Philea releases most comprehensive report to date on environmental philanthropy in Europe
13 May 2026, Brussels, Belgium – Today marks the release of the 7th edition of Philea’s research into environmental funding by European foundations – the most comprehensive report to date on environmental philanthropy in Europe.
The report, based on 2024 grants data from 169 of the largest environmental foundations in Europe, analyses the 9,488 environmental grants made in 2024 by these foundations, worth a combined €2.2 billion. This volume builds on the six earlier editions of this research, significantly increasing the number and value of grants being analysed.
“This mapping enables the sector to speak with greater confidence about its role, its progress, and its limitations – grounded in data rather than assertion”. Giulia Lombardi, Senior Programme Manager – Climate Collaborations, Philea
The report covers topics ranging from thematic focus of environmental grantmaking, to geographical distribution, to approaches to change and environmental discourses taken by funders, among others.
Key findings include:
- Looking at the total values of the environmental grants from 2021 and 2024 on a like-for-like basis (108 foundations), focusing only on grants of €25,000 or more, we see a very encouraging 38.8% increase, from €1.3 billion euros in 2021 to €1.9 billion in 2024.
- As in the last two editions of the research, the thematic issue category receiving the most funding from the 169 foundations was climate & atmosphere, accounting for 26.9% of grants by value, and for 949 of the 5,340 grants of €25,000 or larger.
- On a like-for-like basis there have been some significant changes to the distribution of the grants between thematic issue categories. Grants for work on terrestrial ecosystems jump from fifth place in 2021 to second in 2024, with an increase of 161.2% in the value of the grants. Like-for-like funding for work on transport, by contrast, fell by more than 50%, from €55.4 million down to €26.5 million, with funding in the energy category also falling by more than 17%.
Read “Environmental Funding by European Foundations – Volume 7”
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