Minding the Gaps: A groundbreaking report revealing major imbalances in climate finance

One Earth, in partnership with Vibrant Data Labs, has released Minding the Gaps, a groundbreaking new report and interactive tool that offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of US private climate finance.

By tracking nearly $400 billion in private investment and philanthropic capital from 2018 to 2024, the report reveals where money is flowing across the climate solutions landscape, and where urgent gaps remain.

A First-of-Its-Kind Analysis

Minding the Gaps is the first tool to examine philanthropic and investment flows side by side. By analyzing more than 10,000 US-based companies and nonprofits, the report shows how capital is being distributed across the three pillars of One Earth’s Solutions Framework: Energy Transition, Nature Conservation, and Regenerative Agriculture.

The findings expose stark imbalances. While the energy sector receives the vast majority of funding, Nature Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture—the very systems that sustain life on Earth—are dramatically underfunded.

“One Earth’s work has always been rooted in the most up-to-date analytics, science, and data. Minding the Gaps is the next step—a rigorous tool showing exactly where funding and investment is needed to ensure climate progress. The numbers are clear: nature conservation is dangerously underfunded, and climate financing needs a radical reset towards more holistic and equitable investments.” —Justin Winters, Co-founder and Executive Director of One Earth.

Key Findings

• Energy dominates: 89% of private climate dollars go to Energy Transition. Yet only 3% of that supports companies working to close the energy access gap for underserved communities.
• Nature is neglected: Only 5% of private funding supports Nature Conservation. Less than 6% of philanthropic capital reaches Indigenous-led land tenure, despite its proven effectiveness in protecting ecosystems.
• Agriculture is overlooked: Less than 2.5% of funding supports the building blocks of Regenerative Agriculture, such as Agroforestry, Cropland Restoration, and Sustainable Biochar.

These numbers highlight not only the risks of an unbalanced approach, but also the opportunities to fund high-impact, overlooked solutions that can accelerate climate action.

Why It Matters

Nature plays a central role in stabilizing the climate, yet conservation receives only a fraction of global investment. Indigenous peoples steward nearly 40% of Earth’s remaining intact ecosystems, yet their work is chronically underfunded. Meanwhile, regenerative farming practices that rebuild soils and strengthen resilience are sidelined in favor of market-friendly alternatives.

By exposing these gaps, Minding the Gaps provides philanthropists, investors, and policymakers with a clear roadmap for directing resources to where they are needed most.

“Nature is noisy, and as ecologists we look for signals that help break through. In many ways, that’s what this report does—signal to funders where and how they need to make the most impact. By applying rigorous, science-based methods to tens of thousands of grants and investments, Minding the Gaps cuts through the noise. The takeaway: no single silver bullet will solve this crisis—collaboration across all solutions is what’s needed.” — Eric Berlow, CEO of Vibrant Data Labs.

A Living Tool for Collective Action

Unlike traditional finance reports, Minding the Gaps is designed as a living, open-source tool. It will be updated regularly with transparent, repeatable methods, giving funders and advocates a dynamic view of how climate finance evolves over time.

The interactive Solutions Finance Tracker allows users to search across companies, nonprofits, and solution pathways to see which areas are being funded and which are left behind. By making this data visible and actionable, One Earth hopes to mobilize capital more strategically and build a global movement that centers science, nature, and equity.

Explore the Report

The challenge is no longer whether solutions exist; they do. The real question is whether we will fund them in time.

Dive into Minding the Gaps and discover how we can align capital with the solutions that will shape a just and vibrant future.