After 2017 Speech About "Continued Commitment", Rockefeller Found. Dumps Climate Resilience Program

BARCELONA, April 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The Rockefeller Foundation is changing the focus of its funding of projects to strengthen societies against modern pressures such as climate change, shifting away from preparing cities to a broader global view of the issue, its president said on Monday.

The change means it will stop financial backing of the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) network - which received about $165 million over five years - that enabled more than 80 cities to hire chief resilience officers and develop action plans, Rajiv Shah told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.

The programme has succeeded in pushing cities to think about how to cope with risks such as extreme weather and pollution, he said. "That work has been transformational in helping urban areas really address the challenges that are only going to get more intense as we go forward in time," Shah said.

EDIT

On Monday, 86 staff in 100RC's four offices - New York, London, Singapore and Mexico City - were told their jobs would finish on July 31. The end of support by the Rockefeller Foundation contrasts with a 2017 speech by its president, in which he referred to "our strong and continued commitment" to the 100RC initiative "for many, many years to come".

EDIT

http://news.trust.org/item/20190401203632-ei0ek/