Breakthrough Energy Coalition is a global group of 28 high net worth investors from 10 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.
Contents
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.
In December 2016, a group of investor's collectively with personal worth of US$170 billion announced more personal commitment to funding the efforts of a US$1 billion fund to "focused on fighting climate change by investing in clean energy innovation." The fund is named Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund.
Members
The group is spearheaded by Bill Gates, who previously announced a personal $2 billion investment, and includes:
Criticism
There has been criticism that the coalition was announced too early, before crucial details has 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.
The scale, at US$20bn of public cash over five years and the initial US$2bn of private cash, has also been criticised as inadequate: the World Bank suggests that US$100bn would be needed annually.