Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates have joined forces to invest in technologies to solve the clean energy problem.
Called the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, the program will focus on developing new, innovative tools to create affordable and reliable zero-emission energy.
Along with the founders of Facebook and Microsoft, other tech leaders such as Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son have also joined the initiative.
The group will provide early stage and Series A funding to sectors that include electricity generation and storage, transportation, industrial use, agriculture and energy system efficiency.
The Breakthrough Energy Coalition will work alongside Mission Innovation, a separate international program that aims to reduce carbon emissions. The new program will help cover gaps in government funding in countries, as well as help link projects with investors.
"We are committed to doing our part and filling this capital need by coming together in a new coalition. We will form a network of private capital committed to building a structure that will allow informed decisions to help accelerate the change to the advanced energy future our planet needs," the coalition's website reads. "Success requires a partnership of increased government research with a transparent and workable structure to objectively evaluate those projects, and committed private-sector investors willing to support the innovative ideas that come out of the public research pipeline."
Zuckerberg, Gates and the others will invest in both developing technologies and in innovations to provide more efficient clean energy to help find world solutions to the problems faced by climate change.
"The Breakthrough Energy Coalition will invest in ideas that have the potential to transform the way we all produce and consume energy," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "As leaders prepare for the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris this week, we hope this will encourage more partners to make innovation a priority in the fight against climate change.
The UN Climate Climate Conference kicked off in Paris on Monday, Nov. 30, and concludes on Dec. 11.
Source: Facebook
