The man quietly spending $1 billion on climate action

From geoengineering to anti-methane cow vaccines and green aviation fuel, meet the former nuclear physicist helping to decide which climate change technologies hold the most promise

Tucked away on a side street in a bustling area of central London lies the headquarters of the largest climate organisation you have never heard of.

Every year, the Quadrature Climate Foundation (QCF) funnels hundreds of millions of dollars to some of the world’s most influential campaign groups and scientific institutions, steering the direction of both research and lobbying on the green transition. It has backed studies into anti-methane vaccines for cows, green aviation fuels, geothermal energy and carbon-removal technologies, to name a few.

With universities across the UK and US facing cuts to research budgets, organisations such as QCF are stepping in, helping to prepare for a shift to net-zero emissions.

QCF was launched in 2019 as the philanthropic arm of Quadrature Capital, a UK-based hedge fund whose founders, Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya, say their support for climate issues is driven by their “passion” for tackling poverty, inequality and human suffering. The duo topped The Sunday Times Rich List for charitable donations this year, together giving away more than $6.7 million per week in the last year to climate causes via their foundation. Since its inception, QCF has handed out more than $1 billion to fund climate action, making it one of the largest and most powerful climate philanthropy organisations in the world.

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