Stewart and Lynda Resnic, the billionaire owners of Fiji Water have made a record-breaking $750 million donation towards research programs for climate change.

The donation is currently the largest ever made towards a research program and the second-largest donation ever to an academic institution in the United States of America.

Lynda and Stewart are the co-owners of The Wonderful Company, who are home to Fiji Water and POM Wonderful.

The money will be donated to the California Institute of Technology.

The fund will go towards the “Break Through” campaign of Caltech.

The money is going to support researchers pursue research in energy biofuels, climate science, solar science, decomposable plastics, water, and environmental resources, ecology engineering, and biosphere engineering.

According to Caltech, the money that was donated by the billionaires is going to support 4 main research initiatives.

1. Sunlight to everything: this initiative is going to focus on building smarter electricity infrastructure and converting the energy of our sun into fuels and other chemicals.
2. Climate science: this initiative is going to do measurements and modeling that are meant to identify the largest effects of climate change and efforts in mitigation and adaptation to offset some of the impacts of carbon emissions.
3. Water resources: this initiative is going to make sure that water is going to be managed efficiently through monitoring and mapping the sub-surface water levels. It will also help make improvements in water reuse and water treatments.
4. Ecology Engineering and Biosphere Engineering: this initiative is going to study the biosphere and its response to climate change. It will also look out to find the best ways to use biological tools to improve nutrient and water use.

Resnick, who is also the senior member of the board of trustees at Caltech, said he decided to donate the money as the world currently needs “breakthrough innovations”.

In his own words, he said, “In order to comprehensively manage the climate crisis, we need breakthrough innovations, the kind that will only be possible through significant investment in university research.”

He added, “Science and bold creativity must unite to address the most pressing challenges facing energy, water, and sustainability.”

A huge step towards a better and cleaner future! Well done billionaires.