6 Best Environmental Charities

Climate change and saving the planet is a big emergency humanity faces. And the global response towards it hasn’t been that great so far. Carbon dioxide emissions, over the past decade, have actually increased by 11% and this trend needs to be reversed quickly.

As the end of another year approaches, charitable giving is a common thing to think of. Fortunately, there isn’t a shortage of charities either that you can support, but choosing which ones will allow you to use your money wisely can be tricky. Here, you’ll find a list of six different highly-rated organizations dedicated to protecting the environment that are taking action to maintain a sustainable and livable planet.

Coalition for Rainforest Nations

This organization is an intergovernmental organization consisting of more than 50 worldwide rainforest nations from Fiji to Ecuador to Bangladesh. It was formed in 2005 after the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Michael Somare, gave a speech. It’s been directly partnering with communities and governments since then to protect the rainforests.

The Coalition advocated for what’s known as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. Along with other different things, it makes certain developing countries are compensated if they’re able to show they’ve been accomplishing deforestation prevention, a big source of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. They now concentrate on the REDD+ implementation as well as increasing private and public funding for it.

Founders Pledge believes the group has a big effect on decreasing emissions through REDD+. The Coalition also plays a significant role in securing the forestry agreement in the Paris agreement.

Rainforest Foundation US

They put effort into protecting the South and Central America rainforests by directly partnering with people on the front lines — indigenous individuals in:

Panama
Brazil
Guyana
Peru

These individuals are extremely motivated to keep their lands protected. The Rainforest Foundation US organization supplies them with technological training and equipment so they can use drones, satellites and smartphones for monitoring illegal miners and loggers to try and stop them. The Rainforest Foundation US organization also helps them with legal support.

The Rainforest Foundation US shows a great deal of commitment to stringent evaluation of its effect through the invitation to Columbia University researchers for conducting a randomized controlled trial in Loreto, Peru. Beginning in the early 2018, the researchers gathered satellite imagery and survey data from 36 communities that partnered with the Rainforest Foundation US and 40 control communities. There are promising preliminary results.

The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund was founded in 1985. It’s a non-profit organization with a single expansive, yet simple task – protecting over seven million acres of land in the U.S. which includes:

Deserts
Parks
Waterways
Forests

Since then, they’ve planted over 10 million trees. They’ve restored over 32,000 acres of land.

When you donate to The Conservation Fund, it will please you to know you’re putting your money to good use. An astounding 97% of their funds are put towards the stated mission. This is the highest rate of all the charities in the field. Because of this, Charity Navigator gave The Conservation Fund top marks.

Plastic Oceans

One big global crisis is plastic pollution. Plastic marine liter impacts a minimum of 267 species around the world, including:

Whales
Marine birds
Sea turtles
Dolphins

A big amount of plastic litter each year winds up in the oceans. Plastic pollution doesn’t just impact marine life and the environment they live in, but also mankind. In fact, humans are impacted by plastic litter on a daily basis. Plastic pollution affects nearly 3/4 of European drinking water.

Your body absorbs plastic chemicals. Around 96% of individuals in the U.S. who are six years old or older have tested positive for BPA. There’s a 9% increase in plastic consumption each year. One way many people strive to make a positive impact on plastic pollution is by avoiding plastic bag use and choosing the alternative – reusable bags.

Plastic Oceans is a worldwide non-profit organization addressing the plastic pollution problem and how it affects oceans and marine life. The organization is trying to change the people’s attitude towards plastic and is looking to educate and engage everybody to reconsider the use of plastic through an awareness campaign using media and film. They encourage individuals to share their strong documentary A Plastic Ocean with:

Schools
Family
Friends
Communities

Plastic Oceans is looking for donations for helping them continue their campaigns that increase social change and awareness by inspiring individuals to rethink single-use plastic and substitute with things like reusable shopping bags and takeout bags.

Earthjustice

Earthjustice is the biggest non-profit environmental law organization in the U.S. They’re committed to leveraging unequaled legal expertise and experience toward litigating environmental problems. They were founded in 1971 with the aim of combating Walt Disney’s plans of developing a Mineral King Valley ski resort, which happened to be located in Sequoia National Park. With Earthjustice’s landmark lawsuit, they not only hindered future developments on the land, but they also set a precedent that granted people living there the right to sue for environmental damages.

Climate Emergency Fund

This organization was founded in July 2019 with the aim of getting money quickly to groups engaging in climate protest. It’s already raised a few hundreds of thousands of dollars and disbursed it in grants to its vetted groups. The grantees range from fledgling Extinction Rebellion, which is an activist movement that utilizes nonviolent civil disobedience such as filling roads and blocking intersections to the well-established 350.org.

Since Climate Emergency Fund is fairly new, they have less of an evidence base than other more established organizations, so they should be monitored for their cost-effectiveness and impact. However, the one thing it does offer is immediacy.

One of the world’s greatest responsibilities and challenges is protecting the environment. By donating to reputable environmental charities, it can help make a big difference.

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