Vision and mission
Our vision is that high-impact climate solutions scale fast enough for people everywhere to thrive.
Our mission is to translate climate action into a common unit of impact, so decision-makers can compare solutions.
Values
We strive to be:
Transparent
We are open about our methods and assumptions.
Rigorous
We follow the evidence and keep improving.
Pragmatic
We create tools people can actually use.
Impactful
We focus on work that moves the needle.
Origin
From a workshop question to a working methodology.
Could fundamentally different climate solutions be expressed in one common unit of atmospheric impact, and could the result ever be checked against the atmosphere itself? After this question was posed at a workshop in March 2025, a team set out to answer it. The Atmospheric Impact Initiative (Aii) is the home of that work today.
The problem takes shape
Three Cairns Group internal work on what keeps climate solutions from scaling, including the comparison problem across interventions.
Three Cairns Group and Schmidt Sciences Workshop
Convened the carbon-cycle research community to test whether fundamentally different climate solutions could share one unit.
Work begins in earnest
Framework development moved from concept to methodology, with a dedicated team.
Building of the methodology
Designed the assessment categories, developed the modeling approach, and scored projects. Ten workshops produced 300+ pieces of feedback, reviewed and integrated.
A working MVP
One methodology applied end to end to 33 projects across 18 project types.
Scaling the framework
Extending the methodology, piloting with real portfolios, and scoring many more projects, all while Aii completes its transition to an independent nonprofit.
Incubated by Three Cairns Group
Aii was incubated by Three Cairns Group, a philanthropic and investment firm that works with partners to strengthen the conditions climate solutions need to succeed. While Aii receives funding and in-kind services from Three Cairns Group, it was established as an independent nonprofit corporation in 2026. Its application for recognition of exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is pending with the IRS.