Renaissance Philanthropy Launches Initiative To Address Catastrophic Climate Risks

Advancing R&D on neglected climate risks and their management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2025
Contact: media@renphil.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Renaissance Philanthropy today launched the Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies (ARC) initiative, a new philanthropic fund to tackle the most pressing catastrophic climate risks through bold, science-backed solutions. Leaders worldwide recognize the urgent need for action, yet many promising ideas remain unexplored due to a lack of transparent, trustworthy research and guidance. ARC will support key R&D efforts aimed at mitigating or eliminating catastrophic climate risks, ensuring that if and when emergency measures are needed, they are well understood, responsibly developed, and technologically ready, ultimately providing the scientific basis for leaders to make informed, responsible decisions in the face of climate emergencies.

The ARC initiative will focus on four key areas:

• Preventing catastrophic sea level rise
• Mitigating the risks of climate overshoot
• Restoring ocean balance and ecosystems 
• Building resilience for climate emergencies 

“There’s a lot we do not know about the catastrophic risks associated with climate change, and there are many good ideas on how we can mitigate them that are not being explored,” said Joshua Elliott, Chief Scientist of Renaissance Philanthropy. “By backing the science, ARC will help advance innovation on risk mitigation options for some of the most pressing challenges of our time, and build the scientific basis for effective decision-making and governance in the decades ahead.”

The UK Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is partnering with Renphil to ensure that philanthropic initiatives such as ARC and ARIA’s climate emergencies programmes learn together and collaborate effectively. As an ARIA Activation Partner, Renaissance Philanthropy is developing the ‘UK Horizons Programme‘ to help supercharge the UK’s R&D ecosystem, including working with ARIA to develop and scale philanthropically funded programs in key opportunity spaces. ARIA’s first set of initiatives includes pioneering investment in climate emergencies aimed at predicting and preventing catastrophic climate tipping points, which include investments in forecasting tipping points and exploring climate cooling. As a partner to ARIA, the ARC Initiative will help to ensure that research aimed at tackling critical climate risks is developed responsibly, safely, and effectively. While each operates independently, our governance principles are closely aligned  and reinforce a common foundation for responsible innovation in high-consequence climate risk areas. This partnership reinforces our commitment to ethical, transparent, and scientifically rigorous research. In particular, ARC will advance efforts in translational R&D in prediction, prevention, and preparedness, share learnings and best practices, and mobilise philanthropic capital for responsible innovation in high-consequence climate risk areas.

RenPhil is also launching the complementary Climate Emergencies Forum (CEF), powered by ARIA. While decarbonization remains the only sustainable solution to mitigating climate risks, the possibility of crossing critical thresholds in the near future has spurred growing interest in strategies to actively reduce the likelihood of potential climate tipping points. The CEF will convene scientists, policymakers, NGOs, funders, and industries like insurance and finance to drive greater awareness of climate threats and options, enable coordination across traditional silos, and establish the scientific basis for coordinated action, informed governance, and R&D funding decisions. Without a concerted effort to create strong, governance-ready institutions, even the best R&D will not be enough to mitigate catastrophic risks. 

ARC’s founding partners also include The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust, the Navigation Fund, and Outlier Projects. 

“Over the past year, our team has worked closely with scientists, funders, policymakers, and advocates to identify critical gaps in addressing catastrophic climate risks,” said Kumar Garg, President of Renaissance Philanthropy. “This year, we are excited to build momentum on this work with a growing portfolio of projects and partners.”

In 2024, ARC backed several new efforts to address catastrophic climate risks and tipping points, including:

• A study to assess the global potential of reflooding former inland seas as a means of reducing sea levels and slowing climate impacts while providing local environmental and economic benefits. 
• An assessment of Arctic threats and potential interventions related to the Greenland Ice Sheet melt, sea ice loss, and permafrost thaw, which could trigger cascading climate impacts globally.
• Research and development planning, securing partnerships and funding, and establishing a framework to address the destabilization of the Thwaites Glacier, a critical contributor to potential rapid sea level rise.
• Supporting the development of tools and data needed to understand and develop effective governance strategies for sunlight reflection techniques.

“The attention and resources dedicated to mitigating climate-related risks are nowhere near commensurate with the scale of those risks,” said Phil Duffy, Chief Scientist at Spark Climate Solutions. “Despite their potential to produce widespread societal disruption, these risks are treated—and funded—like mildly interesting academic research questions. The ARC program will provide much-needed focus and resources to not only characterize but also identify ways to mitigate these risks.”

About Renaissance Philanthropy

Renaissance Philanthropy’s mission is to fuel a 21st-century renaissance by increasing the ambition of philanthropists, scientists, and innovators. 

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