Climate change is one of the few problems facing society today that has the potential to reshape life on earth. Increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs), primarily due to human causes, are raising earth's temperatures. Temperature increases will have lasting, potentially devastating impacts on the ecological and economic systems that will affect human life and society for generations to come.

The Foundation's current funding supports the goal of reducing global GHG emissions, specifically by encouraging action on this issue in the United States. Our primary focus is to advance policy solutions such as a national cap on carbon coupled with market-based tools that will yield economically efficient carbon reductions.

The Foundation's lead partner in this endeavor is Environmental Defense. The Foundation has provided a multi-year commitment to Environmental Defense's work on this issue. Environmental Defense (ED) has led the effort to promote market-based solutions for environmental problems through its pioneering work on a mandatory cap and trade program for acid rain emissions, implemented under President George H.W. Bush. That program proved successful in reducing harmful emissions much more quickly and economically than anticipated. An analogous approach to combating climate change via a comprehensive cap and trade system promises to yield carbon reductions and spur innovation in low-carbon energy solutions.

The Robertson Foundation seeks to generate increased individual and collective action through grants that build public awareness of the causes and hazards of climate change. For example, the Foundation has underwritten the nation’s first global warming public service advertising campaign, in conjunction with ED. These ads are currently being aired on TV and radio stations nationwide. To view these ads, and for more information, please go to the campaign website at www.fightglobalwarming.com.