Breakthrough Energy

Breakthrough Energy is a global group of 28 high net-worth investors from ten countries committed to funding clean energy companies emerging from the initiatives of Mission Innovation, which was also announced at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.[1] Breakthrough Energy is the umbrella name for the originally announced Breakthrough Energy Coalition (the founding individuals and organisations) and its venture arm Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV).

Breakthrough Energy
Private
IndustryEnergy
Founded2015
FounderBill Gates
Websitebreakthroughenergy.org

History

In November 2015, the group announced that it would aim to bolster governmental assistance in renewable energy such as solar energy and wind power to $20 billion.[2]

In December 2016, a group of investor's collectively worth US$170 billion announced more personal commitment to funding the efforts of a US$1 billion fund "focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation." The fund is named Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund.[3]

Members

The group is spearheaded by Bill Gates, who previously announced a personal $2 billion investment,[4] and includes:[5][6]

Criticism

There has been criticism that the coalition was announced too early, before crucial details had been confirmed. At launch, a Gates Foundation spokesman confirmed that investment professionals had yet to be appointed, named investors—other than Gates—hadn't publicly stated their level of investment and a financial structure hadn't been confirmed.[8]

The scale, at $20 billion of public cash over five years and the initial $2 billion of private cash, has also been criticised as inadequate: the World Bank suggests that $100 billion would be needed annually.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Announcing: "Mission Innovation"". The White House. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  2. Milman, Oliver (30 November 2015). "Zuckerberg, Gates and other tech titans form clean energy investment coalition". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. Delaney, Kevin (12 December 2016) Bill Gates and investors worth $170 billion are launching a fund to fight climate change through energy innovation Quartz, Quartz Media, Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2019
  4. Chhabra, Esha. "Bill Gates Rallies With Tech Leaders To Launch A Multi-Billion Dollar Energy Fund". Forbes. Forbes, Inc. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. Lapowsky, Issie. "Tech Billionaires Team Up to Take On Climate Change". Wired. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  6. Bellware, Kim. "World's Tech Giants Team Up For Mega Investment In Clean Energy". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post Media Group. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  7. Green, Emily (29 November 2015). "UC joins Bill Gates' clean-energy investment initiative". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  8. Primack, Dan. "Bill Gates' Clean Energy Plan Isn't Ready for Primetime". Fortune. Time, Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  9. Davenport, Coral; Wingfield, Nick (8 December 2015). "Bill Gates Takes On Climate Change With Nudges and a Powerful Rolodex". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.