A new global watchdog agency has been launched to monitor the tobacco industry with $20m of philanthropic funding amid fears of dirty tactics by cigarette companies hit by declining smoking rates in the west. The funding for the agency, named Stop (Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products), comes from Bloomberg Philanthropies, whose founder, Michael Bloomberg, a […]

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Mike Bloomberg of the United States as his Special Envoy for Climate Action. Mike Bloomberg will support the Secretary-General’s climate strategy and efforts toward the planned 2019 Climate Summit at UN Headquarters. The 2019 Climate Summit will mobilize stronger and more ambitious action towards 2020 […]

In June 2017, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a $200 million effort called the American Cities Initiative with the goal of funding new ways for city leaders to collaborate with each other and improve their residents’ lives. Making metro-level progress (and collectively) is becoming harder but perhaps more vital. States may preempt local decisions around minimum wage […]

Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced a new round of its Public Art Challenge. Mayors of U.S. cities with 30,000 residents or more are invited to apply for up to $1 million in funding for temporary public art projects that address important civic issues. Submissions for dynamic works of art across all disciplines will be considered. Proposed […]

College presidents who have found some measure of success often parlay that into a job at a more prestigious institution. But Daniel R. Porterfield, president of Franklin & Marshall College, will leave higher education this year to become president of the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit policy group. Porterfield already had a relationship with Aspen, and […]

One of the biggest misconceptions about the field of data science is that it’s all about the numbers. But, as anybody in our business will attest, statistics and spreadsheets don’t mean a whole lot if you don’t also understand the people, the problems, and the promise they represent. Our work has never been “all about […]

The following is a statement from Mike Bloomberg on yesterday’s decision by the Trump administration to tax solar industries up to 30 percent: Taxing solar panels up to 30% will destroy U.S. jobs, raise Americans’ electric bills and hurt our environment. Congress should stand up for American workers and consumers and overturn the administration’s harmful […]

The politics of soda has changed pretty radically. Just a decade ago, virtually no countries or cities had a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Then Mexico enacted a substantial tax in 2014, and it started a trend. Soda taxes now exist in India, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. A tax will go into effect […]

The opioid epidemic is now a full-blown national crisis, yet the federal government continues to dawdle. President Donald Trump declared opioid addiction a public health emergency, and he talks a tough game. But he has not taken forceful action. If he will not lead, Congress must — and now, before the crisis grows even worse. […]

FERC’s rejection of Secretary Perry’s proposal is a victory for consumers, the free market and clean air. Trying to prop up the coal industry by forcing American consumers to pay more for energy, and forcing them to accept more pollution in their communities, was a truly terrible idea that united conservative and liberal leaders in […]