Innovative climate solutions
Over US$50T in new investments is needed to fund the global energy transition.1 Reaching that staggering number will require innovative new partnerships across the public, private and nonprofit sectors – along with different forms of financing.
As the world's largest asset manager,2 BlackRock is leveraging its investment expertise and resources to spur innovation and accelerate the decarbonization solutions that will help society prosper.
Philanthropic capital can help accelerate the availability of clean energy technologies.
That’s why the BlackRock Foundation is giving $100 million to Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst programme to finance innovative solutions that combat climate change.
Our commitment will help develop four clean energy technologies: direct air capture, green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, long-duration energy storage.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst believes that with significant investments in green innovation, the market at scale can make green tech more affordable and help reduce gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere every year.
The BlackRock Foundation is committed to helping people build financial well-being and promoting an inclusive transition to a low-carbon future.
Learn more at BlackRock.com
Funding innovation in clean energy to combat climate change
Moving the world towards net zero is a historic transition that requires everyone to do their part. Through The BlackRock Foundation's commitment, we are helping to accelerate the affordability and availability of clean energy technologies.
The BlackRock Foundation funding innovative climate technologies
We see an emerging role for philanthropic capital to fill important gaps in funding to de-risk and accelerate the availability of clean energy technologies.
This is why The BlackRock Foundation is committing US$100M to the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Programme. Catalyst provides a new framework for how companies, governments and private philanthropy can finance, produce and buy new solutions to accelerate a low-carbon economy. Catalyst’s initial focus will be to help speed the development and commercialisation of four clean energy technologies: direct air capture, green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel and long-duration energy storage. Catalyst identifies technologies at critical junctures where investments and blended financing can reduce the green premium - the difference in cost between a carbon emitting technology and its cleaner alternative.
The commitment is the Foundation’s largest grant since it was founded in February 2020 and will help bring vital clean energy solutions forward – at scale – to achieve the world’s decarbonisation goals and mitigate the uneven impact of climate change on communities. Making clean technologies viable and affordable for the communities who depend on them is aligned to The BlackRock Foundation’s mission to help people build financial security and participate in an inclusive transition to a low-carbon future.
This approach builds upon the firm’s philanthropic leadership on other pressing societal issues that impact the financial security and wellbeing of people and communities around the world.
BlackRock clean energy initiatives
The climate transition presents an historic investment opportunity. However, the world cannot reach net zero emissions by 2050 unless clean energy products are more price competitive, helping to phase out traditional technologies that emit greenhouse gases.
The goal of focusing investments on clean technologies such as direct air capture or green hydrogen is to reduce emissions by more than 10Gt of CO2 per year, or the equivalent of nearly 20% of global emissions today.
The BlackRock Foundation’s US$100M grant complements several other initiatives where the firm has taken action to mobilise catalytic capital and to convene key actors across the net zero ecosystem.
Earlier this year, BlackRock launched its an initiative bringing together governments, philanthropies and institutional investors to invest in renewable power generation, energy storage solutions and electrified transportation services in emerging markets. BlackRock also formed a partnership to advance decarbonisation solutions through late stage venture capital and early growth private equity investment funds.
BlackRock is also helping clients access low-carbon transition strategies with our launch of two ETFs earlier this year which brought in a record of more than US$1.5B in investments on launch day from institutional investors mobilising capital for the energy transition.
We’re complementing our sustainable product innovation with a push for greater transparency and disclosure by supporting SASB and TCFD as the benchmark frameworks for companies to disclose their approach to climate-related risks and the transition to a lower carbon economy. Our call for SASB and TCFD-aligned reporting helped spark a more than 200% increase in SASB reporting companies from January to October 2020.3
Join us
Help us move the world towards net zero by supporting clean energy projects or by joining a BlackRock team.
1https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/investing-in-decarbonization
2In 2009, BlackRock acquired Barclay's Global Investors (BGI), becoming the world's largest asset manager.
3Data is January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020. Global Use of SASB Standards. Available at: https://www.sasb.org/global-use/
