Publishing information:
Bernard Mercer and Jonathan Finighan
London: New Philanthropy Capital, October 2007. 167pp, report, ISBN 978-09553148-7-2 (also available as a free downloadable PDF)
Less than 2% of UK charitable grants and less than 5% of private donations are currently allocated to environmental charities. This report suggests that the barriers to ‘green philanthropy’ include donors feeling overwhelmed by the scale of environmental problems, resistance to accepting scientific projections about future environmental disasters and a lack of guidance for those who wish to fund this area. Noting that climate change tends to be the focus for the environmentally concerned, the report also highlights five further areas where action is required: decimation of natural resources, the particular vulnerability of the poor to environmental problems, the need to protect ecosystems and biodiversity, insatiable demands for energy and concomitant problems of pollution and waste, and finally, human well being and sustainable development in the UK. As with all NPC reports, it concludes with suggestions of charities doing effective work in these areas and offers ideas for making funding have the biggest impact.
