What is it about?
Climate change is creating serious environmental and economic challenges across Canada, requiring significant funding for communities to prepare and adapt. This review looks at how Canadian charitable foundations and philanthropic groups support local climate solutions. Although these organizations hold billions in assets, only a tiny share of their funding goes toward climate action. We examine where these funds go, how local charities build community resilience, and why stronger partnerships between donors, governments, and local groups are essential to protect Canadian communities.
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Why is it important?
As Canada accelerates toward net-zero targets, significant funding gaps persist at the local and rural levels. This study provides a comprehensive synthesis examining how philanthropic foundations and community-based organizations finance climate change mitigation and adaptation across Canada. This review reveals that despite commanding billions in assets, Canadian foundations allocate an exceptionally small portion of grants to climate action, with funding heavily skewed toward major urban centers. By highlighting the untapped potential of community-led philanthropy and place-based partnerships, this review offers a clear roadmap for donors, policymakers, and community leaders to direct capital where it builds lasting local resilience
Perspectives
Researching climate finance often feels like dealing with high-level numbers and distant policies, but for me, this work is deeply personal. Real climate resilience happens on the ground in local and rural communities that are often overlooked by major funding streams. I hope this paper challenges donors and institutions to rethink where capital flows and sparks meaningful conversations on how philanthropy can empower frontline communities directly.
Edmund Yirenkyi
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The role of philanthropy in financing climate change mitigation and adaptation in Canada: A systematic literature review, Local Development & Society, January 2024, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/26883597.2024.2320458.
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