Finding solutions to climate change
Resources for the Future
Under a five-year, US$800,000
partnership with Resources for the Future (RFF), Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation are
supporting the development of policy approaches and engaging stakeholders and
policymakers on the domestic and international issues underpinning legislation
focused on climate change and GHG emissions. Through this work, RFF is also
developing concepts and capacity building for adoption of voluntary
environmental programs (VEPs) to address climate-related issues in key
developing countries. In 2009, Resources for the Future established a new center
that will focus on climate change and electricity issues, bringing together
policy experts to research how the power sector can be transformed, helping to
inform future domestic and international policy.
Council on Foreign Relations
At the 2009 United Nations
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Alcoa Foundation supported the Council
on Foreign Relations to convene an international symposium to discuss climate
change policy issues. In January, over 20 international experts held a workshop
and prepared a publication to be released about the outcomes of the Copenhagen
negotiations and the next steps that need to be taken. The symposium,
workshop and publication are part of a larger effort to enhance the quality of
policymaking and to bring the foreign policy and climate change communities
closer together.
Rainforest Alliance
Alcoa Foundation is supporting
Rainforest Alliance’s Climate Change Program to develop three pilot projects on
carbon offsets and certification/auditing in Guatemala and Mexico. Rainforest
Alliance is one of five NGOs that are members of the Climate, Community &
Biodiversity (CCB) Alliance and is a CCB auditor that ensures that land-based
projects are generating climate, community, and biodiversity benefits. To date,
Rainforest Alliance has completed 20 evaluations of projects worldwide and is
planning similar evaluation in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca.
Lowy Institute
Alcoa Foundation is partnering the Lowy
Institute on research into how the risks of environmental change in the
Asia-Pacific region can be addressed through effective policy. The work
will also identify key similarities and differences between the positions on
climate change between the major Asian states, the US and the EU that will be
central to the chances of reaching a global agreement on the response to climate
change.
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Alcoa Foundation is
supporting Pew's contribution to the development of an international climate
change framework by modeling the potential implications of different longer term
global policy approaches.
The Heinz Center
Project Deforestation and the
degradation of forests and peatlands in the tropics of developing nations
results in significant carbon emissions. A partnership with The Heinz Center is
develop a framework to allow terrestrial carbon to be effectively included in
the international response to climate change.
Enhancing BRIC Sustainability
As Alcoa’s
operations continue to grow in Brazil, Russia and China, we are developing
deeper partnerships with leading NGOs to focus on regional climate change and
sustainability issues faced by these nations.
Brookings Institution
The Global Economy and Development
Program at the Brookings Institution is advancing innovative solutions to help
manage globalization and fight global poverty in the BRICs economies (Brazil,
Russia, India and China). Over two years, the grant will support the
research of leading scholars, and enhance policy dialogues with international
leaders and policymakers with a special focus on China and Russia.
World Resources Institute (WRI)
A four-year, US$1,325,000
partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI) is supporting research to
inform and provide input to the U.S. and international policy communities as
they develop a global regime to address climate change and advance sustainable
development. The focus is on improved architecture for economically-efficient
and equitable future global agreements; critical developing-country growth
markets (e.g., in China, India, and Brazil), where rapid economic development
provides opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and
responses for Alcoa communities where vulnerability to climate impacts require
strategies to prepare for adaptation. WRI’s Climate and Energy Program in
partnership with China’s Tsinghua University Low Carbon Energy Laboratory is
conducting joint research on technology transfer and on carbon capture and
storage while investigating improved access to financing for energy efficiency
projects, promoting energy efficiency incentive programs in cities. It is also
supporting WRI’s work with the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development to develop GHG protocol accounting tools for businesses to adopt and
the government to monitor emissions. This work will be valuable to government
officials, private companies, and investors that are tied to low-carbon
technology deployment in China and result in increased international
cooperation.
The Nature Conservancy
As the sixth most bio-diverse
nation, China is dependent on an unsustainable network of 2,600 distinct nature
reserves to protect and conserve its natural resources. In 2006 Alcoa Foundation
provided seed funding to establish China’s first national park -- Pudatso
National Park in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province. Today we are supporting The
Nature Conservancy's work with the Chinese Government to create model parks that
will accommodate the needs of people by allowing carefully planned tourism and
other compatible development activities while prohibiting environmentally
damaging infrastructure.
Conservation International Brazil
Through a five-year,
US$705,000 partnership, CI-Brazil is establishing protected areas in the
Tapajós-Madeira Nucleus, one of the most important sectors of the Southern
Amazonia Biodiversity Corridor. Through this project, partnerships between local
organizations and networks with local institutions have been created to share
promising conservation practices throughout the protected areas. Lessons learned
from this project will be used to expand the biodiversity corridor into other
protected areas along the Tapajós-Madeira Nucleus.
