Climate change is among the biggest and most complex problems of our time. The issue is particularly severe for India owing to its long coastline, high dependency on agriculture, and high population density, among other factors.
India has seen financial losses to the tune of millions in the year 2022 owing to disasters such as heatwaves, cyclones, floods, and landslides, among others. According to a report by the Centre for Science and Environment, India experienced a disaster per day during the first nine months of 2022 which resulted in the loss of 2,755 lives, killed approximately 70,000 livestock, ruined over 416,667 houses and affected close to 1.8 million hectares of crop area. The study also noted that the loss and damage estimation is likely to be understated as data for each occurrence is not collated, nor are the damages to public property or crop loss estimated.
The G20 Presidency for the year 2023 coming to India not only puts a spotlight on the country but is also an opportunity for driving more attention to climate change effects in India. Philanthropy can leverage this opportunity to have a seat at the table, participate in some discussions and enable more intentional climate action. We need more hands on deck and greater sincerity from the philanthropic community to come together and explore pathways of collaborative action towards resilience, with the most vulnerable and underserved communities at the center of our efforts.
Also read: Climate philanthropy: Making a case for inclusivity
Despite having a vibrant philanthropic community in India, climate change has not received the funding and attention it needs thus far. Moreover, climate investment is predominantly focused on mitigation with inadequate attention to adaptation and resilience building. While increasing climate investment is important, financing alone is not enough to mitigate climate change. To achieve our long-term aim of increasing societal resilience to climate change, it is imperative for philanthropy to deepen its understanding that we all are interconnected and needs to contribute as being part of the solution. This requires philanthropy to redefine its role in development and move away from a charity mindset and siloed efforts. Philanthropists must bring their whole selves and immerse themselves in understanding and mitigating climate effects.
Shifting mindset key to philanthropy’s climate action
In times of complexity and uncertainty, philanthropy is often better positioned than governments and businesses to respond quickly and plug funding gaps that public and private sectors cannot fill. Since philanthropy has a greater appetite for risks, it should take advantage of its comparative ability to shoulder long-term patient capital towards building community resilience in the face of climate change. Although Indian philanthropy has evolved over the years, the climate crisis is a wake-up call for funders to reimagine their role and deepen their approach. Here’s what they need to think about:
· Break free from geographical bias: With emissions on the rise, the second installment of the IPCC Working Group II’s study warned that 11 Indian states - Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab - will be disproportionately affected. Thus, efforts towards climate-related initiatives need to be spread out pan-India with an intentional focus on states that are more vulnerable to climate impacts.
As per the India Philanthropy Report 2021 by Bain & Company and Dasra, 77 percent of ultra-high-net-worth individual (UHNI) wealth is concentrated in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. These areas also account for 85 percent of the total actual donations. Moreover, philanthropic funding on climate is concentrated in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, which leaves a greater need for funding in areas more vulnerable to climate effects that need the most caring.
· Approach philanthropy as a partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGOs): Philanthropy must consider NGOs as expert implementation organizations that are most proximate to the needs and challenges of vulnerable communities to climate change, and are more likely to make accurate decisions about how to allocate grant funding in their communities. Philanthropy must support NGOs in building capacity in areas that need improvement and promoting open communication for long and effective partnerships. Considering NGOs as equal stakeholders in the equation, philanthropies must look to build a rapport with them by designing practices and processes with empathy, trusting their approach, and being more flexible in reporting formats, usage of language, and mode of communication.
· Move towards collaborative efforts: Philanthropy needs to focus on participating in multi-stakeholder collaborative efforts rather than siloed efforts. Climate needs to be understood as a deeply intersectional issue, which has cross cutting impact on sectors including health, energy, food security, among others. It, therefore, needs to be approached through a collaborative lens. There are NGOs in the Indian development sector who are working on addressing climate change through systematic approaches, which philanthropy can identify and support to achieve their common goals. Collaborative platforms offer NGOs the opportunity to drive deeper and faster impact by leveraging greater resources, a wider network, and more diverse skill sets.
· Make climate action more accessible: It is crucial that conversations around climate change are centred around the interests and welfare of communities that are most affected by it. For that, we need to ensure that climate action is made more accessible by employing a vocabulary that speaks more directly to their realities. It is time that we shift the focus away from technical jargon like net-zero, carbon footprints, etc and centre the narrative around resilience and help communities take ownership of it. Listening to the communities and amplifying their voices will be one of the most important foundations to strengthening their resilience to climate change, and philanthropy must adopt it as a core practice.
Hope in the face of crisis
Against the backdrop of grim climate realities, India’s philanthropy sector has witnessed a tidal turn towards climate action in the last few years.
Zerodha’s Rainmatter Foundation is one of the largest domestic philanthropy efforts to support climate change at the intersection of afforestation, ecological regeneration, and livelihoods with a focus on intersectionality. Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies (RNP) has significantly increased its investments towards climate and biodiversity across areas such as research in ecology and environment, promoting wildlife conversation, and technology for conversation, among others. ACT, a non-profit venture philanthropy organization, is accelerating climate action through innovations to realize net-zero carbon emissions, water security, and land rejuvenation, under its ACT for Environment vertical. Another example is Sustainable Landscape Management, a community-based initiative by the Raintree Foundation that aims to create resilient and thriving ecosystems. This nine-year program, rooted in principles of intersectionality and systems thinking, strives for a holistic transformation of areas from an environmental, economic, and mental well-being perspective.
While climate investment needs to increase multi-fold, there is a need for more and more philanthropies to lend their voices in advocating for climate change efforts to influence local peer networks, act as role models, and lead the way in setting an example for strategic giving and inspiring others to follow a similar path, rather than being solely involved in grantmaking. There may not be a planet to live on if we do not act now.
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