Invest in Networks for Exponential Climate Wins

(Illustration by iStock/mathisworks)

As Google grew, it faced an existential problem: how to maintain quality as the number of daily searches grew from millions to billions, such that concentrating information in a limited number of data centers was no longer feasible.

Google solved the problem with networks: By engineering connections among hundreds of thousands of computers, Google radically expanded what their search technology could do. But networks are not only key to speed and scale in the technology sector; the same is true for ambitious climate policy. Instead of billions of data points, we are dealing with billions of emissions sources and billions of humans impacted by climate change. And networks are particularly suited for addressing “complex, unpredictable, large-scale problems like climate change,” as long-standing social impact experts John Cleveland, Madeleine Taylor, and Peter Plastrik observe in Connecting to Change the World. That’s because each network member can tackle a piece of the puzzle, while maintaining relationships that allow coordination, collaboration, and troubleshooting. This aligns with other research showing that nonprofits further their missions more effectively and efficiently by investing in external networks and tapping into resources outside their direct control.

Time is of the essence: If countries are left to tackle clean energy transition policies in isolation, there is a real risk of having to reinvent the wheel multiple times, dramatically slowing down the world’s climate progress. Philanthropy must facilitate the rapid spread of solutions by investing in networks.

In my more than 20 years in philanthropy, I’ve observed five essential network features that drive exponential climate solutions.

1. High-impact networks are defined by a common theory of change. In this way, members unite around a common concern and share an approach to addressing that concern, but each individual member is able to offer unique contributions.

For instance, the Crux Alliance—a network of six policy expert NGOs—was founded on the premise that getting the details of climate policy right is essential to real-world carbon reductions. The NGOs are united in this common approach but each brings unique expertise in a specific energy sector: appliances, buildings, electricity, industry, urban transport systems, and vehicles. Coming together as an Alliance empowers members to strategize how they can make a greater collective impact within a region or country, but also to solve cross-sectoral challenges.

Take electric vehicles (EVs) for example. Because energy systems are interconnected, our solutions must be as well. Plugging in millions of new EVs will increase power demand, but with the right policies, adding EVs to the road can improve, not compromise, electricity system reliability. So, electrification experts at the International Council on Clean Transportation began collaborating with grid reliability experts at the Regulatory Assistance Project to design smart vehicle-to-grid integration policies for China, Europe, India, and the United States.

2. A network should be structured as a web of interconnections. In top-down systems, knowledge must pass through one level before it can move to the next. But overlapping webs of relationships can allow information to spread across multiple connection points and in multiple directions, accelerating learning. In the context of climate policy, networks facilitate the rapid sharing of lessons learned in one city, state, or country to another. These webs of relationships within and across borders make it possible to disseminate policy expertise to many more decision-makers.

An example of this kind of interconected web is the more than 100 members of the Drive Electric Campaign (DEC), who collaborate to support the adoption of policies that will achieve 100 percent EV sales in the world’s largest auto markets. DEC is able to achieve major policy wins because each member organization adds unique value to a carefully coordinated campaign effort that can ramp up at opportune policy moments. Organizations contribute research and analysis, communications and press outreach, industry engagement, or direct advocacy with policymakers, among other efforts. Over the past two years, this kind of strategic coordination by more than 50 diverse DEC members helped win passage of the EU’s requirement that all new vehicles sold be zero-emission by 2035—a huge victory that will affect the trajectory of the entire global vehicle market. Since 2019, DEC partners have notched a total of 72 major policy successes in Europe, the United States, China, India, and Latin America.

3. A web of interconnected organizations is nimble and adaptable. In hierarchical structures, decision-making is often concentrated in a few organizations or individuals, which can make them highly inflexible. If one pillar is weakened, the entire effort can collapse. But in a network, resources and focus can shift as opportunities or threats arise.

This proved true in 2016 when both Brazil and the United States elected Presidents opposed to climate action. Existing NGO networks were able to easily shift focus to cities and states, allowing continued forward progress. In the United States, existing advocate networks launched to We Are Still In coalition to drive sub-national climate action, mobilizing support for landmark victories such as the first 100 percent clean energy legislation in the South. Similar coalitions launched in Brazil supporting Brazilian states and cities to take up the mantle of climate leadership. And when more supportive administrations were elected in 2020 and 2021, these same advocacy networks were equipped to pivot to ambitious federal policy—resulting in the landmark US Inflation Reduction Act and, in Brazil, a 50 precent drop in deforestation with additional climate policy action on the horizon.

4. Connections must not be superficial, but consist of meaningful, trusting relationships. The ability to freely share knowledge, technical know-how, strategic intelligence, and other vital information depends entirely on building sufficient trust and mutual respect. Moreover, the benefits of solving problems in a network can only be obtained if members know both who to ask for help and feel comfortable disclosing the challenge faced. To get to this point, engagement must be intentional and sustained, and there is no substitute for gathering in person, even if such meetings can only happen once a year. Investing in relationships takes time, but because it has the overall effect of speeding solutions, it will be well worth the effort.

The International Network of Energy Transition Think Tanks (INETTT) demonstrates how webs of relationships can accelerate policy knowledge and learning. INETTT is a consortium of think tanks across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, each focused on advancing smart clean energy policy in their countries. Even with unique political contexts, they’ve found countries face similar challenges in their transition away from dominant fossil fuel-based systems. INETTT members have built strong, collaborative relationships through topic-based working groups, site visits, and in-person retreats.

In Poland, which burned more than a third of Europe’s coal in 2022, INETTT member Forum Energii is working with the state utility and the European Commission to support a just transition in the coal-dependent Wielkopolska Wschodnia region. Given their similar challenges, Forum is facilitating the exchange of knowledge between Poland and the Shanxi coal mining region in China. INETTT members in Indonesia, South Africa, and Vietnam met to share lessons from their country’s Just Energy Transition Partnerships—multilateral funding agreements for the net-zero energy transition. This networking led to the inclusion of civil society, businesses, and local organizations to enhance equity in the plans.

The Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN), which helps policymakers design low-carbon building strategies, also demonstrates how trusting relationships are critical for scaling climate policy solutions within individual countries. Two years ago, GBPN green building experts in Samarinda, Indonesia partnered with city officials to design home energy efficiency codes. The city shared the benefits of the new codes, including emissions savings, cost savings, and health improvements, with other Indonesian officials through GBPN’s “policy hub” convenings. As a result, the Indonesian government committed to develop a national roadmap for a net-zero buildings sector to support its enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations’ Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Scaling up climate-smart buildings was only possible because of the collaborative relationships fostered by GBPN.

5. Knowledge exchange must be reciprocal. The historical top-down model of philanthropy and technical assistance traditionally concentrated funding and expertise in one or a few organizations, often in the Global North. In this sense, investing in global networks not only encourages a broad sharing of financial and intellectual assets but also proves to be a more equitable model. Reciprocal relationships among international NGOs and in-country partners help foster the kind of equal exchange that is necessary for multilateral climate progress.

Over its many years of work to advance efficient lighting policies, CLASP (formerly known as the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program), built up a global network of clean lighting advocates, experts, and policymakers. Drawing on this network, they founded the Clean Lighting Coalition in 2021 to support the call by African countries to end the sale of toxic mercury-containing fluorescent lighting under the global Minamata Convention. Over two years, network advocates and technical partners facilitated evidence-based discussions with their member governments. The results were tremendous—global leaders agreed last year to transition to LED-only lighting sales by 2027—a decision that will avoid nearly 3 Gt CO2 by 2050.

Networks can help correct historical imbalances of power between the Global North and South, bringing innovations from emerging economies that improve policymaking in advanced. For instance, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy’s offices in more than 60 cities work closely with local decision-makers to develop sustainable transportation. Their global network is spreading Global South innovations in urban sustainability and livability to the United States and Europe, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), an efficient and affordable public transport system that offers the quality of rail transit and the flexibility of buses. The key features of BRT were first developed in Brazil in the 1970s, but have now spread to more than 200 cities in regions including California, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France.

Networking Solutions in Time to Save the Climate

This is a critical moment for our climate future. Last year we all sweated through more than 200 days of record-breaking global temperatures, putting 2023 dangerously close to the 1.5 degree limit scientists say can protect climate stability. But 2023 also saw great progress. Clean technologies have gone mainstream, and bolder policy is helping millions more people reap the benefits. And, for the first time, all countries agreed to phase out fossil fuels at December’s UN climate talks. Momentum is on our side.

Still, current philanthropic giving does not match the scale of the crisis. Recent analysis by ClimateWorks shows funding for climate makes up less than 2 percent of total philanthropic giving. Funding for climate solutions must increase significantly, but that giving must be matched with a highly strategic approach. Funders who recognize the value of a network approach will ensure resources go not only to member organizations, but also to support dedicated staffing that can facilitate the growth and development of the network. Funders and NGOs alike should be confident that investments in networks will pay dividends, driving the wins we need in time to save the climate.

Read more stories by Joe Ryan.