Jerusalem
Thursday 19th Feb | 2nd Adar
Dear All,
At the heart of the work of Jewish Climate Trust are questions about impact. How do we improve the performance of the Jewish community in relation to the climate crisis? Given finite time and money, what interventions, of what sort, might give the greatest possible return? How does one adjudicate between different mechanisms of influence?
These are not yes/no questions. They go to the complexities of contemporary philanthropy. Different funders and different non-profits will legitimately choose different pathways to impact.
Over the course of this year, I want to share some of the ways that we’re striving to have a positive impact, including the work of some of the grantees that we’re supporting. It’s entirely logical that we begin today by shining a bright solar-powered light on thus far our largest grantee, Adamah.
They’re our largest grantee because the greatest impact often requires what James Collins famously described as “turning the flywheel.” You need to push on multiple levers simultaneously. And wherever you can you need to align those different mechanisms of action.
That, to me, is at the heart of what Adamah, with JCT’S significant support, is now doing on climate. Do we want a biocentric approach or an anthropocentric approach? In its very name, the organization sees the relationship between adam and adamah – people and planet – as necessarily involving both. To drive systemic change within and beyond Jewish life, one needs to cultivate a vibrant Jewish connection with the earth, through immersive experiences, Jewish environmental education, leadership development, and climate action. Each element is distinct, but together they really are starting to move the flywheel.
In 2022, Adamah launched the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, creating for the first time a network of Jewish organizations across the country aiming to improve their climate impact. By the start of this year, with our support, they’ve surpassed an extraordinary milestone: more than 500 Jewish organizations across the country have joined.
The results? Hundreds of Jewish organizations have created plans to reduce or eliminate their carbon footprint. Adamah’s Climate Action Fund has awarded $1,836,533 in interest-free loans and grants for 78 projects – energy efficiency, electrification and renewables – that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The net present value in savings of GHGs runs into the tens of thousands of tonnes, and the energy improvements are saving the organizations north of $1.3m pa in operating expenses. This work was important when Adamah began it. But as the US government steps back from climate leadership, it is even more vital that we deepen this work within and beyond the Jewish community.
And this is only part of the work. We also fully funded the launch of the Jewish Green Business Network, to enable Jewish people working professionally in these areas to connect with other climate leaders across sectors. Talya Herring and Or Katzman have done an absolutely outstanding job on this. The network is growing exponentially. When we think about different kinds of impact, and moving the flywheel, it is absolutely vital that philanthropy finds ways to leverage the enormous impact of private sector initiatives in climate.
And it is similarly vital that the Jewish community not be isolated in this work. We’ve provided separate funding to Adamah to increase the velocity of best practice on climate with other faith communities or ethnic communities, and we’re excited to see Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb start to take this vital work forward.
Then on Tu B’Shvat, Adamah released part 1 of the Roadmap to Decarbonize American Jewish Life by 2040, setting out a bold and necessary vision to take the Jewish community to net-zero ahead of the Paris Agreement 2050 target. The Roadmap opens not with facts and figures – though it contains those in good measure and in easily understandable terms – but with these words from the book of Esther, which we’ll read on Purim in two weeks’ time:
And who knows, you may have been chosen to lead for just such a time as this.
In the Purim megillah, Mordechai is reminding Esther that silence is not an option when the future is at stake. That same charge echoes powerfully today. I don’t personally believe in a theology of choseness. But as we enter Adar, a month defined by taking bold responsibility for our people’s future, I resonate strongly with the challenge of this injunction. It’s not just that the flywheel is turning — it’s that we all need to help to turn it.
That’s why it’s also so crucial that both Adamah and Jewish Climate Trust see addressing the climate crisis as being not just a technical challenge, but also a moral and communal opportunity. We’re using the language of Jewish tradition to address larger and vital human challenges.
I want to end by noting that the Purim story is famously topsy-turvy, in a way that (again) feels shockingly resonant in the strange times in which we live. The Hebrew phrase is v’nahafoch hu — the upside-downness of ‘turning’ a seemingly dark destiny into a future of light and joy. The Purim story is one of hidden order. This change doesn’t happen by chance; it requires a series of deliberate, courageous actions that eventually gather enough momentum to flip the script. By supporting the flywheel of Adamah’s work, we’re trying to do a contemporary version of that.
So kudos to Jakir Manela, Rabbi Jacob Siegel, Liore Milgrom-Gartner, and all the staff and supporters of Adamah in this crucial work. And kol hakavod to the leaders in the now 504 Jewish organizations who have joined the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition.
And may this new month of Adar indeed be a time of increased joy for all…
Shabbat shalom
Nigel
PS: JCT’s support for Adamah includes significant match funding. If you want to support them, or learn more about their work, go to adamah.org. Or join the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition or the Jewish Green Business Network.