Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces $590 Million in New Climate and Environmental Commitments]

Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces $590 Million in New Climate and Environmental Commitments]

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and founder of Bloomberg L.P., has announced $590 million in new environmental commitments through his charitable organization.

The funds will support ocean conservation, energy transition, and efforts to combat air pollution. Approximately $285 million will accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, particularly timely given current global energy market volatility.

Bloomberg Philanthropies will deploy these funds by supporting renewable energy industry associations, providing data and analysis, and advising regulators and grid operators. Recipients include Ember, Global Energy Monitor, the World Resources Institute, and the University of Maryland Center for Global Sustainability.

“Fossil fuels used to be viewed as reliable and secure and it was renewable energy that was viewed as volatile and intermittent,” said Antha Williams, who leads the environment program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “That has flipped on its head. Supporting clean energy work in these emerging and developing markets feels very timely.”

An additional $260 million will support ocean protection efforts, with grants to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Global Fishing Watch, and Oceana. A key focus will be creating new marine protected areas in international waters, including funding for coral reef restoration for the first time.

The final $45 million will address air quality improvement in major cities globally. Bloomberg noted that while climate philanthropy was once popular among tech billionaires like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, many have reduced their environmental giving in recent years.

“Mike has been very steadfast in his commitment to global climate action,” Williams said. “We get outreach from people who are saying, ‘We want to take action to solve the urgent problem of climate change,’ or ‘We need your help to transition to less polluting sources of energy,’ Mike has told us to answer that call.”

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