PARIS, November 30, 2015 – On the opening day of the Paris climate talks, billionaire Bill Gates led a coalition of philanthropic and business icons in unveiling a multi-billion dollar fund for research and development of clean energy. The announcement of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition comes at a moment when climate activists are calling for community-centered renewable energy solutions and the public money to pay for them.
Janet Redman, director of the Climate Policy Program at the Institute for Policy Studies said, “Climate change is a $1.5 trillion problem, so we need all the money we can get. But the Paris talks have to result in developed countries making good on their moral and legal obligation to provide financial support. Private initiatives can’t take the place of government action or international public institutions like the Green Climate Fund.”
Oscar Reyes, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies said, “Increased funding for clean energy research is badly needed, but one-off private initiatives cannot substitute for the new and predictable sources of climate finance that developed country governments have promised to provide.
“Clean energy is about more than zero carbon emissions. Clean means safe for workers, their families and the planet. Nuclear power, “clean” coal, or waste incineration don’t meet that definition. Because this is a private fund without public oversight, how will communities ensure that the technologies being invested in are truly clean?”
Experts from the Institute for Policy Studies available for interview from the Paris negotiations from November 30th through December 12th.
Contacts: In Paris
Janet Redman, +33 638 44 1818, janet@ips-dc.org
Oscar Reyes, +33 638 44 1612, oscar@ips-dc.org
For more information on climate change, please visit: www.ips-dc.org/climate
###
Founded in 1963, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is the nation’s first progressive multi-issue think tank. We are a community of scholars and activists that provide vision and essential resources to vital social movements working to advance equity, sustainability, and justice. For over 50 decades, we have served as a policy and research resource for visionary social justice movements – from the anti-war and civil rights movements in the 1960s to the peace and global justice movements of the last decade. We are committed to putting bold ideas into action to promote true democracy and challenge concentrated wealth, corporate influence, and military power.