Breakthrough Institute
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| Breakthrough Institute | |
|---|---|
| Name | Breakthrough Institute |
| Type | American think tank |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Oakland, California |
| Founders | Michael Shellenberger; Ted Nordhaus |
| Fields | Environmental policy; energy innovation; climate strategy |
Breakthrough Institute is an American research organization that advocates for technological innovation and pragmatic policy approaches to environmental challenges. Founded in 2003, the institute engages with debates on climate change, energy, conservation, and development through research, commentary, and advocacy. It has intersected with figures and institutions across politics, science, philanthropy, and media.
History
The institute was co-founded in 2003 by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus amid discussions involving Enron, World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, John Podesta, and Bill Gates. Early work referenced debates tied to Kyoto Protocol, Rio Summit, Al Gore, James Hansen, and Bill McKibben. In the 2000s the institute published analyses engaging with policy actors such as George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain while interacting with institutions including Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, Heritage Foundation, Center for American Progress, and Cato Institute. Over time, the institute has been involved in networks linked to Andrew Revkin, David Roberts (journalist), Nicholas Stern, Amartya Sen, and Paul Romer. Its projects have overlapped with initiatives by Apple Inc., Google, San Francisco, California Energy Commission, and World Resources Institute. The organization's history intersects with events like Hurricane Katrina, 2015 Paris Agreement, 2016 United States presidential election, and policy debates around Green New Deal.
Mission and Philosophy
The institute articulates a philosophy drawing from technological optimism and pragmatic policy influenced by thinkers and organizations such as Julian Simon, Kenneth Arrow, Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, E. O. Wilson, and Rachel Carson (as a historical interlocutor). Its stated mission emphasizes accelerating clean energy innovation and reforming institutions including Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and development agencies like United States Agency for International Development. The philosophy often contrasts with positions associated with Greenpeace, Sierra Club, 350.org, Extinction Rebellion, and Friends of the Earth, while engaging with economists and policy scholars from Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and London School of Economics.
Research Areas and Programs
Research programs have spanned energy technology, climate policy, and conservation science, engaging topics linked to technologies and entities such as nuclear power, carbon capture and storage, solar power, wind power, Chevron Corporation, ExxonMobil, Tesla, Inc., General Electric, NextEra Energy, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Siemens. Projects reference modeling and institutions such as National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The institute has produced work relating to development and geopolitics involving India, China, Brazil, Nigeria, Kenya, European Union, G20, ASEAN, and United Nations Development Programme. It has also discussed conservation strategies connected to Yellowstone National Park, Great Barrier Reef, Amazon Rainforest, Galápagos Islands, and species lists including IUCN Red List entries. Collaborations and discourse have intersected with scholars such as Johan Rockström, Simon Kuznets, Hans Rosling, Robert Solow, Elinor Ostrom, and Vera Rubin.
Publications and Media
The institute publishes reports, essays, and commentaries that have been cited or discussed in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Guardian, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, The Atlantic, National Review, New Republic, Foreign Affairs, Scientific American, and Nature. Its media presence includes podcasts, op-eds, and collaborations with media figures like Charlie Rose, Fareed Zakaria, Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart. Academic and policy citations connect to journals and presses including Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Columbia University Press, and Harvard Business Review.
Funding and Governance
Funding sources and governance have involved philanthropic foundations such as Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as individual donors linked to networks including Ralph Nader critics and technology philanthropists like Elon Musk-adjacent debates. The institute's governance has been connected to nonprofit frameworks and regulatory environments involving Internal Revenue Service, Federal Election Commission, California Secretary of State, and nonprofit peers like Environmental Defense Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council. Board and advisory interactions have included policy figures from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, RAND Corporation, and Mackinac Center.
Reception and Criticism
Reception has ranged from praise by proponents of innovation-oriented policy, including commentators at Wall Street Journal editorial pages and scholars at MIT, to criticism from environmental activists and academics associated with Sierra Club, Greenpeace, 350.org, The Nation, and critics such as Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben. Debates have invoked controversies around nuclear energy advocacy, engagement with fossil-fuel funding streams, and positions on conservation that have been contested in venues such as U.S. Congress hearings, European Parliament panels, and academic conferences at American Geophysical Union. Public disputes have featured responses from scientists affiliated with Columbia University, Yale University, Princeton University, and University of California, Berkeley as well as investigative coverage in outlets like ProPublica, Mother Jones, and The Intercept.