Giving Green’s 2024 top climate nonprofits and Giving Green Fund grantees

This year’s research and recommendations for high-impact climate giving

It’s been a big year for us at Giving Green. 

Earlier this summer, we announced that we received a transformative $10 million anonymous donation and introduced the expanded scope of the Giving Green Fund, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for Giving Green and our impact on the climate giving ecosystem.

Now, we’re thrilled to share our latest recommendations and grantees. 

This includes the annual Top Nonprofits list you know and love, featuring the most effective nonprofits tackling climate mitigation on a systemic level. The 2024 list includes a new addition focused on decarbonizing heavy industry that we can’t wait to tell you about. 

For the first time this year, we’re also supporting 20+ additional organizations making big contributions to Giving Green’s top-recommended philanthropic strategies. These smaller, single disbursement grants are funding a broader range of high-impact projects, including but not limited to promising young organizations and ecosystems of mission-aligned organizations.

In this post, we’ll walk through the details of our latest research, share why these organizations and philanthropic strategies stand out, and highlight how donors can make the biggest impact. 

Philanthropic strategies to fund this year

Giving Green’s research process starts at the level of philanthropic strategies, which are specific approaches that donors can take to slow climate change. 

We start with a wide view of strategies and then narrow down this list using our “Scale, Feasibility, Funding Need” framework. This looks for strategies that have the potential to drive major warming decreases, where philanthropy can progress the solution, and where there is relative neglect from funders. 

This approach tends to select strategies focused on systems change. For a closer look at all of the philanthropic strategies we evaluated in this process, have a look at our full research dashboard here. 

From our long list of 30 philanthropic strategies, we decided to focus on eight in 2024. Five you’ll recognize from previous years: reducing food systems emissions, decarbonizing aviation and maritime shipping, decarbonizing heavy industry, advancing next-generation geothermal energy, and supporting advanced nuclear. Plus three strategies that are new this year—advancing the energy transition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), advancing solar radiation management (SRM) governance, and scaling demand for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Since decarbonizing aviation and maritime shipping and next-gen geothermal energy were big priorities last year, we placed less emphasis on them in this year’s evaluations and grant disbursements. 

For each of our eight prioritized philanthropic strategies, we dug deep into the approach and identified priority sub-strategies as well as the highest-leverage funding opportunities to advance them. For each strategy, we have written a detailed “deep dive” to guide donors interested in the space. 

Historically, our strategies have squarely focused on climate mitigation, meaning that they focused on addressing our top priority: reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

This year, we also explored “climate interventions”—strategies that don’t address the source of warming but, given the rapid rate of warming, offer promising opportunities to supplement emissions reductions and protect human and ecological well-being. SRM governance and CDR fall into this category.

Have a look at this table to see how all eight ranked in scale, feasibility, and funding need:

Below, we’ll walk you through every strategy, and which nonprofits we’re recommending and granting in each sector in 2024. 

Reducing food systems emissions

The food sector emits up to 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with 42-65% of those emissions deriving from livestock. We decided to focus our food systems grantmaking on livestock emissions because it’s an astonishingly large fraction of global emissions, but policy and technological progress is still insufficient to reduce these emissions. 

Specifically, we found the following sub-strategies the most promising for grantmakers:

• Efforts to make alternative proteins more taste- and price-competitive with meat

• Advocating for landmark EU legislation to price agricultural emissions

• Reducing enteric methane emissions – a byproduct of digestion in ruminant animals like cows and sheep. 

We recommend funding The Good Food Institute for its groundbreaking work advancing alternative proteins. Additionally, the Giving Green fund is planning to award grants to Future Matters, and the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) for their policy work in the EU, and Spark Climate Solutions for their efforts to reduce enteric methane emissions.

To learn more, check out our deep dive on reducing food systems emissions. 

Decarbonizing aviation and maritime shipping

Currently, aviation and maritime shipping account for 6% of global emissions, but given the rate of demand increase paired with lagging decarbonization efforts, these sectors are projected to account for more than 30% of global emissions by 2050 if left unmitigated. Electrification is not as central to decarbonizing aviation and maritime shipping, which will depend heavily on technological advancements such as clean, alternative fuels. Consequently, aviation and maritime shipping are generally considered hard to abate.

We believe there is an opportunity to direct more capital to advocacy efforts to pass regulations on aviation and shipping emissions, as well as policies to support the development and scale of next-gen technologies and alternative fuels. Given the challenges of decarbonization, the lack of funding these subsectors of transport have received thus far, and the reluctance of the industries to make commitments voluntarily, this represents a high-impact philanthropic strategy with a need for funding.

For this strategy, we recommend giving to the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) for its work advancing zero-carbon fuels, and transportation decarbonization, and Opportunity Green for its efforts to close gaps in global climate policy in the sector. 

To learn more, check out our deep dive on aviation and maritime shipping decarbonization. 

Decarbonizing heavy industry

Heavy industry accounts for around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and is considered hard to abate due to the difficulty of electrifying certain industrial processes and persisting gaps in innovation.

We found the most promising sub-strategies to be as follows:

• Efforts to advocate for corporations and governments to make low-carbon purchase commitments.

• Advocacy for governments to enact regulation that supports decarbonization.

• Advocacy for governments to increase funding for research, development, and demonstration. 

• Funding nonprofits in regions dense with heavy industry production, especially LMICs. We think their local civil society ecosystems have been especially neglected and there is room to grow their engagement with local governments and manufacturers.

Here, our top recommendations are Future Cleantech Architects for its efforts to close innovation gaps and Industrious Labs for its work scaling industrial decarbonization advocacy. Additionally, Giving Green is supporting US nonprofits Evergreen, BlueGreen Alliance Foundation (BGAF), and ClearPath for their work on domestic decarbonization of heavy industry and global trade policy. We are also supporting Climate Catalyst and Solutions for our Climate for their work to decarbonize heavy industry in regions dense with industrial production, such as India, Indonesia, and South Korea. 

To learn more, check out our deep dive on decarbonizing heavy industry. 

Advancing next-generation geothermal

The need to transition to clean energy is clear, but a solely renewables-based grid is too costly to scale. Clean, firm energy sources that provide steady 24/7 power independent of weather or seasons are needed to complement renewables like wind and solar. And to scale these firm energy sources, they’ll need to become cheaper. 

Until now, geothermal systems have been confined to geographic locations near tectonic plates. Recent technological advances have made it possible for geothermal energy to expand to new beyond these locations, making the next few years a critical window to support and scale next-gen geothermal. We believe now is the time to support the development of next-gen geothermal technologies and minimize their cost and risk so they can accelerate the clean energy transition.

We recommend funding Project InnerSpace for its efforts to fast-track next-gen geothermal technologies capable of unlocking geothermal energy from more places, and Clean Air Task Force (CATF) for research and development of next-gen geothermal energy technologies.

To learn more, check out our deep dive on geothermal energy. 

Supporting advanced nuclear

Clean, firm energy sources are needed to complement renewables like wind and solar in the clean energy transition. Nuclear energy offers a 24/7 energy source that can help decarbonize the grid and play a critical role in decarbonizing heavy industry, but steep costs are standing in the way of bringing it to scale. 

To scale nuclear, we think more funding should be directed at the research, development, and deployment of advanced reactors, which are more versatile and affordable to build than traditional large-scale reactors. Our approach has a US focus because the US currently has an appetite to become a global leader in commercial nuclear energy again, creating a chance to push for regulatory reforms and more support for domestic nuclear. The world is also looking to the US to lead innovation and demonstrate novel designs before they import and implement these technologies themselves. This offers a high-impact opportunity for funders to support US nonprofits that are working on derisking investments, addressing the commercial stalemate between vendors and buyers, and clearing the path for US exports. 

This year, the Giving Green fund is planning to award grants to an ecosystem of organizations focused on supporting nuclear power: Good Energy Collective, ClearPath, and Nuclear Innovation Alliance. We are also supporting two other organizations, Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Energy for Growth Hub, where advancing nuclear energy is one key component of their work. 

To learn more, check out our deep dive on nuclear power. 

Advancing the energy transition in LMICs

In addition to looking into sector-specific funding opportunities in LMICs, such as heavy industry decarbonization, we evaluated the broader energy transition in these countries.

Currently, high-income countries (HICs) are responsible for the majority of global cumulative emissions, but emissions in LMICs are increasing three times as fast and are on track to surpass HIC emissions by 2040. 

Funding the energy transition in LMICs is an extremely wide strategy – for 2024, we decided to place a specific focus on India and Indonesia, as these are two of the highest-emitting LMICs where international donors can make an impact. (See our deep dive for more information on country prioritization.) 

Additionally, we focused on the following sub-strategies:

• Research and knowledge creation

• Government policy and engagement

• Mobilizing finance and derisking clean energy projects

One of our Top Nonprofits, Project InnerSpace, works to decarbonize LMICs through expanding geothermal energy mapping in India and Southeast Asia. This year, the Giving Green Fund is also planning to award grants to Prayas and  IIT Delhi, The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (IGSD), Vasudha Foundation, Energy for Growth Hub, and Climate Catalyst for their work to advance the energy transition in LMICs. 

To learn more, check out our deep dive on the energy transition in LMICs. 

Advancing solar radiation management (SRM) governance

SRM encompasses a range of techniques to reflect the sun’s rays to reduce global temperatures. SRM is not a substitute for mitigation as it does not reduce emissions, nor address other effects of increased levels of atmospheric CO2. However, it may be temporarily needed to limit warming and reduce its secondary negative effects on human life and ecosystems. Governance structures can help reduce the likelihood of unregulated deployment while enabling responsible research to advance our understanding of whether SRM could be a viable strategy to protect the most vulnerable. Civil society engagement in the coming years is particularly crucial to foster more inclusive governance frameworks and build capacity for more informed decision-making around SRM. 

In 2024, the Giving Green Fund plans to grant to The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering (DSG) and International Center for Future Generations (ICFG) for their efforts to democratize conversations about SRM governance and foster international collaboration.

To learn more, check out our deep dive on SRM governance. 

Scaling demand for carbon dioxide removal (CDR)

Pathways to achieving net zero will require some level of carbon removal to balance residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and heavy industry. In addition, humanity has emitted 1.5 trillion tons of CO2 since the Industrial Revolution, and even if we reach net zero, these “legacy” emissions will remain in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. 

In tandem with a multifaceted climate mitigation plan that addresses the root cause of emissions, it is projected that we will need to remove 10 billion tons of CO2 per year by 2050 to meet mid-century climate goals. Exploring and unlocking new opportunities for generating demand, especially through innovative policy approaches, will be necessary for scaling CDR.  

This year, we will be granting to Carbon Removal Standards Initiative (CRSI), 4 Corners, and CarbonPlan in an effort to grow the ecosystem of nonprofits working to unlock demand through innovative policy approaches that are underexplored but hold great potential.

To learn more, check out our deep dive on carbon dioxide removal. 

Interested in learning more about our Top Nonprofits and grantees? 

The following tables will walk you through each Top Nonprofit and grantee, which philanthropic strategies each are tackling, and what the Giving Green Fund plans to grant to each of them this Giving Season. In the last column, you can click to view write-ups detailing our research on each of them. 

Giving Green’s 2024 Top Nonprofits

The Giving Green Fund’s 2024 Grantees

How you can take effective climate action

Feeling compelled to act on our findings? Here are a few actions you can take this Giving Season: 

Learn more at our Giving Tuesday webinar

Join us on December 5 to hear directly from some of our Top Nonprofits about the landscape for bold climate philanthropy.

Donate to the Giving Green Fund

If you want to donate based on Giving Green’s recommendations but can’t choose just one, a donation to the Giving Green Fund is a great way to support all of Giving Green’s Top Nonprofits in one easy step with no management fees. 

Donating to our fund also allows you to support additional high-impact opportunities identified by Giving Green’s research team. This may mean additional grants to our current grantees or supporting new grantees. Either way, you will fund a more diverse set of thoroughly vetted, high-impact climate nonprofits advancing a wider set of effective philanthropic strategies. 

Donate to top climate nonprofits

Alternatively, you can donate directly to any of the recommended nonprofits.

Support Giving Green’s research

Every year, the Giving Green team dedicates thousands of hours to identifying and supporting the most effective climate charities. Since we take no portion of the donations made to our recommended organizations, we rely on the generosity of donors to sustain our research and outreach efforts.

In the past, every dollar invested in Giving Green’s operations has generated $15 in donations to high-impact climate initiatives. Support our work to be a climate impact multiplier.

As always, we welcome you to reach out with questions, feedback, requests for personalized climate giving support, collaboration inquiries, etc. Whatever it may be and wherever you are in your climate journey, we want to hear from you! Contact us here.