The Energy Foundation is a committed partner in the global effort to address one of the greatest threats facing our world—climate change—by accelerating the sustainable energy transition. Headquartered in the United States, The Energy Foundation is an independent grantmaking charitable organization that provides funding for research and capacity building related to climate change and China. Given our substantial efforts in China, we are commonly referred to as Energy Foundation China (EF China).
We work to achieve greenhouse gas emissions neutrality and world-class air quality by finding and supporting solutions that help enable the transition to a low carbon economy. We deliver our mission by facilitating exchanges with and providing grants to policy research groups, industry associations, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations committed to sustainable energy development and the energy transition. We also implement a select number of our own programs on the ground.
Our work is currently focused on China given the scale of its energy sector and its role in global emissions. Supporting progress in China’s energy transition presents one of the most significant opportunities to address climate change worldwide. Despite geopolitical tensions, meaningful engagement in China on climate change, emissions reductions, and supporting the clean energy transition is in everyone’s interests.
Over the past 25 years, in support of our mission, we have funded over 4,000 projects, with total funding over $500M. Our grantees are leading institutions and experts in the fields of power, industry, transportation, cities, environment, low-carbon development, and communications. Our work can best be summarized as falling into three categories:
- Supporting research and pilot projects and educating stakeholders on the impacts of climate change and the transition required to mitigate those impacts.
- Facilitating the flow and exchange of information and best practices on climate change.
- Helping to inform the policy process to reduce emissions.
Prior to 2019, EF China operated jointly with the United States Energy Foundation as a single institution. In order to increase operational effectiveness, EF China and U.S. Energy Foundation formally separated in 2019 to become two independent, 501(c)(3) public charities. We now conduct our activities independently of each other.
