In this world, there
is always a cost. Our actions have consequences, and nothing comes for free.
We've plundered natural resources which has resulted in environmental
degradation and human induced climate change. Also, actions to address climate
change doesn't come for free. Such actions take time, effort and money. Things
won't magically improve if we do not allocate meaningful time, make no effort,
and acknowledge that there needs to be some monetary costs to repair what we've
done.
Another way of
thinking about this is that in this capitalistic world, time, effort and money
are indicative of the value was place on things. This means that, when taking
action to combat climate change, we need to recognise that time needs to be
allocated, energy and effort must be expended, and we need to put our money
where our mouth is.
The types of actions
that I will talk about in this blog will take up all these things, including
money. It may be a little, or it may be a lot. It will also save money in the
long run, either directly through less energy costs, or in the fact that the more
preventative steps we take now, the less mitigation and adaptive steps we need
to take in the future.
So in taking action,
we do need to budget some money for our own personal actions. Also, as I said
earlier, collective action is even more important, and collective action also
required time, effort and money. In this sense, one of the impactful things I
can do is donate to organisations that are able to do things that I can't do,
are able to do them on a scale I can't achieve, and are able to do those things
in an impactful, cost-efficient way.
Addressing climate
change is so complex and multifaceted that I don't think one organisation can
do everything that is required. Not even one government, which is why
collective, multilateral action is required. So, in terms of donations, I don't
think you can donate to just one organisation, but you also can't donate to all
organisations. With this conundrum, you will have to make a choice about which
organisations you want to donate to.
In donating money,
it's actually quite a difficult decision. But my key principles are:
- Donate strategically. What are the most important, impactful things that need to be done, and is it getting enough money? Which organisations do these things efficiently and effectively? Donating money to address these gaps can be the most impactful things.
- Assuming that there may be multiple things that need to be done and need to be funded, you want to make sure that the donation does as much as it can. This is why funding something that already has enough money, or will always get enough money, might not be the best way. That's why I try to mix my donations into 3 categories:
- To give to organisations that need that last 10-20% to get the important things done. If these organisations don't get that, then this runs the risk that all the hard work that the other 80-90% funding was all for nothing. That seems like a waste to me.
- To give to organisations doing important things that initial 10-20% to get them going and build momentum. It would be a shame if great ideas and projects never got off the ground because they just didn't get the money at the right time.
- To give to organisations that might not take direct action themselves, but who advocate and change things at a broader policy level, and who build the capacity of other organisations. It is difficult to clearly calculate the effectiveness of advocacy and policy change, but this is important nonetheless.
- Make sure that the funding is clearly additional - that the organisation will not just get the funding elsewhere or that your donation will make a difference. This might be points 1 and 2 above. But it could also be something that is scalable - a donation to plant a tree probably means it is additional, unless the tree planting need or capacity of the organisation or region has already been met.
I'm not going to
tell you which issues are most important and to which organisations you should
donate. That depends on what you think is important at the time, what matters
to you locally, regionally and globally, and the relevant funding context at
the time.
I do caution that,
some people look at overheads and employment funds. This is interesting
approach, but doesn't tell the whole picture. Is what you want for money to go
directly to projects? How much of the value and impact of those projects
depends on the value add that organisation's workers have? How much capacity
building. Policy making? If you want these broader objectives, then perhaps a
higher overhead might be justified because it requires people to do the work,
and those highly valued people might bring up the overhead. But if you want to
give money through the organisation as a conduit, then a lower overhead might
be justified.
For me, right now,
in the context of bushfires, I think what is most important, most impactful is
to reduce deforestation, and increase reforestation. These actions:
- tackle some root (or intermediate) causes of climate change, in the sense that policies that reduce deforestation should go towards reducing demand and consumption of forestry products
- Tackle direct causes of climate change - reducing destruction of forests and encouraging regrowth or new forests
- Support biodiversity which has significant broader environmental benefits
To my mind, funding
needs to be provided at the multilateral policy level, as well as at the local
level. So I've decided to donate to Rainforest Coalition and Greenfleet. But
it's really a personal choice for you, having taken into account the above considerations.
Now to you - what
are the organisations that you donate to, and what are the principles that
guide your donation decisions?
Addendum: The
Celeste Barber issue really highlights that it is super important to understand
the organisation that you're directing your donations towards, and how they
can/will spend it. While it may be complicated, if you are fundraising for an
organisation, you need to do your due diligence and make sure you are
accurately representing where the money is going and for what purposes it will
be spent.
Addendum 2: Donating
to forestry advocacy organisations may also be worthwhile. For example. Friends
of the Leadbeater's Possum recently won a huge case against VicForests, and
this litigation could potentially lead to significant reductions to, or even a
much earlier phase out of, native forestry operations in Victoria.
Sources:
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