Feature Summer 2011
Follow the money: Targeting energy investment to take on coal

Coal is one of the largest contributors to global climate change, and its extraction and use have significant collateral impact on the host economies, political systems and the health of surrounding communities. This past January, the Growald Family Fund and Rockefeller Brothers Fund brought together funders, environmental organizations, and activists from around the world to develop strategies for reducing the world’s dependence on coal and redirecting investment dollars to alternative energy sources. This forum was also supported by New World, Sea Change, ClimateWorks, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundations.

As campaigns for alternate energy investments advance in the United States and Europe, attention is turning to the developing world, where communities have also gained experience in addressing critical lack of access to energy while moving beyond coal. At the January GFF/RBF gathering, participants pointed out that while the power and influence of the coal industry and its investors may be similar around the world, context matters: development levels and political systems vary dramatically, and the mechanisms of exercising that power, and the effects on politics, economy and thus the terrain for taking on coal can vary dramatically from one country to the next.

The focus of the January gathering was to facilitate international collaboration on influencing investment decisions away from coal, and toward alternatives. Relationships forged and information shared during the two-day session laid groundwork for long-term collaboration between Northern and Southern advocates on action areas, including standards on private lending, the rules governing international financial institutions, specific country challenges, and how to assess and communice the real costs of coal fired energy production. Resultant efforts to develop specific campaign plans are ongoing. For more information, visit www.positiveventures.com/aboutgff.html or contact Joanna Messing at jmessing@positiveventures.com.

 
© 2011 The Synergos Institute