When climate action comes from the heart

A degree of pessimism has pervaded this month’s COP31 global climate summit, hosted by Turkey. Britain’s prime minister, for example, told assembled world leaders Thursday that a consensus on “science and climate has gone” and that the worst prediction for a warming planet is nigh. The United States, meanwhile, has withdrawn from many international climate initiatives.Yet among nongovernment climate campaigners who fund private solutions to help catalyze global efforts, such gloom was not in the room.Just before the U.N.-sponsored gathering, one group of philanthropists announced more than $480 million to curb methane and other super pollutants. A coalition of charities committed $88 million to saving forests, while another pledged more than $375 million to address climate-related health challenges. “The story of climate progress – and there is real progress to tell – is not being written by governments,” wrote Janet Fleischman and Jyotsna Uppal, both narrative strategists, in Climate Home News.One unusual example of climate giving, and the first of its kind globally, is a $72 million gift from the Netherlands-based Ikea Foundation to help a handful of nations cut food loss and waste – which accounts for an estimated 8% to 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions.Reducing food loss is “probably one of the biggest climate mitigation opportunities that we are not advancing enough,” said Anne Bordier, food initiatives director at the World Resources Institute. A 2024 United Nations report stated that food waste by households worldwide was equal to more than 1 billion meals per day. Private spending for climate action, while potentially more innovative and agile than government efforts, is perhaps not adequate to meet the immense task of cutting pollution and adapting to extreme weather. At the same time, “Climate change is too complex for a centralized, top-down approach,” wrote Jacob Harold, a fellow at the Berggruen Institute, in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. “It’s a web of interconnected problems that affect various systems in different ways.” Deepen your worldviewwith Monitor Highlights.Politics with respectGet political stories with respectful analysis.There‘s a world of new ideas in everyBooks newsletter.There‘s more to life, enrich yours withCulture & Learning weekly.Follow humanity‘s discoveries withScience & Nature stories in your inbox.Gain a spiritual perspectivefrom the stories in your inbox.Want to understand the deeper impact of critical events? Learn the Monitor‘s insight.Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads. By the latest tally, foundation giving for climate-related causes nearly tripled between 2019 and 2023. Such generosity can create a consensus on the most equitable and least expensive approaches.It also frees the thinking of individuals to rise above the enormity of the challenge – and the pessimism about solving it. ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LoginReal news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.