Climate Catalyst: Grantee Spotlight (Q3 2026)

The Giving Green Fund is awarding a grant to Climate Catalyst, an organization that generates momentum for emissions reduction in sectors and geographies where it is most urgently needed, restricted to its programs to decarbonize steel and ammonia in India and Indonesia. Climate Catalyst is a global organization with team members based primarily in Europe, India, and Indonesia. 

Climate Catalyst’s work falls within our philanthropic strategies of decarbonizing iron and steel, supporting cross-cutting enablers for industrial decarbonization, and decarbonizing ammonia (as discussed in our Industry sector report). Please see Giving Green’s sector report for more information, including risks and potential co-benefits, recommended sub-strategies, theory of change, funding need, and key uncertainties.

Last updated: October 2026

What Is Climate Catalyst?

Climate Catalyst was launched in 2021 to spark climate action by executing limited-run projects in crucial sectors and geographies. After identifying priority areas, Climate Catalyst convenes a diverse set of nonprofits and private-sector companies to build and implement a shared strategy. It targets multiple points of leverage, combining policy campaigns, technical research, and investor engagement. For example, its first completed campaign on peatlands restoration brought in 95 business and investor organizations and CEOs, many of whom were new to the topic, to successfully advocate for the inclusion of peatland restoration in the EU’s Nature Restoration Law.

Its current projects aim to decarbonize steel in India and Indonesia, chemicals in India and Europe, and aviation in Europe. It is also launching a program to govern the climate risks of artificial intelligence in Europe.

What Are We Funding, and How Could It Help Address Climate Change?

Heavy industry accounts for around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and Asia is the world’s largest manufacturing region. We view India as a key strategic region to decarbonize heavy industry, based on its large share of future global industrial emissions and its relatively strong natural resources. We also see strong potential for Climate Catalyst’s model to accelerate steel decarbonization in Indonesia, where efforts are relatively under-resourced.

India: Climate Catalyst’s India steel decarbonization program has been active since 2022. Its activities include leading the India Green Steel Network (IGSN), researching steel decarbonization pathways, working with government ministries to shape green steel policy, and co-leading a sustainable finance working group. In 2025, Climate Catalyst conducted a detailed landscape analysis of decarbonization efforts in the chemicals sector and concluded that transitioning to green ammonia in India was another critical priority. Its near-term priorities are to strengthen the techno-economic case for green fertilizer and unlock demand levers such as blending mandates, green procurement, and public tenders. We were impressed by the depth of analysis and engagement during its scoping phase, and think that it can replicate previous successes in this new area.

Indonesia: In 2024, Climate Catalyst launched its steel decarbonization program in Indonesia, starting an advocacy network of nonprofits, financial institutions, and steelmakers. It leverages this network to accelerate policy and shift investment toward industrial decarbonization, with near-term priorities to advance green public procurement (GPP) and trade policy with key ministries. 

Why Do We Think Climate Catalyst Will Use This Funding Well?

We have been impressed by Climate Catalyst’s thoughtful approach to scoping projects and its ability to build relationships among nonprofits, the private sector, and governments. Its detailed mapping analyses have identified key knowledge and advocacy gaps in advocacy ecosystems. Climate Catalyst has coordinated campaigns to close these gaps and commissioned research to use as advocacy tools, such as its study on the business case for Indonesian green steel and GPP’s role in steel decarbonization. 

Climate Catalyst has seen strong engagement from its networks, which we view as an indicator of their value. The IGSN, Sustainable Finance Working Group, and Green Steel for Growth network now have over 70, 40, and 97 members, respectively. These networks lower the barrier to entry for new steel organizations, thus increasing the number of actors working to further decarbonization. Climate Catalyst reports that several network members had not previously sustained steel workstreams. Climate Catalyst’s networks also unite nonprofit and industry perspectives, leading to practical policy recommendations that are compatible with other national and industry priorities, such as economic development. 

We publish grant spotlights to offer transparency to Giving Green Fund donors and resources for those interested in the impact strategies each grant supports. Giving Green believes our Top Climate Nonprofits have the greatest impact potential for large, unrestricted gifts. For several reasons, we also disburse and recommend grants to other organizations surfaced through our research process for work that we believe is at least as impactful as grants to our top recommendations.

This is a non-partisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.

Climate Catalyst is a registered nonprofit in the U.S.