Mapping the Funding Strategies of Climate Change Mitigation Donors in the USA
(2024) VBRM15 20231Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
- Abstract
- The impacts of climate change have worsened, and natural hazards are becoming more unpredictable, and their consequences more severe. Stakeholders have called for increased funding for climate change mitigation initiatives to combat the worsening effects on people and the planet. This study explores the differences between public and private sector donors in the USA and their strategies for funding climate change mitigation interventions. Using grounded theory, my research explored a qualitative analysis of strategy documentation, which mapped the priorities of 19 public and private sector donors. After conducting four rounds of coding, this research identified six themes that donors sought to prioritise for fund release. Despite assessing... (More)
- The impacts of climate change have worsened, and natural hazards are becoming more unpredictable, and their consequences more severe. Stakeholders have called for increased funding for climate change mitigation initiatives to combat the worsening effects on people and the planet. This study explores the differences between public and private sector donors in the USA and their strategies for funding climate change mitigation interventions. Using grounded theory, my research explored a qualitative analysis of strategy documentation, which mapped the priorities of 19 public and private sector donors. After conducting four rounds of coding, this research identified six themes that donors sought to prioritise for fund release. Despite assessing donor differences and preferences at the sectoral level, e.g., trade-offs between investment in clean energy and nature-based solutions, this study found two overarching similarities between donors, which were the need to scale mitigation funding and to do so ethically and inclusively. Future research could focus on whether these donors transitioned their strategies to actual funding commitments and approved grant-making to help identify remaining bottlenecks, a structural examination of donor type, and the resulting accountability and legal requirements, to improve donor-recipient matching. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- A dynamic set of natural hazards alongside multi-dimensional challenges posed by the complexity of modern society requires a robust financial response from donors across the public and private sectors. This thesis examines funding strategies for climate change mitigation among U.S.-based donors, examining their strategies for fund release. Using a grounded theory methodology, this study presents a comparative analysis of documents from 19 donors to uncover themes driving their funding decisions by exploring how the priorities and stated objectives of donors; the research provides actionable insights for enhancing the impact of climate finance on vulnerable communities.
As a result of my analysis, six key themes emerged, reflecting both... (More) - A dynamic set of natural hazards alongside multi-dimensional challenges posed by the complexity of modern society requires a robust financial response from donors across the public and private sectors. This thesis examines funding strategies for climate change mitigation among U.S.-based donors, examining their strategies for fund release. Using a grounded theory methodology, this study presents a comparative analysis of documents from 19 donors to uncover themes driving their funding decisions by exploring how the priorities and stated objectives of donors; the research provides actionable insights for enhancing the impact of climate finance on vulnerable communities.
As a result of my analysis, six key themes emerged, reflecting both the diversity and shared priorities of both donor types (public and private sector). Donors emphasized community empowerment and social justice by highlighting that funds should reach the most vulnerable groups and amplifying local voices. Investments in infrastructure and technology tended to focus on re-evaluating energy solutions and infrastructure needs to reduce emissions and withstand natural hazards. Ecological sustainability focuses on initiatives such as carbon capture, nature-based solutions and land-use policies that mitigate climate risks while preserving ecosystems. Governance improvements are targeted through efforts to enhance transparency, anti-corruption measures, and strategic partnerships to drive systemic transformation. To address the climate funding gap, donors are mobilizing resources by utilizing the public sector to encourage and pool investment incentives for private-sector engagement. Finally, donors prioritized education, training, and capacity-building to develop future climate leadership.
Previous literature on this subject focused on showing donors and their funding decisions, without analysis of the underlying strategies that informed their decisions for fund release. This research project aims to demonstrate the different priorities of donors depending on sector and type of mitigation initiative. In doing so, mitigation projects that require funding can match with donors that have documented strategic intent that aligns with their work.
In 2021, of the total philanthropic funding pool of USD 810 billion pool, between 1 – 1.5% of total philanthropic funding will be allocated towards climate change mitigation, far short of the estimated USD$5 trillion required to mitigate current and future climate risks by 2030. As such, this paper aims to improve the disbursement and efficiency of funds available for mitigation. This work is most useful for the owners/organizations that design and implement prospective or current mitigation projects, to improve their funding results. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9178307
- author
- Hamilton, Keir Mitchell LU
- supervisor
-
- Per Becker LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Funding Climate Change Mitigation: Donor strategies in the USA
- course
- VBRM15 20231
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Climate finance, private sector donor, public sector donor, United States of America, mitigation, climate change mitigation
- language
- English
- id
- 9178307
- date added to LUP
- 2024-12-16 11:10:15
- date last changed
- 2024-12-16 11:10:15
@misc{9178307,
abstract = {{The impacts of climate change have worsened, and natural hazards are becoming more unpredictable, and their consequences more severe. Stakeholders have called for increased funding for climate change mitigation initiatives to combat the worsening effects on people and the planet. This study explores the differences between public and private sector donors in the USA and their strategies for funding climate change mitigation interventions. Using grounded theory, my research explored a qualitative analysis of strategy documentation, which mapped the priorities of 19 public and private sector donors. After conducting four rounds of coding, this research identified six themes that donors sought to prioritise for fund release. Despite assessing donor differences and preferences at the sectoral level, e.g., trade-offs between investment in clean energy and nature-based solutions, this study found two overarching similarities between donors, which were the need to scale mitigation funding and to do so ethically and inclusively. Future research could focus on whether these donors transitioned their strategies to actual funding commitments and approved grant-making to help identify remaining bottlenecks, a structural examination of donor type, and the resulting accountability and legal requirements, to improve donor-recipient matching.}},
author = {{Hamilton, Keir Mitchell}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Mapping the Funding Strategies of Climate Change Mitigation Donors in the USA}},
year = {{2024}},
}