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Climate Catalyst




Overview

The Giving Green Fund plans to award a restricted grant to Climate Catalyst to (1) support its ongoing program to decarbonize India’s steel industry and to (2) seed its program to decarbonize Indonesia’s heavy industries. Climate Catalyst generates momentum for emissions reduction in sectors and geographies where it is most urgently needed. It has on-the-ground team members supporting its regional work in the EU, India, and Indonesia. 


Climate Catalyst’s work falls within our philanthropic strategies of decarbonizing heavy industry and decarbonizing transportation, but we have only assessed its work on industry. Please see Giving Green’s deep dive reports, linked above, for more information, including risks and potential co-benefits, recommended sub-strategies, theory of change, funding need, and key uncertainties.


Last updated: October 2024


What is Climate Catalyst?

Climate Catalyst was launched in 2021 to spark climate action by executing limited-run projects in crucial sectors and geographies. After identifying priority areas, Climate Catalyst convenes a diverse set of nonprofits and private sector companies to build and implement a shared strategy. It targets multiple points of leverage, combining policy campaigns, technical research, and investor engagement. For example, its first completed campaign brought in 95 business organizations and CEOs, many of whom were new to the topic, to successfully advocate for the inclusion of peatland restoration in the EU’s Nature Restoration Law.


Its current projects aim to decarbonize India's steel industry and reduce European aviation emissions. Climate Catalyst is also raising funds to launch two new projects in 2025 that aim to reduce land use change and heavy industry emissions in Indonesia. 


What are we funding at Climate Catalyst, and how could it help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Heavy industry accounts for around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and Asia is the largest manufacturing region in the world. We think both technological progress and an enabling policy environment are needed to incentivize manufacturers to shift to low-carbon production methods. The planned grant is a restricted grant for two of Climate Catalyst’s programs:


Decarbonizing steel in India: Climate Catalyst’s India program has been active since 2022. Its activities include leading the India Green Steel Network, researching pathways to steel decarbonization, working with government ministries to shape green steel policy, and co-leading a sustainable finance working group.


Decarbonizing heavy industry in Indonesia: In 2024, Climate Catalyst consulted over 30 stakeholders and identified industry decarbonization as a priority sector in Indonesia. It plans to convene a network of nonprofits and industry champions to accelerate policy and shift investment toward industrial decarbonization. Giving Green is providing seed funding to launch the project’s implementation phase.


Why do we think Climate Catalyst will use this funding well?

We think philanthropic funding for industrial decarbonization is especially neglected in Asia, and therefore, we are excited to support efforts in the field. We think Climate Catalyst is well-suited for this work because, in the short time that Climate Catalyst has been active, it has established a strong track record. For example, it influenced the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, established the India Green Steel Network, and advocated for India’s upcoming green steel public procurement policy. We have been impressed by Climate Catalyst’s strategic approach to selecting projects and its ability to build relationships among nonprofits, the private sector, and governments. We believe Climate Catalyst will be able to replicate its previous successes in new geographies.


 

For more on the difference between the grantees of the Giving Green Fund and our Top Nonprofits, please see this blog post on the Giving Green Fund. This is a non-partisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.


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