Healthy Soils to Cool The Planet: A Philanthropic Action Guide
Author
Betsy Taylor
Publication
February 2019
About The Guide
This guide focuses on philanthropic and investment opportunities to promote healthy soils and soil carbon sequestration (SCS) primarily through changes in agricultural practices in the United States and globally. It was produced by Breakthrough Strategies & Solutions, a consulting firm based in Takoma Park, Maryland. A team of six consultants at Breakthrough Strategies interviewed 48 experts and practitioners and conducted an in-depth online survey of an additional 65 individuals, including policy experts, farmers, NGO leaders, philanthropists, private sector leaders, and government officials. A list of all those interviewed and surveyed can be found in Appendix VII.
In selecting individuals to interview and survey, we prioritized three criteria: 1) diversity of perspectives; 2) diversity of expertise; and 3) track record of engagement and influence. The interviews were global in scope, but the guide is focused heavily on the United States. Our team of consultants included soil health and soil carbon experts in France, Belize, California, Massachusetts, Washington, and Maryland. Key team members included Austin Badger, Taylor Herren, Suzanne Lutfalla, Calla Rose Ostrander, Henry Anton Peller, Betsy Taylor, and Kathy Washienko. Betsy Taylor served as lead author. This guide provides an initial roadmap for investing in healthy soils to help cool the planet and enhance resilience.
Promising new research, policies, financing instruments, and practices on soil organic carbon (SOC) have surfaced just in the last eighteen months. The attention given to land-based solutions at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco in September 2018 was pronounced and the IPCC 1.5°C report released in October 2018 called for large-scale carbon removal through agriculture and other lands. This guide focuses primarily on agricultural soil carbon removal, but protection and restoration of forests, wetlands, coastal ecosystems, and grasslands are also essential for meeting climate action and sustainable development goals. We have included specific grant recommendations in the body of the guide to speed philanthropic action. Additional, equally important, grant recommendations can be found in the appendix of our online guide where grant recommendations and resources will be periodically updated. These are sample investment opportunities only and many worthy groups were unable to be included.
