European Climate Foundation

As a foundation, the ECF’s main operations are guided by grant making activities, which are strategically distributed among, and implemented by a wide range of organisations engaged in many different types of charitable activities to mitigate climate change. These range from research work to advocacy or public campaigning.

The ECF is funded exclusively by philanthropic sources engaged in climate change. It does not accept funding from corporate or government sources. Its funds are not used to engage with political or partisan activities, and do not support political parties, sectarianism or religious purposes. Every grantee is obliged to adhere to these rules when they accept the Foundation’s support.

In 2021, the ECF has awarded 1177 grants to 713 organisations.

However, the ECF does not provide information on the amount of money its funders contribute, which constitutes a lack of transparency.

Fields of work

As both a convenor and a member of a diverse network, the ECF works closely with many grantee partners, who are active in most European countries, to strengthen European climate action and climate leadership at every level. The Foundation helps partner organisations to innovate and carry out strategic activities that drive urgent and ambitious policies in support of the Paris Agreement objectives and contribute to the public debate on climate action. The aim of this is to help deliver a socially responsible transition to a net zero economy and sustainable society, in Europe and beyond.