Climate, biodiversity fight gets $5B shot in the arm

The fight to stop climate change and biodiversity loss just got a major boost. 

In an announcement today at New York Climate Week, nine philanthropic organizations — including the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation, Nia Tero and the Bezos Earth Fund — pledged US$ 5 billion over the next decade to support the creation and expansion of protected areas, sustainable management of the world’s oceans and Indigenous-led conservation. Called the Protecting Our Planet Challenge, this effort marks the largest ever private funding commitment to biodiversity conservation. 

“Preventing runaway climate change and avoiding the extinction crisis will require the greatest mobilization of resources in human history,” said M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International, which was not involved in the announcement. “Governments, corporations, Indigenous peoples and local communities, and NGOs all have a key role to play, and today’s US$ 5 billion commitment by the Protecting Our Planet Challenge is a much-needed start — and a sign that momentum is on our side.” 

This funding will…