According to Jeff Bezos’ paper, The Washington Post, he’s said he’s giving $791 million to 16 groups fighting climate change out of a $10 billion climate fund. The actual article is paywalled, but you can use the scroll bar for a couple seconds before the unremovable subscription pitch kicks in. Bloomberg has a post on it in its appropriately titled Blomberg Green section. It includes a bullet point tally of these denominated millions. They do total up to 791:

Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund ($43 million)

ClimateWorks Foundation ($50 million)

Dream Corps Green For All ($10 million)

Eden Reforestation Projects ($5 million)

Energy Foundation ($30 million)

Environmental Defense Fund ($100 million)

The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice ($43 million)

Natural Resources Defense Council ($100 million)

The Nature Conservancy ($100 million)

NDN Collective ($12 million)

Rocky Mountain Institute ($10 million)

Salk Institute for Biological Studies ($30 million)

The Solutions Project ($43 million)

Union of Concerned Scientists ($15 million)

World Resources Institute ($100 million)

World Wildlife Fund ($100 million)

$100 million each for the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund. I don’t see Greenpeace. Well, there’s still $9209 million to go. As Don Fanucci said in The Godfather: “… just enough to wet my beak.”

There’s $10 million to the Rocky Mountain Institute. I suppose this can help Amory Lovins keep us from discovering a source of clean, cheap, abundant energy because of what we would do with it. Perhaps it will also keep him in the lifestyle he’s become accustomed to. That link is to an Atomic Insights post where Rod Adams gives an assessment of Lovins’ compensation:

As a former commissioned naval officer, I have an intimate knowledge of the salary and bonus tables for members of the armed services. Your compensation may have been set based on a rigorous arms-length consultancy process, but the end result of that process is that your reward for running a tax-exempt non-profit organization with annual total revenues that have varied between $7-$15 million and a total employee head count of less than 100 has been a compensation package that substantially exceeds that of a four star admiral or general.

I think that is significant, especially the part about your organization being one that depends on tax-exempt contributions and pays no taxes of its own. Apparently producing large quantities of antinuclear energy information is a well rewarded profession.

Rod Adams
Publisher, Atomic Insights

There’s $43 million to The Solutions Project. That’s Mark Jacobson’s outfit which was founded with support from Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio. I’ve warned you that despite his idiotic lawsuit, he’s not going away. It looks like obtaining funding from a sugar daddy like Bezos is a lot more lucrative and a lot less risky than trying to shake down a settlement out of Christopher Clack and the PNAS. I’ll bet they’re going to have a wild Christmas party this year.

Hey Jeff. If you’re looking for small $1 million or so organizations to drop some pocket change on, you might consider Michael Shellenberger’s Environmental progress. Of course Shellenberger has said he might soon be getting around to writing about how Amazon is using wind tax credits as a tax shelter. Go to 29 minutes in:

Despite claims from various green proponents to the contrary, I haven’t seen any evidence that his integrity is for sale. But if you could somehow pay him off with say, a successful second gubernatorial run, the residents of California would likely benefit greatly.

16 Comments

  1. I just had a look at Climateworks Foundation. They don’t actually do anything about the climate, but they facilitate other people doing things by channelling other people’s money to them.

    Our mission is to end the climate crisis by amplifying the power of philanthropy. Committed to collaborative climate action, we are a team of researchers, facilitators, strategists, and grantmakers

    They’ve already decided how to spend Bezos’s $50 million:

    With a $50 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, ClimateWorks will scale up global initiatives to advance climate-friendly commercial trucking, marine shipping, and cement and steel production.

    For example, on trucks, they will

    leverage advances in battery technologies and the policy precedent recently set by California to catalyze a transition to zero-emission commercial trucks through corporate leadership and smart government policy.

    Then under the heading “Launching Zero-Emission Ships,” they promise:

    we will work with partners around the world to establish demand for the first zero-emission ships to be put on the water, with the first ports ready to provide clean fuels.

    Finally on “Climate-Safe Cement and Steel” they say:

    Since 2017, ClimateWorks has been working with partners to help governments use public procurement to create markets for low carbon building materials.

    Note that zero-emission trucks and ships and climate-safe cement and steel don’t exist, and Climateworks won’t be spending a penny on developing them. Instead they will spend Bezos’s $50 million lobbying in order to create a demand for them, presumably by greasing the palms of politicians, who will then decide on tax breaks to be given to businesses that follow Bezos’s “corporate leadership.”

    It’s what’s called a circular economy.

    Liked by 2 people

  2. Maybe Bezos will outshine the many other investors and celebrities taken in by green scams that prey on their need to be virtuous. Here is a good overview from NBC:

    ‘The dream was empty’: Green energy scams target celebrities, seniors and do-gooders
    America is in the midst of a clean energy revolution — one that is generating hundreds of billions in economic activity. Fraudsters, too, are cashing in.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hype-hope-promise-how-green-energy-scams-trick-investors-rake-n1157701

    Liked by 1 person

  3. If it was merely a nuveaux riche geek pissing away his money it would be fun. Sort of like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the hilarious sprites photos he claimed were real.
    But Bezos is not merely pissing away his money. He’s pissing away his money on parasites who want to control our economy and lives.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. According to the Guardian, Bezos is $74bn better off this year as a direct result of the ‘Covid crisis’, much of that money no doubt diverted from hard pressed traditional high street retailers (like Debenhams) who are facing bankruptcy. So, by giving away ‘only’ $791m, I think we can reasonably say that the profits from the Covid scam are not being channeled directly into the climate scam.

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/07/covid-19-crisis-boosts-the-fortunes-of-worlds-billionaires

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Another recipient well worth a look is the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund which gets $43 million. Their website https://www.theequityfund.org says:

    The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund is building a powerful movement to stop climate change and create an equitable clean energy future.

    Their business is grantmaking, an activity at which they have achieved an average growth rate of 100% per year since their formation in 2016. They don’t actually do anything about the climate themselves, they simply channel money to others who do. In theory. In fact they channel money to people (grantees) who organise campaigns to get people to vote for people who will then do something about the climate. Well, not actually about the climate, but about passing laws about activities which might affect the climate.

    They operate at state level, in 8 states, vie 57 grantee organisations, by:

    – Investing in the leadership and organizing of diverse communities (people of color, indigenous people, those most impacted by climate change)
    – Engaging voters through nonpartisan civic engagement campaigns
    – Winning equitable climate and clean energy policy solutions

    and here are the four policy highlights they are most proud of:

    FLORIDA grantees mobilized voters to pass the Miami Forever Bond in 2017 which unlocked $400 million in climate resilience resources. In 2019, our partners won a community seat on the board responsible for overseeing resource deployment from the Miami Forever Bond.
    MINNESOTA grantee partners created the 100% MN Campaign – focusing on equity and just transition – and worked with the newly elected Governor to introduce a plan to power Minnesota with 100% clean energy by 2050.
    NEW MEXICO grantees helped pass the Energy Transition Act in 2019, committing the state to 100% carbon-free energy by 2045 and creating a pathway for clean energy jobs for indigenous and rural Latinx communities.
    PENNSYLVANIA grantees formed the Climate Equity Table, an unprecedented statewide coalition uniting urban, rural, western and eastern PA. They fended off the worst pro-pollution policy proposals and helped pass resolutions to use 100% renewable energy in several municipalities as part of a strategy to build momentum and embolden legislators.

    Got that? In Florida they’ve persuaded legislators to get the state $400 million further in debt “for ever.” In Minnesota and New Mexico they’re thinking no further ahead than 2050 and 2045. While in Pennsylvania they’re building momentum and emboldening legislators.

    They say of the Bezos grant:

    This unrestricted grant of $43 million over 3 years will enable us to expand our support of community-based organizations, more than doubling the number of states we are working in across the country.

    More than doubling, eh? At that rate, with another $150 million from friendly billionaires, they may cover the whole country and become a genuine grassroots organisation.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Systems notice: I’m playing around with the CSS that Ian Woolley edited on Tuesday as part of making this post the ‘sticky’ at the top of the list of posts. As Geoff and others have noted, this has had the unintended effect of making all the main text of posts and comments quite a lot smaller – font-size of 12px rather than the previous 16px, if you really want to know. In order to get back to something more readable I’ve reversed the check-box to make Mike’s post the sticky. This is only temporary. Hopefully we can walk and chew gum at the same time in the end. Sorry for the inconvenience.

    UPDATE at 2:21pm: I think it’s closer to what it was. Please let me know what’s changed for the worse.

    Like

  10. Just bumping this thread (sorry Mike) to make sure that everyone knows that if there are things you don’t like about the ‘new’ style – like some text still being too small – please holler at me here. Under the covers I’ve actually made some quite deep changes to how the site ends up appearing as it does. Ian was not at all to blame for the effect his changes had on 1st December, I now believe. Sorting it out (modulo your feedback) has led me to a much better way to improve things in future. But feedback please.

    Like

  11. Peter Ridley and I commented on the “Despair” thread about “The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice” which is receiving $43 million from Bezos. I’ll repeat what we discovered here.

    Peter Ridley reports:

    This USA company was founded in 2019 by two environmental and social justice activists, its directors Melanie Allen and Erin Rogers, both seasoned “charity industry” workers
    (https://gmmb.com/news/melanie-allen-and-erin-rogers-on-funding-diverse-leaders-of-the-climate-fight/).
    The organisation’s “about” page (https://www.hivefund.org/about/) advises that they fund “..organizations led by Black women, Indigenous women, women of color, and others on the frontlines working to address intersecting climate, gender, and racial crises .. across the US, with a predominant focus on the Southeast, a 10-state region responsible for nearly a third of US emissions ..”
    They partner those “.. groups and leaders .. who are essential to making progress to address the climate crisis .. ” and believe that ” .. White supremacy, misogyny, and economic systems that make pollution profitable are intimately intertwined ..”
    How many of us appreciate that “ Many Black, Brown, and Indigenous women have been fighting fossil industries for years, even generations .. Funding for women of color-led efforts and multi-solving approaches can speed up the transition to a fossil-free society that also values women’s lives and leadership and delivers cleaner air, voting rights, living wage jobs, and other tangible and lasting benefits ..” ?

    It’s first funding round ($500k??) took place early this year with another planned imminently…
    Interesting background to the “Hive Fund .. ” not-for-profit is available at https://americannonprofitacademy.com/nonprofit-news/the-power-of-the-hive-new-climate-fund-centers-southern-women-of-color/

    I added that the Rockefeller foundation gave it $100,000 and that one of its board members, Lydia Avila, says this at Grist:
    https://grist.org/fix/6-experts-on-the-dawning-of-a-feminist-climate-renaissance/

    When I think of femininity, I think of environments that are warm, welcoming and sensitive. I think of empathy and sympathy. There’s a lot of trauma associated with the climate crisis, as well as poverty, unstable homes, and gender-based violence. Women and femmes are great at creating spaces where people can show up as their whole selves, process trauma, engage in healing practices, and advance their common goals: clean energy and other equitable climate solutions.

    Women and queer climate leaders, especially people of color, are often shouldering their own trauma, and the trauma of their communities. That’s why they need holistic support for themselves, not just their organizations. They need help with healthcare, childcare, school. They need a massage! At the Hive Fund, we’re unapologetically uplifting the individual, to make sure badass women don’t burn out and can stick around in the climate movement for a long time…

    I’ve nothing against Bezos financing people who give massages to queer climate leaders of colour. In fact I’ll give one myself for a share of that $43 million. (Badass women I’ll do for free.) But on what kind of blog do you comment on stuff like this?

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Joe Biden has appointed a climate Tssr, a Climate Envoy, is going to sign the Paris Accord and make America carbon neutral by 2035. This could get interesting

    Like

  13. Merry Xmas to all at Cliscep.

    Just watched Mark Carney’s last Reith Lecture on the BBC –

    “Lecture 4: From Climate Crisis to Real Prosperity
    In this final lecture, Dr Carney turns his attention to climate change, arguing that the roots of our environmental emergency lie in a deeper crisis of values. He suggests how we can create an ecosystem in which society’s values broaden the market’s conceptions of value. In this way, individual creativity and market dynamism can be channelled to achieve broader social goals including inclusive growth and environmental sustainability.

    The series is chaired by Anita Anand. And for the first time, you will be able to watch all the lectures on BBC iPlayer”

    After his “Lecture” he takes some questions from a select BBC chosen panel – 1st question is from Gail Bradbrook co-founder of extinction rebellion.

    well worth a watch/listen, but do it before your Xmas meal, as I found it slightly stomach turning!!!

    Liked by 2 people

  14. Pingback: Joint 10 Point 100% RE Declaration | Climate Scepticism
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