The Rockefeller Foundation, a charity founded 107 years ago by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, is ditching fossil fuels in an effort to save the planet from overheating.
By ditching fossil fuels, the Rockefeller Foundation is committing $ 1 billion to support a global green recovery after the pandemic, the largest investment in the fund's history. The largest project under this commitment aims to provide solar power to rural families in India off the grid.
“Burning fossil fuels is not necessary to sustain our economy and economic growth in the long run - and it is detrimental to our climate future,” Rajiv Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, told CNN Business in an exclusive interview.
The move raises another question mark regarding the future of the coal and oil industries, which are already facing unprecedented pressure from civil society activists and politicians who follow their lead.
The Rockefeller Foundation is the largest charity to ditch fossil fuels, but it is not the first investor to do so.
Various foundations (charitable and pension), controlling a total of about $ 3 trillion, as of August 2020, have refused to support investment projects related to fossil fuels.
