, governments should embrace approaches that combine “top-down” with “bottom-up” methods, with the latter bringing together ordinary people who are tasked with shaping a shared vision of the future. Read more ➡ https://lnkd.in/epHV6a4F #ClimateWeek

Climate philanthropy must be political without being partisan, writes our CEO Laurence Tubiana in Alliance magazine. Climate action is increasingly prominent in elections worldwide. But it is also becoming more divisive. Concerns over potential costs entailed by the net zero transition are fuelling a backlash among some constituencies, leading certain countries and regions to scale back or abandon climate policies. In doing so, they risk missing out on the significant economic and broader benefits of the global shift to clean energy. The obstacles to stopping climate change are no longer “physical, they are political”. This reality pulls philanthropies into the political sphere—not to drive a partisan agenda, but to advocate for climate policies that are fair and inclusive. We cannot view this crisis as merely a technical issue solvable with technology and economic incentives alone. For the transition to be politically sustainable, it must be people-focused and equitable. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqJaU7Sg #ClimatePhilanthropy #ClimateAction

Later this week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will head to New York for talks at the UN. Our Executive Director Joss Garman, who is there for #ClimateWeek, explains in The Guardian how Starmer can secure a climate legacy, and reshape European politics on the issue. Farmers’ protests in France and the Netherlands, among other issues, have knocked the confidence of European political leaders that environmental progress can be delivered in a way that works for people and enjoys democratic support. But hugely popular climate policies from Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, and Ed Miliband offer the chance to reshape European climate politics and confound these sceptics. Showing climate delivery can be done fairly, effectively, affordably and with strong public support would be an extraordinary legacy for Starmer. It would build on Britain’s relatively strong record of having halved its climate footprint already, and it would offer hope amid the gloom. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ezZHGpqS

We're proud to share that our CEO Laurence Tubiana has been recognised as one of Forbes' Sustainability Leaders. For the first time, Forbes is highlighting 50 entrepreneurs, scientists, funders, policymakers and activists who are leading the charge to combat the climate crisis. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eG3aifYJ