Best "green" charities?

[kay02]

I'm kind of at a loss for what to donate money for when it comes to climate change or green energy.  Any idea who is actually doing something tangible?  It's alot of overwhelming options since there are so many directions to go.  Like planting trees or something feels good but idk if that's actually the best thing for the future compared to other options.

Thanks!!

[Optimiser]

This might be a good place to start:

https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2016/10/26/notes-on-giving-away-100000/
https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2017/12/04/how-to-give-money-and-get-happiness-more-easily/

[mozar]

You can't go wrong with Sierra Club or Greenpeace. XR Rebellion and celdf.org are ones I'm curious about.
And here's a reddit thread I found about forestation specifically:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ClimateActionPlan/comments/bvwtdi/looking_for_a_good_reforestation_charity_to_give/

[kpd905]

These are some good ones: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/2/20976180/climate-change-best-charities-effective-philanthropy

I like seeing how many tons of CO2 can be averted/sequestered with each one, to see which is most effective $-wise.

[Trifle]

Charity Navigator ranks charities based on financial effectiveness and transparency.  Here's their list of top-ranked charities, including the environmental category:

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=2203

[Anon-E-Mouze]

Animal-based agriculture (especially the beef and dairy industries) is one of the greatest contributors to global warming. The Good Food Institute (https://www.gfi.org/) provides strategic support for the development of plant-based alternatives to animal products. It's one of the few charities recommended by Animal Charity Evaluators (whose review methodologies are based on the principles of effective altruism). The development of plant-based alternatives also supports efforts to reduce world hunger (because animal-based food production is highly inefficient) and alleviate animal suffering.

[Fomerly known as something]

I kind of go round about, and donate to parks and trails with the idea that if you get out in nature you appreciate it more.

[KungfuRabbit]

https://www.cooleffect.org/

I like the idea of buying specific projects. Buy someone an efficient stove and change their life and avoid loads of emissions.

[kay02]

Thanks for all these answers!  Lots for me to think about!! :)

[yachi]

If you'd be willing to share details of your donation, it might be helpful.  For example, if you're considering an end of year donation up to the $1,000 range, you could be well served by the linked charities.  If it's something in a $5k to $25k it could make sense to look at CO2-reducing improvements to your house.  If it's a much larger amount, maybe it makes sense to buy some land to save it from development.  If it's to establish where to donate your FIRE funds in your will, maybe there's another answer.

[kay02]

If you'd be willing to share details of your donation, it might be helpful.  For example, if you're considering an end of year donation up to the $1,000 range, you could be well served by the linked charities.  If it's something in a $5k to $25k it could make sense to look at CO2-reducing improvements to your house.  If it's a much larger amount, maybe it makes sense to buy some land to save it from development.  If it's to establish where to donate your FIRE funds in your will, maybe there's another answer.

I'm renting but right now I'm thinking a few thousand before the end of the year and maybe a recurring thing going into next year.

[314159]

Are you familiar with effective altruism? The idea is to give to charities which can do the most good with your dollar. For example, GiveWell recommends malaria prevention charities as the most effective in terms of "cost to save a life".

In the past I've tried to find a ranking of climate related charities by effectiveness a come up short. It seems to be quite difficult to quantify the marginal impact of a donation to a charity focused on climate compared to e.g. malaria prevention, due to all the unknowns involved. The best I could find were things like these reports by GiveWell in 2013.

But while writing this post I've come across new analyses, which make for good reads:
https://founderspledge.com/stories/climate-and-lifestyle-report
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/12/2/20976180/climate-change-best-charities-effective-philanthropy

It seems the Coalition for Rainforest Nations and the Clean Air Task Force are both regarded as very effective climate-focused charities. A researcher for Founders' Pledge says the latter "can very likely abate a ton of carbon for $1 (and probably quite a bit less)"!

[314159]

A new article on this topic came out in The Atlantic the day after my last post! https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/12/how-to-donate-to-fight-climate-change-effectively/617248/

The article summarizes the findings of Giving Green, which was founded by an economist who also wondered what the most effective climate charities were.

The article/Giving Green identifies 3 charities doing carbon offsets, two of which do so at $15/ton or less, but then says that advocacy and policy change can have a much bigger impact than that per dollar, and so ends up recommending the Clean Air Task Force (also endorsed by the sources in my previous post) and the Sunrise Movement.

[FireLane]

The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club are my go-to charities for the environment.

On a smaller scale, I donate money through Global Giving, which funds small-scale charitable projects around the world. I often seek out projects that focus on tree planting in deforested areas, or distributing solar-powered lanterns in developing countries (replacing dirty, polluting kerosene lamps). Also, I recently found out about Everybody Solar, which fundraises for solar-power installations in the U.S.

I don't know if this is the most effective way to donate, but at least it has a direct impact.