Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Quadrature Climate Foundation’s funding come from?
Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) is an independent charitable foundation which is fully funded by Quadrature Capital Limited and group (QCL), an automated, quantitative trading firm. In line with QCL's corporate social responsibility objectives, a proportion of its profits is allocated to QCF to advance critical climate solutions. A full explanation of QCL’s CSR activity, its trading strategy, and alignment with the objectives of QCF is set out on QCL on its Corporate Social Responsibility
What is QCF’s strategy?
In 2023, QCF undertook a strategic review, and set a new vision: contributing to a climate resilient future for the world’s most vulnerable people. Our strategy focuses on three pillars: ‘Reduce, Remove, and Respond.’ We support efforts to achieve rapid emissions reductions, scale carbon removals, and support vulnerable people to respond to climate change impacts.
How much funding has QCF committed to climate and where has it gone?
QCF has committed more than US$1bn in grantmaking since its inception in 2019. This amount includes funding proposals that have been approved and either contracted or are in the process of contracting with our grantees.
Approximately 85% of our portfolio supports decarbonisation initiatives; around 10% focuses on scaling carbon removal; and up to 5% aids efforts to support vulnerable communities respond to climate change.
Where does QCF’s work on geoengineering or solar radiation management (SRM) fit in?
QCF views solar radiation management (SRM) as a potential, future ‘response’ to the most extreme climate impacts, hoping it will never be needed. At this stage, our level of knowledge of the potential benefits and risks associated with SRM is too low to enable science-informed decision, and we believe it is important to support research to understand the possible impacts and consequences. We also support governance efforts to ensure any future decisions include and serve those most vulnerable to climate change. We do not advocate for (or against) the deployment of geo-engineering techniques and see that as a possible insurance for the future. Our funding is meant to be catalytic and unlock long-term public funding.
SRM funding represents less than five percent of our total commitments - in line with our view that emission reductions are the highest priority.
What does QCF mean by ‘science-led’?
Our understanding of climate change and other environmental challenges is grounded in decades of scientific research, including social science, which is crucial to solving those issues. Being ‘science-led’ means using evidence from diverse sources to challenge our assumptions, perspectives, and knowledge, identifying approaches that are acceptable to various stakeholder groups.
We engage with the science community through our in-house team of scientists and researchers and investing in a network of postdoctoral fellows, creating a portfolio of ‘mission-oriented research’, and supporting spaces for debate among diverse thinkers and practitioners to identify new solutions for complex challenges.
How does QCF identify and decide what to fund?
We collaborate with partners – leading researchers, practitioners, and NGOs across the globe – to build programme strategies within our ‘Reduce, Remove and Respond’ pillars. Our strategies are based on evidence reviews led by our internal science team in collaboration with leading experts. They allow us to identify bottlenecks and better characterise the problem we’re trying to solve. Once these strategies are approved, they unlock funding envelopes for which we invite funding applications. Currently, we do not accept unsolicited applications, but we are exploring alternative models such as funding competitions and ‘Request for Proposal’ models.
We identify opportunities by engaging with individuals and organisations working within our priority areas, and proposals are assessed for their potential impact and additionality by an internal Investment Approvals Committee.
Does Quadrature Climate Foundation engage in political donations?
No, Quadrature Climate Foundation is politically neutral and does not support any political party. However, we do support organisations across the globe engaged in policy advocacy and engage in policy dialogue across the political spectrum to foster unbiased research and informed public debate on climate issues.