Solutions For Our Climate

Overview

The Giving Green Fund plans to award a restricted grant to Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) for its work to decarbonize heavy industry. SFOC is a research and advocacy organization based in South Korea that works to align policy, business, and finance activities with international climate targets. 

Our grant to SFOC falls into our philanthropic strategy for decarbonizing heavy industry. Please see Giving Green’s deep dive report on decarbonizing heavy industry 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 Solutions for Our Climate?

SFOC was established in 2016 in South Korea to advocate for governments and corporations to take evidence-based climate action with an initial focus on decarbonizing the power sector. It has grown exponentially and now drives reductions across South Korea’s largest sources of emissions, including industry, transport, and land use change. SFOC’s core activities include technical research, litigation, community organizing, and policy advocacy. SFOC also fulfills an important role as a thought leader for climate action in South Korea, with frequent broadcast and print media collaborations. It is expanding its international presence through multilateral convenings and its on-the-ground team members in Japan, and Thailand. 

What are we funding at SFOC, 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. We are giving a restricted grant that can be used flexibly across SFOC’s industry programs:

Steel: SFOC’s steel program advocates for the government, producers, and consumers to work towards steel carbon neutrality by 2040. Its policy work blends government advocacy and education; its target policies include an updated low-carbon steel strategy, financing for green hydrogen RD&D, and more ambitious industry-specific Nationally Determined Contributions working towards the Paris Agreement. Its producer advocacy work campaigns against the repair and upgrade of coal-based blast furnaces and challenges greenwashing claims. Its consumer work advocates for steel-consuming industries, like auto manufacturers, to set green procurement commitments.

Petrochemicals: SFOC’s petrochemicals program started in 2024. Its initial strategy is to advocate for the government to increase the stringency of petrochemical regulations, and for corporations to set Scope 3 emissions reduction targets and publish decarbonization roadmaps. 

Why do we think SFOC will use this funding well?

We have been impressed by SFOC’s climate advocacy leadership and its strong track record. In the power sector, SFOC started a coalition of organizations that campaigned for South Korea’s commitment to end overseas coal finance, with subsequent commitments following this in Japan and China. SFOC also participated in campaigns to prevent the building of 3,700 MW of new coal power plants and expedite the retirement of 8,000 MW of coal power plants. 

We think philanthropic funding for industrial decarbonization is especially neglected in Asia, and therefore, we are excited to support SFOC’s efforts in the field. SFOC’s steel program successes included government advocacy leading up to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s request for KRW 880 billion ($638 million) to commercialize green steel technology and successful litigation against the greenwashing claims of South Korea’s largest steel company. We believe SFOC will be able to replicate previous levels of success in its nascent petrochemicals program.

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.