Nuclear energy deployment is getting a boost with the establishment of the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP) which aims to expand and align philanthropic support for nuclear energy as a driver of clean energy security, economic growth, energy abundance, and human development.
The GCNP was announced by The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust on May 19 at the Philanthropy Asia Summit, part of Ecosperity Week in Singapore.
According to analysis by Founders Pledge drawing on ClimateWorks Foundation data, only 0.1–0.2% of climate philanthropy supports nuclear energy, less than $2 of every $1,000, which presumably points to philanthropic underinvestment in the nuclear space. Yet, interest and investment in nuclear energy are growing among policymakers, leading technology companies, and financial institutions due to concerns about energy security.
From 2024 through 2026, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts some of the highest growth rates in electricity demand, driven by higher heat and increased consumption of energy. Recent analysis, including The Rockefeller Foundation’s 2025 work on nuclear and total system costs, shows that firm, safe, and non-emitting nuclear generation and variable renewables are mutually reinforcing: each makes the other more affordable and effective at scale.
Ashvin Dayal, senior vice president for power at The Rockefeller Foundation, believes that clean power and renewables are required to meet the needs of industries and fuel economic and living standards growth.
"The next generation of nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, is advancing fast and costs are coming down, opening a real prospect that many developing and emerging economies could add safe, abundant, clean baseload power to their energy mix,” says Dayal. “Getting there will take serious work on policy, regulation, finance, and human capital [and] that is precisely why we are forming the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy now.”
See also: The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust announce Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy
Also announced is how GCNP will grow and align philanthropic capital for nuclear across four strategic pathways, with the aim of supporting more countries in exploring the safe and credible integration of nuclear into their energy mix over the next five to 10 years.
The pathways include: building data-driven business cases for nuclear; developing expertise and human capital in the nuclear energy space: making projects bankable by de-risking financing structures to attract the public and private capital needed to scale nuclear adoption; and strengthening governance to ensure safe deployment.
Temasek Trust CEO Desmond Kuek, who sees nuclear power as a “vital clean” energy source to address climate-change challenges, says, “Through the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy, we aim to convene like-minded partners to support informed dialogue and responsible approaches to nuclear energy in upholding the highest standards of safety, security, and responsible waste management.”
Other members of the coalition include Blue Horizons Foundation, CleanEcon, Founders Pledge, Ray Rothrock, and the Rodel Foundation, with the Oppenheimer Project serving as strategic partner.
