Protecting the planet's largest carbon sink, transitioning Europe's biggest
carbon emitter, and more
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The Topline
Key data points
The first Earth Day took place 54 years ago, when visible pollution in the air
and water sparked calls for action on the environment. "Climate change is the
challenge of our time,"Mike wrote this week in a post for Earth Day 2024
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ingenuity and innovation we have to the work ahead and secure the future of our
planet."
Two-thirds of the ocean is outside national jurisdictions, leaving it
vulnerable to threats like overfishing and potential deep-sea mining.Bloomberg
Philanthropies CEO Patti Harris is calling on nations to ratify a treaty to
protect those waters
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, whileAntha Williams, who leads our Environment program, urges world leaders
to create more Marine Protected Areas
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, andMelissa Wright from our Environment team highlights a new tool for
accountability on ocean protection
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More than eight in 10 young people around the world reported that they are
worried about climate change.The new Youth Climate Action Fund will help young
people in 100 cities develop and deploy solutions for the planet and their
communities
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The Belchatów Power Station in Poland is the largest emitter of greenhouse
gases in the European Union and employs more than 7,500 people across its plant
operations and mining fields.A new documentary shows how Bloomberg
Philanthropies is helping the plant plan for a transition to cleaner sources of
energy
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Beyond Petrochemicals is targeting 120 petrochemical plants whose expansion
would significantly increase climate emissions and toxic pollution.The most
recent video in our Beyond Petrochemicals playlist
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shows how the campaign halted construction on the largest PET petrochemical
plant in the world.
Protecting the Ocean = Protecting the Planet
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Protecting the ocean is one of the most important actions we can take for
preserving biodiversity, supporting food security for people around the world,
and slowing climate change. But the ocean is facing major stressors:
overfishing, plastic pollution, and record high temperatures driven by climate
change. Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
confirmed that those high temperatures caused another global coral bleaching
event, the second in just 10 years and potentially the largest bleaching event
ever recorded.
"Coral reef bleaching is a danger sign for the whole world," writes Bloomberg
Philanthropies CEO Patti Harrisin a joint op-ed
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with Chile's Foreign Affairs Minister Alberto van Klaveren Stork. "To give the
ocean a fighting chance against climate change and the biodiversity loss it
causes, countries need to move quickly in ratifying a landmark United Nations
treaty… and get to work implementing it." Read the op-ed to learn more about
the agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, also known as the
Treaty of the High Seas, andwhy Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed $10
million to support its ratification and implementation.
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READ PATTI'S JOINT OP-ED
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The good news is that nearly 200 countries have committed to protecting 30% of
the world's ocean by the end of this decade as part of the 30x30 initiative.
The bad news is that today the total protected area is closer to 8%.In an op-ed
for Newsweek
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, Antha Williams, who leads our Environment program, and John Amos, CEO of
SkyTruth, encourage global leaders to establish more Marine Protected Areas and
accelerate the pace of ocean conservation.
READ ANTHA'S JOINT OP-ED
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Effective conservation efforts require reliable data and accountability.
However, "[u]nder the ocean, especially, progress can be difficult to assess,"
says Melissa Wright, who leads the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative,in a joint op-ed
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with SkyTruth Chief Impact Officer Mitchelle De Leon. To help improve
transparency, SkyTruth launched a new tool called the 30x30 Progress Tracker at
last week's Our Ocean Conference in Greece. Read the op-ed about how the free
tool can help "democratize 30x30 data and provide those with an interest in
protecting biodiversity with accessible information about what is actually
going on."
READ MELISSA'S JOINT OP-ED
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Empowering Young People to Fight Climate Change
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Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and no one has a bigger
stake in the outcome than young people. To help accelerate youth-driven climate
initiatives that can make a difference for local communities and the planet,
Bloomberg Philanthropies partnered with mayors around the world to launch the
Youth Action Climate Fund. The Fund will support climate efforts, led by young
people between 15 and 24 years old, in 100 cities across 38 countries and six
continents, and representing over 62 million residents.Read the announcement
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, and check outcoverage of the Youth Climate Action Fund in Grist
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READ MORE
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Helping the EU's Biggest Carbon Emitter Start to Move Beyond Coal
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The Beyond Coal campaign has helped secure retirement of more than 70% of
America's coal fleet, including therecently announced retirement of two plants
that will make New England completely coal-free
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. Since Beyond Coal's expansion to Europe in 2017, 50% of coal plants there
have retired or planned to close as well. What does that process look like on
the ground? And how does it happen when the coal plant is not only a huge
source of pollution and carbon emissions, but also an anchor of the regional
economy? A new documentary follows Bloomberg Philanthropies' efforts at
Poland's Belchatów Power Station, the largest emitter of greenhouse gas
pollution in the EU, as it seeks options for transitioning to cleaner sources
of energy and a sustainable economic future.
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WATCH NOW
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"Planet vs. Plastics"
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The theme for Earth Day 2024 is "planet vs. plastics," in acknowledgement of
the threat that plastic pollution poses to the environment and human health.
Since 2022, our Beyond Petrochemicals campaign has been working to address a
major hazard in the plastic production process: petrochemical plants. The
campaign's goal is to block the expansion of more than 120 proposed
petrochemical and plastic projects concentrated in Louisiana, Texas, and the
Ohio River Valley, while also working to establish stricter rules for existing
plants and safeguarding frontline communities. Check out theBeyond
Petrochemicals playlist
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to see how that work is putting people over polluters, includingrecent news
about halting construction of the largest PET petrochemical plant in the world
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.
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EXPLORE THE PLAYLIST
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Photo Spotlight
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This year, Earth Month included an opportunity to observe a rare natural
phenomenon happening far from our planet. Mike and millions of others watched
the solar eclipse that passed over North America on April 8.
Know someone who would be interested in the Impact Newsletter? Forward this
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About our work
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the
world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The
organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts,
Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health.
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Public Health
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Education
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Government
Innovation
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Environment
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The Arts
Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg's giving,
including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as
Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around
the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion.
Learn more at Bloomberg.org
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Click here to stop receiving the Bloomberg Philanthropies Impact Newsletter
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