2024 was another year of extreme weather records.
Earth’s average surface temperature was the highest recorded so far; wildfires joined land-clearing in shrinking the world’s forests; and the combination of abnormal heat and low rainfall meant that much less water flowed through major river basins like the Amazon and the Zambezi.
The data underline the risks of our shifting climate and the need for human societies to adjust to this threatening reality. The Trafigura Foundation addresses this challenge by funding programmes that help vulnerable communities to make their lives and livelihoods more resilient.
Under our strategy, we are collaborating in areas that range from the restoration of coral reefs to the protection of mangroves and the reforestation and conservation of large tracts of land. We are also investing in more sustainable ways to grow food and protect crops that we take for granted, such as coffee and cocoa. We work in communities that are in the path of climate hazards by helping them to develop cutting-edge solutions and early warning systems that keep people and nature safe.
As documented in this report, our partnerships are working across multiple levels: from enabling communities to safeguard the ecosystems that underpin their livelihoods, to multi-stakeholder initiatives building capacities and coalitions for collective action.
Through the Partnership for Central America, for instance, we are helping to engage with governments and businesses to promote sustainable economic growth. Through the Adaptation and Resilience Collaborative for Funders (ARC), convened by ClimateWorks Foundation, we are building a growing alliance to invest in the resilience of Global South communities facing climate shocks.
We have also worked to upgrade our operations. In a recent independent survey, our grantees gave us high marks in areas including the impact on their organisation, transparency, responsiveness, and encouragement to further streamline our processes. However, they called on us to find ways to support further beyond our funding, with expertise and creating linkages among our partners and with other funders. Our grantees have also asked us to consider releasing more funding towards general operations, following in the steps of other highly catalytic philanthropies. We plan to explore those further.
Since the adaptation financing gap is enormous, we are looking for ways in which our funds can attract and de‑risk other philanthropic and commercial funders as well, effectively multiplying our investments exponentially. To this end, we are building our capacity to introduce impact investing. We are also spending a good deal of time building coalitions and listening to what organisations and people in the communities need. Finally, we work with partners to harness the latest technology and knowledge. For example, in 2024 the International Rescue Committee made use of artificial intelligence to predict heavy rains in Guatemala and quickly helped communities to prepare.
The Foundation looks back on a year of significant progress in its mission to strengthen both communities and ecosystems to meet the challenge of climate change. Together with our strategic partners, we are now well positioned to deliver effective solutions and ever greater impacts in 2025 and beyond.
Dario Soto Abril
Executive Director
