Global Philanthropist Consortium Announces $1.5 Million Open Call Competition for Carbon Abatement Innovators

The Global Friends Prizes will recognize three organizations that
are prompting individuals’ reductions of CO₂
emissions in Greater China and the United States

HONG KONG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Global Friends consortium, spearheaded by the Hong Kong based TSE
Foundation, today announced and began seeking candidates for The Global
Friends Prizes, three identical annual awards totaling US$1.5 million to
be awarded to organizations in Greater China and the United States that
are leading the transition to a climate-balanced economy. Entries will
be accepted through April 30, 2016, and winners will be announced at the
Global Friends Prizes gala in December 2016.

The launch of the Prizes follows the earlier launch of The Global
Friends consortium at a symposium hosted by the TSE Foundation in Hong
Kong. That event saw approximately 40 leading philanthropists and global
thinkers gather to identify what role global philanthropy might play in
shaping a transnational world and fostering greater U.S.-China
collaboration.

Wide array of organizations and approaches are eligible to win

The Global Friends Prizes will be awarded through an open call
competition. Applications are invited from all non-profit, for-profit,
and socially-oriented organizations and companies in Greater China and
the United States that are deploying tangible activities, technologies,
and solutions that empower individuals to limit climate change to well
below 2 degrees Celsius. Prizewinners will have demonstrated the ability
to prompt individuals’ reductions of carbon emissions, and their
activities, technologies, and solutions will have the potential to
become widely adopted by society.

Winners will be selected according to several criteria, including the
projected aggregate climate impact if the organization’s approach were
to be widely adopted, the organization’s determination and resilience,
and the extent to which the Prize money would further the organization’s
efforts.

Prizes to help prompt increase in philanthropic funding to reduce
carbon emissions

“Currently less than two percent of all philanthropic dollars are being
spent to directly address climate change,” said Ivan Tse, Chairman and
President of TSE Foundation. “The Global Friends Prizes help rectify
this situation by supporting innovative organizations in the two most
carbon-polluting countries. It is a first step in highlighting effective
philanthropic roles and meaningfully increasing funding to help stop
climate change.”

The Global Friends Prizes are part of a broader effort, initiated and
led by TSE Foundation, to establish a network of philanthropists focused
on addressing challenges of a global nature, first and foremost of which
is climate change. The Global Friends recognize that solving the climate
challenge will require a truly holistic approach that activates diverse
stakeholders, creates new narratives around climate action, and
dramatically increases philanthropy’s engagement with and response to
this particular area.

To learn more and to register or nominate candidates for The Global
Friends Prizes, visit http://www.theglobalfriends.org/prizes.

About The Global Friends

Founded by Hong Kong’s TSE Foundation, The Global Friends is a
consortium of leading global philanthropists from Greater China and the
United States who practice strategic, collaborative philanthropy and who
share a commitment to shaping the positive development of human society
in today’s transnational world. The group represents the vanguard of
21st century global philanthropy and is united by a shared commitment to
building on the momentum of the Paris climate agreement. For more
information, visit: http://www.theglobalfriends.org

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