The IKEA Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation will set up a USD 1 billion global platform to fight climate change and energy poverty.
The aim of the platform, due to launch later this year, is to reduce 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and empower 1 billion people with distributed renewable energy. This is renewable energy that comes from sources such as mini-grid, rather than central sources like power plants.
The new platform will help countries to leapfrog to renewable energy, help tackle energy poverty and aid recovery from COVID-19. With 800 million people worldwide lacking electricity, and a further 2.8 billion having unreliable access, the aim is to deliver clean and reliable power to them. It will be run as a public charity to manage a concerted effort to rapidly channel development funds to life-changing projects on the ground.
“If global energy consumption doesn’t change from fossil fuels to renewable energy, we will not meet the Paris Agreement ambitions and millions of families will be left behind in poverty. We need to be honest and recognise that the current approach is not delivering the impact the world needs in the time that we have,” said Per Heggenes, CEO IKEA Foundation.
The IKEA Foundation shares the IKEA vision to create a better everyday life for the many people. It is an independent philanthropy focused on creating brighter lives on a liveable planet through its grant giving efforts. It is funded by INGKA Foundation, owner of Ingka Group.
Today’s announcement is part of the recent EUR 1 billion commitment the IKEA Foundation made towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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