In what may be the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report before the worst effects of climate change are felt, scientists warned the world will likely pass the 1.5 C global warming park unless unprecedented societal changes are made. 

They include a 600 percent increase in low or zero-emission investments, the decarbonization of all sectors of the global economy, and the rapid phase-out of fossil fuel investment — particularly coal. (In fact, the IPCC found currently planned new fossil fuel infrastructure, if used, would push the world past 1.5 C.) Christiana Figueres, one of the chief architects of the 2015 Paris Agreement, called the report’s findings “terrifying” in an interview with Bloomberg Green. But the report from IPCC Working Group III offers concrete suggestions to governments, businesses, and civil society organizations about climate change mitigation. 

“We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming,” said IPCC chair Hoesung Lee in a statement issued April 4. “There are policies, regulations and market instruments that are proving effective. If these are scaled up and applied more widely and equitably, they can support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation.” 

While much of the IPCC reports are aimed at policymakers, the non-profit, charitable, philanthropic, social enterprise, and social finance sectors also have roles to play in climate adaptation and mitigation. Future of Good burrowed into the IPCC’s final report — all 3,875 pages of it — to tease out some problems Canada’s social impact sector could start addressing today: 

End fossil fuel financing

The problem: “Persistently high levels of both public and private fossil-fuel related financing continue to be of major concern despite promising recent commitments.” 

The details: Progress on decarbonizing finance is slow thanks to a combination of significant oil and gas market subsidies, a high perceived value of fossil fuel investments, and the overreliance of certain countries on fossil fuel economies, including Canada, Russia, Mexico, the U.S., Nigeria, and Australia. The coal, oil and gas sectors are currently the largest global source of capital investment. 

The potential: Nearly all of Canada’s biggest philanthropic grantmakers make significant investments in fossil fuel companies or adjacent sectors. Some fossil fuel companies themselves support the sector through their own philanthropy, corporate social responsibility efforts, or charitable giving. Pushing for divestment from fossil fuel investments — as the University of Toronto Endowment promised to do in 2021 — is one way to end the social impact sector’s reliance on industries that are destroying the planet. 

Encourage employees to use less energy

The problem: “Meeting climate mitigation goals would require transformative changes in the transport sector…70 percent of transport emissions came from road vehicles, while 1 percent, 11 percent, and 12 percent came from rail, shipping, and aviation, respectively.” 

The details: The transportation sector is among the highest GHG-emitting sectors despite all of the advances in electric vehicles. Worse still, about a quarter of the models devised by scientists to keep the Earth below 1.5 C warming require transport-related emissions reductions of anywhere from 68 percent to 90 percent, by 2050.The potential: Regardless of their mission, many social impact organizations are capable of making internal policy changes like encouraging employees to bike to work, handing out free transit passes, or adding parking charges. The beauty of this solution is that it doesn’t require any specialized equipment or a sophisticated understanding of climate impacts.

Work with government to transform climate adaptation in cities

The problem: “Large and complex infrastructure projects for urban mitigation are often beyond the capacity of local municipality budgets, jurisdictions, and institutions.”

The details: Decarbonizing cities, a huge priority for climate change mitigation and adaptation, will require large-scale building retrofits, substantial transit investment, and new housing projects suited to the planet’s changing climate. Cities cannot pay for all of these ambitious projects without outside help. 

The potential: The annual cost of adaptation in Canada is unclear, but will definitely be in the billions of dollars. Impact investors and philanthropic grantmakers could provide capital financing for climate mitigation and adaptation projects. Social purpose organizations could educate the public and policymakers about the importance of climate adaptation, or even develop green infrastructure (like housing projects) themselves.

Adapt offices to reduce energy use — and boost real estate value

The problem: “Low rates of building retrofits are the major feasibility constraint of building decarbonization in developed countries. Long building lifetime and their slow replacement causes a lock-in of low energy performance in old buildings of developed countries, especially in urban areas.” 

The details: Deep retrofits, including the use of heat pumps, solar power systems, and LEED-certified insulation, can be quite expensive. The cheap cost of fossil fuel heating is also a major reason why so many Global North building owners don’t bother to make serious energy efficiency upgrades.

The potential: Commercial buildings with high energy efficiency not only save their owners on heating and electricity costs, but the IPCC found they can actually boost sales prices by up to 35 percent, and rents by up to 12 percent. Social impact organizations that can afford a deep energy retrofit might be able to “earn back” the retrofit through cost savings — and reduce their overall energy footprint at the same time through the Canadian government’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program. 

Use local food policy initiatives to tackle waste, emissions, and food insecurity 

The problem: “Food systems governance is still fragmented at national levels, which means that there may be a proliferation of efforts that cannot be scaled and are ineffective.” 

The details: Local food policy groups that bring together civil society, government, and private businesses exist all over the world, but many of them don’t have a clear policy agenda. This makes confronting fundamental food issues like the GHG emissions associated with agriculture, unsustainable diets, or unequal food access difficult. 

The potential: Uniting Canada’s myriad of food security and food justice organizations in a formal association with a common agenda is well within the realm of possibility. Such an association could share best practices for reducing GHG emissions, coordinate food advocacy efforts for maximum effect, and pool resources for lobbying and administrative costs. 

Work with Indigenous communities to reduce agriculture, forestry, and other land-based emissions

The problem: “Realizing [land-based emissions] potential entails overcoming institutional, economic and policy constraints and managing potential trade-offs.” 

The details: The most effective way to reduce emissions from agriculture, forestry, or other land-based industries is by relying on policies tailored to the local conditions of a region. However, most decisions about land use are spread across a lot of different owners. Delivering context-specific mitigation policies when so many different owners must be satisfied is a challenge. 

The potential: Traditional Indigenous land knowledge is very context-specific and involves a detailed level of understanding about a specific region. Social impact organizations that wish to meaningfully reduce GHG emissions without engaging in colonial practices can work with Indigenous communities, along with private owners and local farmers. 

Bring social movements, Indigenous land defenders, cities, investors, and provincial governments together

The problem: “Transnational partnerships can stimulate policy development, low-emissions technology diffusion and emission reductions by linking sub-national and other actors, including cities, regions, non-governmental organizations and private sector entities, and by enhancing interactions between state and non-state actors. While this potential of transnational partnerships is evident, uncertainties remain over their costs, feasibility, and effectiveness.”

The details: Indigenous land defenders, youth climate strikers, and unions interested in Just Transition policies are gaining a lot of public prominence and media attention, but it isn’t clear how effective they are at pushing policymakers to make concrete policy changes at a global level. 

The potential: Coordinating the climate justice actions of ENGOs, Indigenous land defenders, and climate strikers with the efforts of wealthy ‘non-state governors’ — such as cities, provincial governments, or investors — could boost the influence of these grassroots movements at international climate bodies like the United Nations Federation for Combating Climate Change (UNFCCC). 

Teach about the overlap between planetary and human health 

The problem: “There is a growing realization that mere monetary value of income growth is insufficient to measure national welfare and individual well-being.” 

The details: Economic growth is actually a major driver of GHG emissions, especially in countries with high rates of income inequality. Putting economic vitality above the health of a country’s residents, ecological resilience, or social equity runs the risk of increasing GHGs. 

The potential: Many Indigenous civil society organizations already consider human health and planetary health to be intertwined, rather than independent of one another. Climate education from this perspective, something social impact organizations of all types could provide, would help communities, policymakers, and industry understand how financial stability is meaningless without ecological health. 

Make it easier for women, racialized, and marginalized groups to push for climate action

The problem: “Worldwide, racialized and Indigenous people bear the brunt of environmental and climate injustices through geographical location in extraction and energy “sacrifice zones” most affected by extreme weather events, or through inequitable energy access. Disparities in climate change not only reflect pre-existing inequalities, they also reinforce them.” 

The details: Women, racialized groups, and Indigenous peoples are the first and most affected by climate change, giving them great insight into appropriate climate responses. They’re also some of the most visible climate activists in the world right now. Yet they are often socially and politically marginalized within their respective countries, and climate change is only widening the divides between them and the most privileged. 

The potential: Including women leaders, Indigenous land defenders, disabled people, and other social groups in every aspect of a social impact organization’s work is one straightforward way to improve climate policy. The IPCC report says women are more likely to support stronger climate policies — and every major issue confronted by Canada’s social impact sector touches on the climate crisis, in one way or another. 

Boost climate financing — especially for adaptation projects

The problem: “…the relatively modest growth of climate finance in developed countries is a matter of concern given that economic circumstances are, in most cases, relatively more amenable to greater financing, savings and affordability than in developing countries.” 

The details: Investment will need to increase by 300 to 600 percent to ensure governments can rapidly deploy mitigation strategies. In the agriculture and forestry sectors of the poorest Global South countries, investments will need to jump by 400 to 800 percent. On top of that, a robust climate financing plan will need to consider institutional capacity, regulatory frameworks, and R&D and venture capital funding. 

The potential: Philanthropic grantmakers, impact investors, and mainstream investment firms are all capable of reorienting their portfolios to capitalize on mitigation — and adaptation — projects. Alternatively, investors could shoulder projects related to research and development, capacity building, and upstream funding needs that governments are currently overlooking. 

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