Next-generation Asian philanthropists show growing interest in fighting climate change. Many leaders are recreational divers who see bleached corals and feel it is not right. Less than 2% of philanthropic giving globally supports climate mitigation, and only about 12% of that small amount goes to Asia. Asia faces disproportionate impacts, warming at twice the global average, with 3.7 billion people affected by climate-related disasters since 2000. International climate aid has declined as the U.S. shut down USAID and European countries reduced climate development budgets. With Western funding scaling back, Asian funders are stepping in, and an estimated $5.8 trillion is expected to change hands in Asia before the end of the decade.
"“A lot of next-generation leaders are recreational divers; they look at the bleached corals and think it's not right,” says Seow, whose organization is backed by Singapore state investor Temasek, on the sidelines of the Philanthropy Asia Summit."
"Globally, less than 2% of philanthropic giving goes to mitigating climate change. Of that small amount, an even smaller sliver-just 12%-goes to Asia. That's despite Asia being disproportionately affected by climate change: The region is warming at twice the global average, and 3.7 billion people in Asia, three times the rest of the world, have been affected by climate-related disasters since 2000."
"Last July, U.S. President Trump shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development, eliminating over $40 billion in funding from climate-related development projects around the world. European nations have also been scaling back their commitments to climate aid: France reduced its development aid budget by 40% as part of austerity cuts, while Germany slashed its international aid budget from 6 billion euros to just 4.58 billion in 2025."
"“For a long time, people have expected climate leadership to come from the West,” Jamie Choi, the CEO of Singapore-based Tara Climate Foundation, told Fortune. “We have been looking to places like Europe and the U.S. to take leadership, but those days are long gone.”"
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