Apekshya Basnet
Introduction
As the world grapples with issues such as pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change, it is becoming increasingly clear that global efforts are required to protect our planet for coming generations. Thus, in such an era marked by growing environmental challenges, there has never been a greater need for collective and immediate action.
The World Economic Forum, renowned for its commitment to shaping global agendas, launched the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) initiative as a response to the pressing need for coordinated efforts in the realm of environmental sustainability. This initiative, which acknowledges that environmental issues transcend national borders, strives to utilize collective giving in addressing the major environmental crises the world is currently facing.
Origins and Strategic Objectives
Founded on January 17, 2023, by the World Economic Forum, GAEA represents a paradigm shift in philanthropic engagement towards environmental stewardship. GAEA seeks to expedite the integration of green business models and value chains into corporate practices in order to support the transformation of sustainable systems. It envisions working with a varied coalition of partners from the public, private, and charitable sectors in a number of different regions to accomplish this goal.
Under the direction of three global co-chairs—Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum; H.E. Rania Al Abdullah, the queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; and Ray Dalio, the founder and chief investment officer mentor of Bridgewater Associates—GAEA functions as a collaborative platform that involves over 100 philanthropic, public, and private partners worldwide. It further supports a global network of champions from prominent organizations such as Carbon Direct, Bezos Earth Fund, IKEA Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Green Climate Fund, which operate under these co-chairs.
GAEA’s strategic objectives include the following:
- Release seed capital and boost the flow of resources into the environment and climate, conveying a clear message for more investment, legislative changes, and corporate involvement.
- Determine new areas for involvement and the pertinent businesses, governments, and nonprofits that could profit from a 4P strategy — establishing the 4P concepts into the mainstream.
- Develop thought leadership on philanthropy’s catalytic role to strengthen corporate and governmental leadership in favor of the 4Ps’ long-term success.
- Encourage family offices, corporate foundations, and philanthropists to contribute more to important systemic initiatives related to environment and climate change.
- Use charitable capital’s (more agile, flexible, risk-tolerant, systemic, equitable, and patient) catalytic capacity and pair it with appropriate public and private players.
- Provide foundations, development finance organizations, governments, private investors, and first-movers with a worldwide collaborative muscle to pool their efforts and enable growth while preventing fragmentation and repetition.
Performance
With the support of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and a coalition of leading private sector and philanthropic partners, GAEA is well-positioned to facilitate transformative relationships, encourage heightened contributions, and expedite the shift towards a more sustainable future — especially thanks to its creative philanthropic and collaborative approaches. In summary, the initiatives key achievements include:
- Global Convenings: GAEA has organized over 20+ global convenings thus far, fostering vital communication and collaboration among stakeholders. These gatherings provide forums for innovation, information sharing, and the development of strategic partnerships.
- Capital Commitment: GAEA has pledged $4 billion in funds, indicating a major commitment in solutions related to climate change and the environment. This financial support offers a solid foundation for carrying out impactful projects and activities. GAEA further issued a call to action in January 2023, requesting cooperation from partners to establish a global initiative that will finance and expand public-private-philanthropic partnerships (PPPPs). Through this effort, GAEA seeks to release over $3.5 trillion in funding required annually to attain net-zero emissions, stop the loss of natural areas, and rebuild biodiversity by 2050.
- Identified Investment Opportunities: GAEA has identified 31 global investment opportunities for public-private-philanthropic cooperation with assistance from McKinsey Sustainability. These prospects cover several industries, such as the development of sustainable agriculture value chains, the phasing-out of coal, the promotion of green steel and electric vehicles, the advancement of clean cooling solutions, and the expansion of offshore wind power.
- Corporate Philanthropy Challenge for People and Planet: GAEA mobilized top philanthropies and corporate foundations to initiate the Corporate Philanthropy Challenge for People and Planet. By 2030, this initiative strives to raise $1 billion in clever, catalytic finance for environmental and climate change initiatives. Partners include Google.org, Salesforce, The Coca-Cola Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation.
- Regional Initiatives: GAEA and its partners are leading the way in Asia in cutting-edge philanthropic and sustainable practices. The Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), an initiative of the Temasek Trust, was introduced in South-East Asia, with over 80 global members committing $777 million to spark creative solutions for global environmental and social problems. The Institute for Sustainability & Technology (IST) will further raise $3 billion in venture capital over the next three years to invest in green innovation and tech start-ups. The event will mark the inauguration of the One Earth Impact investing alliance for Asia and Greater China by the IST in Hong Kong.
- Big Bets Accelerator: To foster and grow creative ideas in five thematic areas—nature, industry, energy, food, and climate intersections—GAEA with support of Mckinsey Sustainability is introducing a Big Bets Accelerator. The accelerator intends to assist private funding flow towards sustainability and accelerate business action by combining philanthropic resources with development finance and public efforts.
- GAEA Awards: In addition, as a symbol of its dedication to sustainability and systems transformation, GAEA further plans to introduce awards for innovative 4P solutions.
Global Impact
As we navigate the complex terrain of environmental degradation and socio-economic disparities, the impact of GAEA reverberates far beyond the boundaries of traditional philanthropy. GAEA’s impact has been diverse, shedding light on its transformative effect on communities, ecosystems, and the collective human spirit.
- Empowering Communities: GAEA has sparked a wave of local action by making strategic investments in grassroots projects and capacity-building activities — enabling communities to take charge of their own environmental future. The tenacity and inventiveness of communities working towards a better future are reflected in the work of GAEA, which is reflected in projects ranging from sustainable agriculture initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa to reforestation efforts in the Amazon rainforest.
- Fostering Innovation: GAEA has released a flood of creativity and invention by encouraging a culture of experimentation and risk-taking, leading to technology discoveries, policy reforms, and business models that push the envelope of what is possible. The influence of GAEA goes much beyond the boundaries of conventional philanthropy, kindling a spark of invention that illuminates the route towards a more sustainable future through carbon capture technologies and circular economy projects.
- Catalyzing Collaboration: GAEA has increased the overall impact of its projects by forming strategic alliances and collaborations and by utilizing the complementary skills of corporations, governments, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. GAEA’s influence is heard in the symphony of cooperation that reverberates around the world stage, from public-private partnerships encouraging access to renewable energy in marginalized regions to multi- stakeholder coalitions addressing plastic waste in our oceans.
Potential Impact on India
India stands to gain a great deal from the World Economic Forum’s “Giving to Amplify Earth Action” (GAEA) programme, which strives to address climate and environmental concerns. This includes:
- Building Climate Resilience: GAEA can assist vulnerable communities in India in better preparing for and responding to climate-related hazards, such as floods, droughts, and cyclones, thereby reducing economic losses and protecting livelihoods. This can be achieved by vigorously prioritizing investments in climate adaptation and resilience.
- Support for Green Technologies: GAEA aims to encourage the creation and application of green technologies. By accelerating India’s shift to sustainable agriculture, energy efficiency, and renewable energy, this assistance can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advance sustainable development.
- Amplifying Local Efforts: GAEA can increase the impact of local climate efforts in India by leveraging its network of partners. This involves offering financial support, worldwide best practices, and technical know-how to Indian groups engaged in climate resilience, renewable energy, and environmental preservation initiatives.
- Public-business-Philanthropic Partnerships (PPPPs): India can benefit from the GAEA’s emphasis on PPPPs by leveraging cooperative efforts between philanthropic organizations, business sector participants, and government agencies. This integrated strategy can spur innovation, expand the scope of sustainable projects, and improve the effectiveness of national climate action programmes.
- Financial Mobilization for India’s Climate Action: GAEA hopes to raise $3 trillion per annum to finance climate and environmental solutions. This will provide India easier access to foreign funding for efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, adapt to them, and conserve biodiversity. For India to achieve its climate targets and strengthen its resilience against the effects of climate change, this capital inflow is essential.
Overall, GAEA’s all-encompassing strategy for financial mobilization, partnership development, and climate action is in line with India’s climate objectives and may greatly enhance the nation’s efforts to fight climate change and advance sustainable development.
Emerging Issues
GAEA’s initiatives done on behalf of institutional and individual contributors is essential to closing gaps, spurring creativity, and expanding impactful interventions. However, the scope and complexity of today’s environmental problems necessitate a more integrated and multifaceted strategy. Despite the progress made, the GAEA grapples with emerging challenges such as:
- Financial Challenges: Insufficient funding for climate and nature activities is a stark reality that GAEA must deal with. Despite the urgent need for over $3.5 trillion in yearly investments, the current level of spending is insufficient to keep global warming to 1.5°C by 2030. Merely 2% of charitable contributions have been directed towards climate mitigation initiatives, accounting for just 6% of the 2025 necessary investments.
- Implementation Challenges: Due to their complexity, interconnectedness, and uniqueness, environmental issues require comprehensive, interdisciplinary approaches, which could provide challenges for implementation at ground level.
- Lack of Mechanisms to Ensure Justice, Equity and Inclusivity: Ensuring fair allocation of benefits and resources, together with meaningful involvement of marginalized people, continues to be a crucial priority.
- Long-term Sustainability: Sustained financial commitments, efforts to develop capacity, and institutional support are necessary to maintain the momentum and lifespan of environmental programmes.
Recommendations
To enhance the effectiveness of GAEA and overcome the challenges the initiatives faces, stakeholders, researchers, policy makers and legislators are encouraged to:
- Encourage Climate-Adaptive Innovation: In order to provide scalable and long-lasting solutions to environmental problems, GAEA should prioritize investments in research, technology, and climate-adaptive innovation.
- Address Justice, Equity, and Accountability: In order to ensure justice and equity, GAEA should integrate inclusion, justice, and fairness into decision-making procedures to guarantee that the advantages of the environment are shared fairly among nations and communities. In addition, it should encourage increased openness, responsibility, and oversight procedures to monitor development, gauge effect, and draw lessons from both achievements and setbacks.
- Creative Financing Techniques, Mobilizing More Funds and Growing its Partner Network: Building on its early successes, GAEA should aim to increase the scope of its influence by bringing in more funds and growing its partner network. To achieve systemic change, this may entail using the existing resources judiciously and cultivating fresh partnerships. Further, in order to close the financial gap for climate and environmental projects, GAEA should investigate creative financing techniques. To access new sources of funding, this can entail combining financing, impact investing, and risk-sharing agreements.
- Better Accountability: GAEA must focus on closely monitoring and quantifying its effects. The initiative must strive to increase its accountability to its stakeholders and show measurable progress towards its goals through the establishment of precise metrics and evaluation systems to ensure successful implementation on ground level.
Future Direction
In the future, GAEA is committed to scaling its impact and driving systemic change in the following areas:
- Scaling Corporate Leadership & Amplifying Current Initiatives: In order to scale corporate leadership and direct funds towards climate and environmental solutions, GAEA strives to continue collaborating with businesses, governments, and philanthropies.The initiative will further explore new ways to collaborate and innovate while concentrating on growing and intensifying current projects including Breathe Cities, Mangroves Breakthrough, Energy Transition Accelerator, and Coal to Renewables Initiative.
- Philanthropic Innovation: To maximize its impact and promote long-term change, GAEA aims to explore cutting-edge philanthropic strategies, such as impact investing and venture capital investments in green innovation and tech entrepreneurs.
- Enhancing Current PPPPs: GAEA will continue to enhance current PPPPs and explore new collaborations in important priority areas. GAEA’s dedication to promoting significant change at scale is further exemplified by projects like the Breathe Cities Initiative, the Mangroves Breakthrough Initiative, and the Coal to Renewables Initiative.
- Regional Expansion: To increase awareness and mobilize resources in areas like Asia, GAEA and its regional partners are stepping up their efforts in this area. The aim of programmes such as the One Earth Impact Investing Alliance in Greater China and the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) is to stimulate creative thinking and financial support for addressing social and environmental issues.
- Interacting with International Forums: In order to translate promises into action and implementation, GAEA is actively interacting with international forums like COP. Working with organizations like the WEF and the COP28 Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum demonstrates GAEA’s dedication to accelerating corporate and governmental investment in climate solutions and creating real-world impact.
Way Forward
In the light of growing environmental crises, GAEA’s commitment to serving as a global catalyst for positive change underscores the importance of collaboration among nations. By working together, countries can bolster international sustainability programs such as GAEA, ensuring the protection of the environment for future generations.
Evident from its success, the initiative has the ability to bring about dramatic change and open the door for a more resilient and sustainable future for all by stimulating innovation, collaboration, and investment. However, all stakeholders involved must continue their commitment, collaborate, and exercise visionary leadership in order to handle new emerging environmental issues and realize GAEA’s full potential.
About the Contributor: Apekshya Basnet is a research intern at IMPRI. She graduated with a BA (hons) Economics in 2023.
References
- The power to reverse nature loss is within reach, but time is running out. (2024, January 16). World Economic Forum.
https://www.weforum.org/impact/how-the-giving-to-amplify-earth-action-will-catapult-climate-action/ - Giving to Amplify Earth Action Aims to Unlock $50 Billion for Climate and Nature. (2024, January 17). World Economic Forum.
https://www.weforum.org/press/2024/01/wef24-giving-to-amplify-earth-action-gaea-climate-and-nature/ - ESG News. (2024, January 19). Giving to Amplify Earth Action to mobilize $50 billion for climate action and nature conservation.
https://esgnews.com/giving-to-amplify-earth-action-to-mobilize-50-billion-for-climate-action-and-nature-conservation/ - Insights, GAEA, World Economic Forum.
https://initiatives.weforum.org/giving-to-amplify-earth-action/insights
Read more at IMPRI:
