$12.5 million new gift from philanthropist Andrew Forrest accelerates global climate action; his giving to date tops $6.5 billion

Andrew Forrest and his Minderoo Foundation have made extraordinary philanthropic contributions, with their lifetime giving and endowment totaling over $6.5 billion as of late 2025.

This includes a landmark donation of $5 billion in 2023, which was the largest single gift and significantly increased the foundation’s endowment.

The Minderoo Foundation’s impact extends across education, Indigenous advancement, ocean health, the elimination of modern slavery, and global humanitarian causes.

In recent years, the foundation has committed tens of millions of dollars to initiatives such as climate action, tropical forest conservation, and humanitarian aid, with recent pledges including $10 million for tropical forests and $5 million for Ukraine relief.

The foundation’s total direct distributions and pledged giving continue to grow, reflecting a sustained commitment to large-scale philanthropy.

The humid air in Belém felt thick with urgency as world leaders gathered for COP30, the first UN climate summit hosted deep in the Amazon.

Among the figures drawing attention was philanthropist Andrew Forrest, who arrived not only with speeches but also with a fresh injection of capital aimed squarely at protecting the planet’s most vulnerable ecosystems.

Through his Minderoo Foundation, Forrest recently committed $12.5 million in new funding to two major global climate initiatives, a move that further cements his place among the world’s most forceful and unconventional climate philanthropists.

Minderoo’s most significant pledge—$10 million—is going to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, an ambitious effort launched by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The initiative aims to create strong economic incentives to keep tropical forests standing by raising $125 billion from governments and private partners.

Those funds would ultimately provide $4 billion in annual results-based payments to countries that can prove they are protecting their forests, with at least one-fifth of the money reserved for Indigenous peoples and local communities who live closest to the land and have the most at stake.

Forrest has long been skeptical of traditional carbon offsets, and in Belém, he doubled down on that critique, arguing that small, unverified offsets have allowed many corporations to delay meaningful action.

“Offsets have too often been used as a license to pollute,” he said.

“They categorically do not work the vast majority of times they have been independently measured. This is the opposite. The TFFF makes forest protection a strong economic choice in favor of our environment—rewarding countries that actually keep their forests intact.”

His tone reflected a broader shift in his approach to philanthropy. Forrest, once closely tied to the mining industry, has increasingly positioned himself as a leading advocate for large-scale environmental solutions that move beyond incrementalism.

To him, the TFFF represents exactly a global mechanism capable not only of preserving carbon sinks but of reshaping the economic logic that has fueled deforestation for decades.

Alongside the forest investment, Minderoo is directing $2.5 million to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.

This rapidly growing international effort calls on governments to align their national development plans with the goals of the Paris Agreement and prepare for a rapid, fair transition away from coal, oil, and gas.

Forrest’s contribution supports the initiative’s diplomatic work, policy research, and growing coalition of cities, scientists, and countries pushing for a binding global framework on fossil fuels.

The decision to fund both efforts during COP30 was deliberate.

With temperatures breaking global records for a third consecutive year and the Amazon still under threat despite recent improvements, this year’s conference has been billed as one of the most consequential since the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Forrest’s presence added a jolt of private-sector urgency to proceedings often mired in political negotiation and slow-moving consensus.

Those who have followed the evolution of his philanthropy note that Forrest has become increasingly comfortable using his platform to challenge industries, pressure governments, and inject capital into ideas that require early backers willing to take risks.

Critics sometimes bristle at his direct style, but even they acknowledge his influence: he can move quickly, he brings significant financial muscle, and he rarely waits for others to act first.

That impatience has made him an unconventional but increasingly important figure in global climate funding.

The Amazon is often described as being close to a tipping point, where large-scale dieback could accelerate global warming.

For Forrest, that reality demands solutions commensurate with the challenge, not piecemeal gestures.

His $12.5 million commitment, while a small fraction of what the TFFF hopes to mobilize, places him among a select group of early philanthropic investors helping to push the idea from concept to global mechanism.

In Belém, the sentiment among many environmental advocates was that Forrest’s backing arrived at precisely the right moment.

Governments continue to debate timelines, language, and national responsibilities, but philanthropists can move faster.

Forrest, for his part, appears determined to do just that—using both his wealth and his voice to push leaders toward choices he believes the planet can no longer afford to postpone.

As one Brazilian adviser noted after the announcement, the significance of Forrest’s role is not only in the money he gives but also in the pressure he applies.

“What he brings is momentum,” the adviser said.

“It’s not charity. It’s leverage.”