
Ask HN: Best ways to spend money towards climate efforts - esotericn
Hello HN,<p>I&#x27;m going to be putting a significant percentage of my income aside going forward in order to combat climate change.<p>Let&#x27;s say, as an order of magnitude estimate, between $250-$2500&#x2F;mo.<p>I&#x27;ve already made a lot of changes to lower my personal impact and I&#x27;d like to go further. It strikes me that, for example, though I own an electric car, this is almost certainly not the most effective use of funds.<p>Possible ways include:<p>- supporting protests globally with funds<p>- buying carbon offsetting directly<p>- buying &#x2F; funding research into carbon capture<p>- funding renewable energy in general etc<p>What does HN think? Opinions on specific businesses, charities, platforms, etc?<p>How can individuals use their earning power to make a difference?
======
duckerude
The effective altruism movement should be worth checking out. They're focused
on finding the most cost-effective options for charitable giving.

They mainly target other cause areas in which they expect marginal donations
to do more good, but their general approach is very useful to understand even
if you have a narrower goal.

There is general information about the approach here:
[https://www.effectivealtruism.org/](https://www.effectivealtruism.org/)

And an analysis of climate change in particular here:
[https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/research/other-
causes/climat...](https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/research/other-
causes/climate-change/)

[https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2013/11/less-burn-
for-y...](https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/post/2013/11/less-burn-for-your-
buck-part-ii/) evaluates a few specific charities that attempt to reduce
greenhouse gases.

~~~
henryaj
Let's Fund (I'm a co-founder) has a campaign aimed at tackling climate change
- by increasing publicly funded clean energy R&D [0]. We think it's a hugely
neglected way to tackle climate change (and Bill Gates agrees! [1]).

[0] - [https://lets-fund.org/clean-energy](https://lets-fund.org/clean-energy)

[1] -
[https://twitter.com/billgates/status/1154787966256058368?lan...](https://twitter.com/billgates/status/1154787966256058368?lang=en)

We're very much EA-aligned.

------
code_scrapping
I have the feeling that the answers below are going away from what the OP was
trying to find out.

It's not about going vegan, starting a garden or using condoms. If a person is
already exhausted personal efforts (to the extent one can with a given life
condition), where can we help by directly investing.

Because I'm a working professional with solid income, maybe I don't have
time/space to do the time-consuming activities proposed, but I do have excess
funds that I can direct to the higher cause.

So - where should we invest our money, and not our time? Because we possible
have the first, and not the later :(

~~~
toomuchtodo
Support candidates who have climate change mitigation as part of their top
priorities. Local, state, federal, whatever. You will have no greater leverage
than through public policy. Until an election cycle occurs, aggressively
engage with your representatives or pay an org to do so.

The US military is one of the largest CO2 emitters in the world. No non profit
or startup can fix something like that, but public policy can. At the local
level, you can form a muni electric coop and buy only renewable energy in
bulk. You can change zoning to phase out gas stations, disincentive internal
combustion use, and acquire electric buses for mass transit (both cheaper and
faster to deploy than light rail). Similar changes can be made at the state
level. But these changes are then impactful act scale.

Find a political point of leverage and exert maximum force. I understand the
squeamish feeling, but these are not tech problems; these are people problems.
The tech is already mostly solved.

------
perfunctory
I have spent a very, very long time thinking about it. Now, I can't give you a
detailed report with numbers, but my hunch is this:

After having made personal adjustments and having moved your investments from
fossil to renewables, the most efficient way to spend money is to donate to XR
[0], and then take some time off (opportunity cost) and join the movement on
the streets.

[0] [https://xrebellion.org](https://xrebellion.org)

~~~
henryaj
How did you come to this conclusion? Hard to imagine XR being underfunded,
spending the money effectively, and being more effective on the margin than
other climate charities.

------
idoubtit
My view on climate efforts is rather orthogonal: spend less money.

A large part of the damages to the world comes from the consumerism of modern
society. Mass tourism destroys pretty places and their social structure, mass
farming destroy ecosystems from soils and insects to birds and trees, mass
consumption means more pollution and climate change.

I last bought clothes two years ago. I wait for end-of-life before changing
what I have (computer, phone, etc). I don't mind taking a quarter an hour to
cook a meal, so I mostly buy local raw food, and very rarely meat. I avoid
mega stores. On a typical week, I don't use my wallet, only the change that I
keep near my home door to buy bread. That is the kind of life I enjoy, and it
is sustainable at large scale.

~~~
esotericn
I agree and try to practice it as much as practicable.

I actually don't think this is orthogonal, though.

Ultimately - at least if you're a full time salary(wo)man - you're getting the
money anyway.

So step 1 is to not spend it on crap. Step 2 is to spend it on actively
positive things.

------
ptah
I would say: \- go vegan \- learn permaculture/similar to grow some of your
own food \- invest in tree planting/greening initiatives

~~~
wtdata
Let's please stop with the vegan fallacy. Cutting _all_ meat production (and
it's support industries) in USA and EU together, would have an impact of the
global emissions of only 1%. [1] [2]

The more we try to mix personal ideologies (i.e. animal rights) with climate
change, the more we are going to make the public at large ignore everything
about the theme.

P.S: If you are really after a personal action to fight climate change, take
public transportation to work, or better go by bicycle. [3] That - unlike
veganism, actually makes a huge difference.

EDIT: Added links with the actual facts supporting both points. USA Meat
Industry and associated industries emits 3% of their country total.[1] Same
for every highly developed country due to very high efficiency of the process.
Transportation on the other side, accounts for 27% of the country total in
USA. [3] USA and EU together account for 20% of the world total emissions [2]

[1]
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.182.3630&rep=rep1&type=pdf

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions)

[3] [https://skepticalscience.com/animal-agriculture-meat-
global-...](https://skepticalscience.com/animal-agriculture-meat-global-
warming.htm)

~~~
ptrkrlsrd
What source says cutting all meat production in USA and EU would impact global
emissions by 1%?

~~~
PerfectElement
United States Cattlemen's Association.

------
Glench
After personal decarbonization (using an electric car powered by renewables,
using a heat pump / radiant heating powered by renewables [1], not using
airplanes, eating less meat, living close to where you work and play so you
don't have to use much transportation), I think funding political candidates
could be a good use of your budget. It certainly seems like national
candidates have an outsized impact on how quickly we as a nation mobilize to
decarbonize.

Funding local elections is also an interesting way to invest where marginal
dollars have a bigger impact. An acquaintance of mine has an organization that
identifies local elections around the US with large climate impacts (like
fossil fuel pipelines) and funds candidates that will be able to stop them. He
told me their success rate is 90%. You can contribute on their site:
[http://leadlocally.org/](http://leadlocally.org/)

Also, I know that Wren has options for sending money to carbon-offsetting
projects that usually also reduce poverty:
[https://projectwren.com](https://projectwren.com)

[1] [https://medium.com/otherlab-news/how-do-we-
decarbonize-7fc2f...](https://medium.com/otherlab-news/how-do-we-
decarbonize-7fc2fa84e887)

------
cies
I think habit-change and lobby for increased taxation on climate burdening
behavior are the best options.

A vegan requires a fraction of the climate burden for his/her food compared to
someone on a regular diet.

And without a fair-and-square climate impact tax (i.e.: a CO2eq tax), we are
going no where.

------
Juliate
I'm considering doing so as well (after having read
[https://nadiaeghbal.com/microgrants](https://nadiaeghbal.com/microgrants))
with a small personal fund first, that I will consider to open to friends &
family later. France context.

However I'm wondering about the efficiency, that will start as an experiment
first.

Not many different targets than yours, but my hunch starts with funding &
following up in their development _local_, identified young students
projects/studies working on energy, water, food, environment & politics.

The benefit is that:

    
    
      * they're already aware of the situation,
      * they'll see support from people for that area specifically
        (both financial and moral, and networking),
      * they'll have far better energy & networking & ideas & initiative to spread this further,
      * I can spread funding to more different people at first
       (funding with a significant impact is easier to reach toward students).

------
counterpig
Maybe look into investing in triodos bank or something similar.

A lot of the changes that need to happen are quite costly and realistically
unless you are a millionaire there isn't a lot you can do to fund a solar or
wind farm on your own. But by investing in an ethical bank with a focus on
renewable energy you can pool money with other like minded investors to fund
these projects.

Another option is a p2p lending platform like abundance
[https://www.abundanceinvestment.com/investments](https://www.abundanceinvestment.com/investments)

But bare in mind these are pretty risky investments.

You could also make steps to reduce your own carbon footprint e.g purchasing
solar panels or something similar. Or if you have access to a renewable energy
provider or a provider with a green tariff consider switching.

Finally aside from money, investing your time in your local government to make
it clear you think they should be doing more is potentially more impactful.
Especially if you are based in the US.

------
catears
One thing that will cost you comparatively little and is often overlooked is
moving any savings investments into options which have some form of
climate/ethics guidelines (for example investing only in wind, water and solar
in the energy sector). A lot of people here on HN often talk about index funds
and these quite often invest in large oil companies such as exxon, shell or
bp. I don't know the rules outside of my own country for selling and buying
investment options but generally if you move a large sum of money from one
option to another you need to pay taxes (and you seem to be able to put away
some money per month for this so thats why I suggest it).

I also think it makes sense if you are the kind of person who wants to help
fight climate change that you do not let your savings fight against your
personal goals and values.

------
dgellow
If I may be slightly off-topic, I have a similar question I still haven't
found a satisfying answer to:

What's the best way to spend my work time towards climate efforts? (i.e: I
have useful professional skills, how can I help in a serious way?)

For example, is there anything like a job board focus on
companies/organizations/scientist labs/other structures working on stuff
related to climate change? As a software engineer, I would greatly prefer to
work for a group that has some positive impact on the situation, and I would
expect that there is a demand for better tools, platforms, etc that can help
research or whatever is the important thing to do.

~~~
bloudermilk
There are some grassroots communities where you can volunteer your time and
network with other climate-focused professionals:

[https://www.techforcampaigns.org/](https://www.techforcampaigns.org/)
[https://techimpactmakers.com/](https://techimpactmakers.com/)
[https://climateaction.tech/](https://climateaction.tech/)

Ironically it's a bad day to be researching this as many climate-focused
websites are on strike...

------
chachan
Adopt a Panama Rainforest -
[http://adoptabosque.org/](http://adoptabosque.org/) I met the guy behind the
project, nice person

------
marapuru
Another way of approaching this could be to look into what you can do without
money. As a wealthy person, it makes sense to think that money is the only way
to DO something or to make a change.

But how about this:

\- Work less (no transportation needed, less power needed)

\- Go out for a walk in a park, meadows, forest etc.

\- Explore and discover nature and realize how much benefit it already gives
you (apart from oxygen, food etc.)

\- Inspire other people to take a walk

This could stress the importance of nature for well-being to others. Making it
more easy for them to make a eco-friendly decision.

------
Slimbo
You could consider Divestment, making sure any of your pension investments,
savings accounts etc are not invested in fossil fuel equities.

------
lcall
As commented in 2 recent discussions (I got upvoted once, downvoted once, on
them):

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20339865](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20339865)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20353814](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20353814)

...in effect we are not competent to solve this or our other key problems
while rejecting the creator (and basic rules like honesty and the Golden
Rule), and that none of the current events should be surprising at all, though
they are sad. These are predicted, expected, and it will get worse, but we can
be at peace and seek good things, and really, we can be OK. Linked to details
on why I think that, and more info (a simple site:
[http://lukecall.net/e-9223372036854581820.html](http://lukecall.net/e-9223372036854581820.html))

------
leventov
Consider working for one of the companies which help to combat climate change
more or less directly: [https://medium.com/@leventov/how-to-find-a-job-in-a-
tech-com...](https://medium.com/@leventov/how-to-find-a-job-in-a-tech-company-
helping-to-combat-climate-change-practical-guide-e212e262a32)

------
surfgreen_dev
I commute by bike to my office every day and heavily use german train
connections. Haven't touched my car for a long time. If I could I'd invest in
an electrical freight bicycle, so that I can transport also heavier stuff.

A friend of mine has invested in a sustainable fond that supports green and
sustainable project across Europe.

I, myself, have put an amount of money to found my own company that is
focussed on green and sustainable web design/development/ux to create energy
efficient websites and webapps as the internet is becoming a heavy factor in
carbon dioxide emission. With
[https://www.surfgreen.dev](https://www.surfgreen.dev) you can test websites
regarding their sustainability. It's still in beta and not finished yet, but
already working.

Best,

Carl

------
henryaj
Public clean energy R&D is overlooked and underfunded - so fund advocacy to
get governments to spend more on it. [https://lets-fund.org/clean-
energy/](https://lets-fund.org/clean-energy/)

(NB - I'm a co-founder of the above.)

------
henrik_w
I trust [https://www.goclimateneutral.org/](https://www.goclimateneutral.org/)
(but with a higher amount than just offsetting your current lifestyle).

Started by (among others) Henrik Kniberg, author of SCRUM and XP from the
Trenches.

------
willmoss1000
Money will be best spent in areas that change the global agenda. We are moving
faster and faster in the wrong direction. Money spent on carbon offset etc.
will only delay the issue very slightly, but they may well clear your
conscience and make you feel good.

------
faeyanpiraat
Would something like this work?

1\. Find the ways most people try to fight climate change but are wrong.

2\. Create compelling article that would make people stop the useless
behaviour, and reveal better alternatives.

3\. Spend money on ads to direct people to the page.

------
AllegedAlec
\- Support nuclear energy

\- Don't buy an electric car EDIT: Apparently: Do buy an electric car

\- Plant trees

~~~
Faaak
I'm pretty sure that you're wrong to thing than an electric car is worse than
a petrol one

~~~
madcol
I believe the rule is don't buy an electric car if you already have a car but
if you're buying a new car an electric car over its lifetime will be better
than getting a combustion car

------
ricemast
Hey! I started an organisation called Offset Earth to handle a few of these
scenarios. It has a monthly subscription payment model where the money goes
towards buying the best carbon offsets and reforesting the southern
hemisphere. It's super simple to setup and you get a lovely public profile
which showcases your impact. Check it out here if you're interested! :)
[https://offset.earth/](https://offset.earth/)

------
baoluofu
Read this - [https://www.monbiot.com/2019/04/07/rewild-the-
world/](https://www.monbiot.com/2019/04/07/rewild-the-world/)

Donate to the organisations listed here - [https://ecosia.zendesk.com/hc/en-
us/articles/115002296049-Do...](https://ecosia.zendesk.com/hc/en-
us/articles/115002296049-Does-Ecosia-accept-donations-)

------
d--b
I haven't done any calculation, but if I were you, I'd invest that money in
companies that push clean energy infrastructure. That money will go directly
towards making clean energy sooner. In the end you'll make money because these
technologies actually generate cheaper energy than fossil fuels. And from that
extra money, you can compound your investment.

Putting $2500/month in research or protest is not going to move the needle one
bit.

------
gardnr
If you look deeply into how carbon offsets work then actually planting trees
can be a more tangible and rewarding endevour than buying carbon offsets. If
you don't have the time to plant trees, then there are non-profit charities
around the world that will do it for you with your donations.

Edit: I would link to one but I don't want to endorse one either way. Please
search for: tree planting charity

and make your own critical decision

------
sunw
Take a look at Project Vesta (they claim that they can absorb all societal CO2
to date feasibly): [https://projectvesta.org/](https://projectvesta.org/) It
was previously discussed on HN:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20403570](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20403570)

------
thaxus
Well, study chemistry and physics and other real sciences, realize the global
warming/climate change is only a hystery and spend your money on useful
things.

------
gleglegle
Collective action is probably much more meaningful than individual action. So
spporting candidates that are serious about implementing policies like a
carbon tax or eliminating exsisting economic incentives for fossil fuels is
probably the most effective way to spend. That said, personally it has felt
much more gratifying to stop using a car and take up biking and public
transportation.

------
paulcarroty
I think the best suggestion here is total cooperation. 'Cause problem is very
big and one man isn't relevant.

There's a good movie from DiCaprio & National Geographic
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLivjPDlt6ApToQx3tYIte...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLivjPDlt6ApToQx3tYIte0BFuJpaXw_Q_)
, highly recommend.

------
PerfectElement
Since I believe that being vegan is usually the most impactful thing an
individual can do, and I don't have the skills necessary to encourage other
people to go vegan, I donate money to people who are good on doing that. So I
support some educators on Patreon that are doing a great job, like Earthling
Ed and others.

~~~
paulcole
Probably the only more impactful thing a person can do is not have biological
kids (although admittedly the impact of an individual's veganism and child-
free-ness is such a minuscule drop in the bucket that it's essentially
pointless).

Since most people aren't willing to accept the importance of not having kids,
it might make sense to donate money to people considering adoption or
organizations trying to make it easier for people to adopt.

------
benjymo
I've recently heard about The Generation Forest[1]. They plant trees for
harvesting in a sustainable way. Different trees that produce wood in 20 to
100 years and you get some returns when they are harvested.

[1] [https://thegenerationforest.com](https://thegenerationforest.com)

------
moviuro
As an individual, I have done 3 things:

1\. Invest in renewable businesses (ethical+biological/natural food & clothing
: Loom, bioburger, etc.)

2\. I get my power from a business that finances as much green energy as I
consume (e.g. Total Spring, ekWateur, Engie).

3\. I buy locally-sourced groceries from the local store

And also, happy coincidence, I can walk to work.

------
mapster
I feel the hour is later we imagine. What we need is billionaires of the world
to use their $ to drastically overthrow the major economies and stop CO2
production by any means. Its better the world goes into deep economic collapse
than become unbearable for most life.

------
lapaz17
I recently read this article:

A New Bioreactor Captures as Much Carbon as an Acre of Trees:

[https://futurism.com/bioreactor-captures-carbon-acre-
trees/](https://futurism.com/bioreactor-captures-carbon-acre-trees/)

Maybe you can support them to upgrade it?

------
learnstats2
Ideally: Give the money to a local chapter of a political party with a similar
environmental stance to you, that may soon be in a position to break ties on a
decision-making body.

$250/mo will be a transformative amount for them.

------
kmjg88nvf8
Move to a city where you don't need a car, would be a start. That's likely to
cost money, although I am not sure if it would cost more than the running
costs of a car.

------
DoreenMichele
Support programs/laws that make birth control (including abortion) available,
especially to young/poor women, especially if you are in a developed country.

~~~
esotericn
This is a great idea, thanks Doreen.

In the UK we have fairly good access to contraception, abortion, etc, to my
understanding.

I sent a donation today to International Planned Parenthood Foundation
[https://www.ippf.org/](https://www.ippf.org/) who do global work on expanding
access to womens health services generally.

------
dreen
Don't fly. Use the money to get around air travel somehow.

~~~
little_airport
Following that logic - don't use cloud computing. Data centres have higher
carbon footprint than the airline industry

~~~
dreen
That is a valid point, but one source of carbon is not equal to another. Data
centres use electricity and the biggest cloud computing providers are making
efforts to use more green energy for their servers. Airplanes, on the other
hand, burn liquid fuel directly high up in the atmosphere, and little effort
is expended by the industry to change this. That is the big difference.

------
vectorEQ
on a personal level i'd suggest if possible to have a garden ,or if possible
in your area and you don't have a garden buy a garden plot somewhere. this is
really helpful if you make it nice for insects and birds. this is someting
generally low cost, but does take time and effort.

in my area if you don't have a garden you can get a plot for about 100-200
euros a year. so thats dirt cheap to make a bit of impact.

cleaning in your area / natural areas is also good. walking around with a bag
and collecting plastics and other trash left by people which might impact the
local wildlife / environment.

those are generally things that do cost time, but not a lot of money, i'm all
for activities in your life opposed to just trying to solve it by throwing
money at it.

like a silent personal protest :) it's highly effective. for example in my
parents garden there are a multitude of bird families who come there every
season to live or in passing on their migrations. additionally we see a lot
more butterflies and bees again since they started selecting the right type of
plans and flowers for the local species.

on the other comment, i don't think 'overpopulation' is a problem. just how
the population behaves. but i suppose that's a matter of opinion formed by
where you live. i don't live in a huge city, so that might skew opinions on
that matter a bit.

another idea is giving free workshops to people how to live consciously and
environment friendly. a lot of people would like to do this kind of things
,but don't have the know how to do it. an hour or two with the right content
of workshop can totally convert someone to living more environment friendly
the rest of their lives. they will also give those insights to their
childrent, propagating the effect.

all in all its more a mindset problem than anything. people are not conscious
of this problem, which keeps it in place.

if you really want to throw money at it. try funding and helping researchers /
students working on renewable / cleaner living solutions. in most countries
there's some university or research group focusing on this topic. they could
always use some money if you have some to 'burn' ;). 2500$ a month can get
them a bunch of research equipment and buy them time to spend with that
equipment to research. some people don't even earn that much, so you could
fund someone to spend all of their time on this topic.

------
itcrowd
There are some initiatives in Europe that let you directly buy ETS
certificates (required certificates for industries to allow CO2 emissions).
These companies then destroy the certificates, effectively preventing that CO2
from being emitted. The price of them is low now, so even small amounts of
money can have an impact.

Any opinions on this?

------
dalbasal
How about buying land for reforestation, someplace where land is cheap?

------
topbanana
Build a solar farm and feed the energy back into the grid.

------
Jan_DeWit
Eat less meat

Put your money in a green bank

Plant trees

------
wtf77
Follow this. It's a really interesting topic.

------
chvid
Buy some nice office plants ...

------
iicc
Ask Bill Gates.

------
rndgermandude
The thing you can spend your money on which would have the biggest effect:
condoms (and other contraceptives).

Sounds snarky at first, but really, it isn't. That doesn't mean you shouldn't
have any children, but maybe one or two are enough? Also, condoms do not only
help you (as in generic you, not OP specifically) in your family planning but
may help people who are less well off, too, with the side effect of preventing
some STD infections.

Corollary: avoid any charities that oppose directly or indirect family
planning and/or contraceptives. That includes anything Catholic and a lot of
other Christian charities.

~~~
Onanymous
Right. Without realizing the sheer number of people is the root cause of the
problem all other climate and biodiversity conservation measures make no
sense.

