NEW YORK, Oct. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller
Foundation will commit USD1 billion
over the next three years to catalyze a more inclusive, green
recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Building on current efforts
and long-standing programs, the Foundation will focus on two key
areas: catalyzing billions of dollars in private and concessional
investments to scale distributed renewable energy across developing
countries; and ensuring more equitable access to Covid-19 tests and
vaccines, science-based tools, and data to fight the pandemic,
while strengthening public health systems to prevent future
outbreaks. In addition to this unique, one-time commitment of
additional resources, The Rockefeller Foundation's efforts and
energies, as a whole, will be rededicated and reoriented toward
improving the lives of the world's poorest people and addressing
inequities made worse by this virus.
"There's no going back to the past, to before-Covid. We need to
reimagine the future we want," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller
Foundation. "To meet this moment, we must leverage all our
resources and relationships to build an equitable, sustainable
future, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their full
potential and climate disaster is avoided. The time to act is right
now to make sure vulnerable children and families are included in
the pandemic response and recovery."
Prior to the pandemic, half the world's population lacked access
to essential health services, and more than 800 million people
worldwide lacked access to electricity. Billions more have their
potential diminished by unreliable or insufficient energy access,
predominantly provided by carbon-emitting fuels. The energy
accessibility gap has further widened because of the pandemic. This
year alone, more than 100 million people have seen their
electricity access severed because they couldn't pay their bills
during the pandemic, with the toll falling disproportionately on
the poor and most vulnerable. The World Bank also estimates that
the combined impact of climate change and the damage done by
Covid-19 will push 132 million people into poverty.
This calls for bold action to address these disparities and
ensure a global response that assures a more inclusive, sustainable
future for all.
Green power equals more inclusive opportunity
Over the
past decade, The Rockefeller Foundation has made ending energy
poverty in a clean, sustainable way a priority around the world.
Providing reliable electricity to communities that often receive
the brunt of climate change is essential to creating the economic
opportunity for them to lift themselves out of poverty. As a result
of pioneering breakthroughs in distributed renewable energy
technologies, it is now possible to end energy poverty in ten years
without accelerating carbon emissions. Compared to
conventional grid-based electrification, scaling these technologies
to provide green energy to half a billion people would save 1.5
billion tons of CO2 emissions over the next decade. Access to
energy can also boost the irrigation, crop yields, and productivity
of local agriculture. Farmers can further protect crop values with
cold storage or increase their returns with post-harvest
processing.
"Over the past decade, our Smart Power Initiative's investments
have improved the lives of almost 500,000 people in India, Myanmar, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa, so
we know this can work," said Ashvin
Dayal, Senior Vice-President of the Power & Climate
Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation. "By refining the
business case for distributed renewable electrification and
deepening our technical knowledge of mini grid systems and their
impact on people's lives and livelihoods, we paved the way for the
launch of a partnership with Tata
Power, TP Renewable Microgrid (TPRMG). This effort is
expected to invest $1 billion by
2026, deploying up to 10,000 mini grids that will provide clean
energy to 5 million households, create 10,000 new green jobs,
support 100,000 rural enterprises, deliver irrigation to 400,000
farmers, and in total, provide access to reliable power for more
than 25 million people across the communities they serve."
Collaborating with global investors, international
organizations, and governments, the Foundation will focus on
driving historic public-private investment in infrastructure that
accelerates access to clean, safe, and reliable renewable energy
across Africa, Asia, and Latin
America.
Increasing healthcare access to end the
pandemic
Earlier this year, The Rockefeller Foundation, with
support from an ideologically diverse team of top scientists,
industry, technologists, and economists, launched a U.S. National
Covid-19 Testing & Tracing Action Plan. It also collaborated
with federal, state, and local leaders to increase access to
Covid-19 testing, overall, with a particular focus on vulnerable
communities all across America. Given the scale of the current
crisis, the Foundation will continue to increase its investment in
the U.S. and around the world to expand access to screening tests,
treatments, and vaccines when they become available. Better data
can identify communities at high risk for chronic and infectious
disease and other health issues, directing resources to where they
are needed most and targeting preventative interventions more
precisely. Using predictive analytics, among other technologies,
can better prevent a disease outbreak from becoming a pandemic.
"For too long, a person's health has been determined by who they
are and where they live," said Dr. Naveen Rao, Senior Vice President of the Health
Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation. "We have an
unprecedented opportunity to close the health inequity gap by
driving innovation and investment to the most vulnerable
communities around the world. This focus is our way of doubling
down on our commitment to modernize public health and provide
equitable health outcomes."
The Rockefeller Foundation's history of meeting the
moment:
The Foundation, which received "Aaa/AAA"
ratings for its $700 million of Series 2020 Taxable Bonds
by Moody's and S&P at the end of September, will leverage both
its endowment and the proceeds from its first-ever bond offering
for charitable purposes to finance much of this work. The
billion-dollar commitment marks the single largest in the
Foundation's 107-year history, which has distributed more than
$22 billion since its inception.
While this is the first time the Foundation will use money for
grants outside the original bequest of its founder, John D. Rockefeller, it aligns with his vision
to encourage scaled investment and seek and utilize creative and
science-based solutions to intractable problems.
The Foundation has a storied history of taking decisive and
timely actions that have altered the course of events. In its first
40 years, the Foundation started the modern field of public health,
along with playing a key role in fighting the 1918 influenza
pandemic, helping to eradicate hookworm in the United States, and seeding the development
of the Yellow Fever vaccine. During the next 40 years, the
Foundation launched the Green Revolution that transformed farming
and kept hundreds of millions from starvation.
All of this was done while also investing in innovations that
built telescopes and cyclotrons and convening the very best in
their fields to solve the world's most pressing problems, including
the late U.S. Supreme Court of Justice Ruth
Bader Ginsburg. Over the course of the 20th century, the
Foundation also helped create U.S. Social Security, supported
America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the
groundbreaking Voter Education Project, led by civil rights icon
the late U.S. Congressman John
Lewis. In addition, it changed the course of philanthropy
with "impact investing" in 2007.
This new billion-dollar commitment marks the start of the next
chapter.
The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation
advances new frontiers of science, data, and innovation to solve
global challenges related to health, food, power, and economic
mobility. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building
collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, The
Rockefeller Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale
human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout
the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions,
ideas, and conversations. For more information, sign up for our
newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on
Twitter @RockefellerFdn.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-rockefeller-foundation-commits-usd1-billion-to-catalyze-a-green-recovery-from-pandemic-301159187.html
SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation