One of the most successful venture capitalists in the history of Silicon Valley, John Doerr, is giving $1 billion to fund a school focused on climate change and sustainable living.
The Chronicle of Higher Education says that the gift Mr. Doerr and his wife Ann are making is the largest ever to a university for the establishment of a new school. Only Michael R. Bloomberg's donation of $1.8 billion to his alma mater is higher.
The gift establishes the Doerrs as leading funders of climate change research and scholarship, and will placeStanford at the center of public and private efforts to wean the world off fossil fuels.
The new computer science is going to be climate and sustainable, according to Mr. Doerr, who made his estimated $11.3 billion fortune investing in technology companies.
The school will have traditional academic departments related to topics such as planetary science, energy technology and food-and-water security. The center will be focused on developing practical policy and technology solutions to the climate crisis.
The school will focus on policy issues and ask what it will take to move the world toward more sustainable practices and better behaviors, according to the president.
A growing number of ultrawealthy men are giving huge sums of money to the fight against global warming. Jeff Bezos said in 2020 that he was committing $10 billion of his own money to a new initiative he called the Bezos Earth Fund.
The former New York mayor said he would spend $500 million to help close coal-fired power plants. Bill Gates has put billions of dollars into various efforts to address climate related issues.
Some wonder if these investments can make a difference when it comes to a planetary crisis.
I don't see how giving a billion dollars to a rich university is going to move the needle on this issue in a short period of time. Politicians are not going to act until the public sees this as a top tier issue.
The school would provide context and analysis around climate change issues, but would not advocate for it, according to the school's inaugural dean.
Mr. Majumdar said that the new school would accept donations from fossil fuel companies and that it would be named after Jay Precourt, a businessman who made his name in the oil business.
Extreme heat. A heat wave has been hitting India and Pakistan for weeks and is expected to intensify. The heat waves of the future are a reminder of what is to come in an era of climate change.
Some oil and gas industries are under pressure to change if they want to survive.
Mr. Doerr said he was inspired to address climate change after watching Al Gore's film. He said that his daughter told him that his generation created the problem. Mr. Gore joined Kleiner Perkins the next year.
In the years that followed, Kleiner Perkins made several major investments in clean energy companies and Mr. Doerr delivered a TED Talk.
Mr. Doerr published a book last year called "Speed and Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now." He wants to add clean power to the grid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production.
He said that the problem needs more ambition, urgency and excellence.
The Giving Pledge was founded by Mr. Gates, his ex-wife, and Warren Buffet to persuade ultrawealthy individuals to give away the majority of their fortunes during their lifetimes or in their wills.
Columbia is one of the major universities that is establishing interdisciplinary schools focused on climate change. The first new school in 70 years will be among the largest and best funded. Over the next 10 years, it will add 60 more faculty members. The university said it had raised an additional $590 million and that some of the funds would be used to build two new buildings.
Mr. Doerr said he hoped the gift would inspire other wealthy individuals to spend their money.
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