News

At Rio+20, innovative and determined leaders committed to advancing climate change solutions outside the bureaucratic process, according to Michael Northrop, program director of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's Sustainable Development program. In a blog entry for the Huffington Post, he highlights some of the positive outcomes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which took place June 20–22, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Clean economic growth has the potential to raise GDP contributions to $142.7 billion in the United States' West Coast region by 2020, growing clean economy jobs by 200 percent over current numbers, according to a report published by Globe Advisors with RBF grantee The Center for Climate Strategies. The three key sectors with the highest potential for job growth are energy efficiency and green building, environmental protection and resource management, and clean transportation.

By 2030, the sea level along many of the United States' coasts will rise at least four feet, affecting the nearly five million residents who live in homes on land below this level, according to a report published by Climate Central. New data from the report, Surging Seas, and the accompanying website, are featured in a front-page New York Times article, detailing the sea level rise that has already doubled the annual risk of coastal flooding in the country.

Not long ago, Nezir Sinani was working for a state-owned power company in Kosovo. As he learned about the detrimental effects of coal on human health and the environment, he decided to make a change. Now, Mr. Sinani is advancing clean energy solutions in Kosovo with RBF grantee the Institute for Development Policy.

Each summer, RBF grantee Focus the Nation selects 20 college students to participate in its ReCharge! retreat on Mount Hood in Oregon. Chosen as technicians, innovators, politicos, or storytellers, these rising leaders collaborate to explore the skills needed to advance clean energy solutions for the entirety of their careers.

Justin Maxson, president of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (MACED), was recognized by environmental news site Grist.org as an individual leading change toward a more sustainable world. MACED is an RBF grantee that finances environmentally sustainable, community-supported, economic development strategies in Kentucky.

In response to the Architecture 2030 challenge for the building sector to become carbon neutral by the year 2030, a downtown Seattle neighborhood has transformed into the first ever high-performance district in the country.

An op-ed by 350.org founder Bill McKibben, which appeared in The Washington Post on May 23, has been adapted into a video about the connection between recent natural disasters and climate change. The video, a narration of the essay accompanied by powerful images of weather events, was produced by Stephen Thomson.

RBF grantees Center for Climate Strategies and Global Environmental Institute have been selected as one of six teams to participate in the U.S. Department of State and Chinese National Development and Reform Commission's EcoPartnerships program. The EcoPartnerships program was established to facilitate collaboration among Chinese and U.S. governments and organizations working toward advancing solutions to environmental issues.

On Thursday, April 21, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented an updated agenda with new goals for PlaNYC, the city's landmark effort to ensure long-term sustainability and improve all aspects of the city's environment. New initiatives include plans to install solar power plants on capped landfills, offer loans to businesses to help pay for energy-efficient upgrades, and launch a program to help buildings switch to cleaner heating fuels.