Future Matters

Overview

The Giving Green Fund plans to award a restricted grant to Future Matters for its climate program, which works on identifying and advocating for impactful EU climate policy opportunities. Future Matters is a policy think tank headquartered in Berlin, Germany, that provides research-backed strategies for addressing global risks.

We primarily assessed Future Matters for its work within our philanthropic strategy of reducing food sector emissions because it prioritizes two of our recommended sub-strategies: alternative protein policy advocacy and pricing agricultural emissions.  Please see Giving Green’s deep dive report on food sector emissions for more information, including risks and potential co-benefits, recommended sub-strategies, theory of change, funding need, and key uncertainties. Aside from food sector emissions, the project also seeks to implement EU policies that increase climate finance for lower and middle-income countries, reduce heavy industry emissions, and increase methane abatement.

Last updated: October 2024

What is Future Matters?

Future Matters is a think tank that researches and advocates for policies that advance climate protection, biosecurity, and AI safety. Their climate work focuses on finding and advocating for cost-effective and neglected EU policy opportunities to reduce carbon emissions. Our impression is that Future Matters has built a strong reputation and network of connections in the EU policy ecosystem despite being a young organization. According to our conversations with civil society and policy stakeholders in the EU, Future Matters is known for its actionable research and strategic approach to impactful climate policy advocacy. Future Matters was launched in 2020 and is headquartered in Berlin, with staff in the EU and the US. 

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

We are recommending a restricted grant to Future Matters’ climate policy prioritization project. During the first phase of this project, Future Matters published a report that identified the eight most promising climate opportunities for the EU’s 2024-2029 policy mandate using the criteria of impact, effort, and neglectedness, including policies to implement an agrifood emissions trading scheme and promote alternative proteins. We think its emphasis on neglected and cost-effective policies fills a gap in the climate policy ecosystem and could be highly impactful if it leads to policy change. 

Since the report's launch, Future Matters has been converting its findings into concrete policy change. For example, it works with influential members of the European Commission to advocate for these promising policies during the agenda-setting phase of the mandate. It has also been working with members of the European Parliament and industry bodies to build support for these policies in advance of the Parliament’s deliberation phase. We think Future Matter’s strategic approach to advocacy could build sufficient support among EU decision-makers to enact some of its policy priorities and lead to substantial emission reductions.

Why do we think Future Matters will use this funding well?

We think Future Matters has been successful at winning influential allies across the EU policy ecosystem. Our discussions with policymakers and nonprofits have highlighted Future Matters as a trusted and valued partner; its analytical approach to policy engagement has also received praise for being especially actionable and unique in the EU’s nonprofit ecosystem. Its climate policy prioritization report was endorsed by the former EU Commissioner for Environment and the former head of the Directorate-General for Climate Action. Since the report’s launch, Future Matters has also seen a strong level of engagement from key decision-makers on its highlighted policies. 

Future Matters is currently fundraising to meet its 2025 budget and has further potential to grow its climate team, which currently has 3.5 full-time employees. The limited capacity of its current climate team has meant that Future Matters is unable to pursue all of the promising advocacy opportunities that it identifies. Additional hires would allow Future Matters to fully pursue all the highest-leverage actions that advance each of its eight recommended policies.

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.