Giving Compass
  • Sign In
  • About Us
    About Giving Compass How We Choose Content and Organizations Annual Reflections Our Newsletter
  • Getting Started
  • Learn About Issues
    Topic Guides
    Animal Welfare COVID-19 Criminal Justice Democracy Disaster Relief Education Environment Health Homelessness Immigrants and Refugees Racial Equity Women and Girls
    Curated Articles
    Partner Collections Giving Compass Selections See All Articles
  • Give to Causes
    Issue Funds & Intermediaries Projects Nonprofits
  • Get Involved
    Philanthropy Resource Directory Events Volunteer Opportunities
  • Partner With Us
    Nonprofits Authors Use Our Content Services Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
Sign Up
  • Get the Newsletter
  • Sign In

Achieving More Effective and Equitable Climate Action

Medium Jul 2, 2020
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
Click here for more.
Achieving More Effective and Equitable Climate Action Giving Compass
  •  Share
  •  Save
Share

Giving Compass’ Take:

• Here are eight ways to achieve a more effective and equitable approach to climate action and embrace social change happening around us. 

• How can you support climate action with your charitable dollars? 

• Read more about how you can make an impact on climate change. 


In this moment — as a global pandemic persists, economies falter, healthcare systems crack and systematic racism and injustice are exposed — we, the climate community, must widen our lens and open our eyes.

To more effectively and equitably stop climate change, we must embrace and learn from the change happening around us — and rapidly change what we do and how we do it.

At the core of this shift is the recognition of the inextricable link between climate change and the issues of poverty, inequality and race. As climate justice advocate Mary Annaïse Heglar recently wrote, ”Climate change is not the Great Equalizer. It is the Great Multiplier.”

What follows is a snapshot of our rapidly shifting landscape, and a roadmap of sorts, to get us on a more inclusive, just and productive path forward. We cannot turn back.

  1.  It is no coincidence that we are experiencing a convergence of multiple crises.
  2. These crises are converging because they are all related. The crises we now face derive from a set of intersectional¹ preconditions, including racism, structural inequality and an extractive economy, and they require integrated, cross-sectoral solutions. Our approach to achieving a climate-safe future must reflect this reality.
  3. Despite the integrated nature of these crises, we continue to combat climate change in silos.
  4. We have no time to waste and the longer we wait, the worse the impacts will be.
  5. Fortunately, more equitable, integrated and cross-sectoral climate strategies will also be more effective in achieving our climate goals, including around adaptation and resilience.
  6. Addressing endemic racism and inequity in the climate movement is one part of the solution when it comes to achieving more effective and durable climate action.
  7.  It’s time to put our money where our mouth is and shift from community engagement to community empowerment.
  8. A more effective, and more equitable approach is possible.

Read the full article about an equitable approach to climate action by Aimee Barnes at Medium.

  •  Share
  •  Save
Share

If you are looking for more articles and resources for Climate, take a look at these Giving Compass selections related to impact giving and Climate.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    How One Philanthropist is Strategically Joining the Climate Fight

    For Kathy Washienko, a philanthropist at Seattle Foundation and a board member of Climate Solutions, climate change is an issue with two lenses. One is a bird's-eye lens -- the reality that climate change threatens and can impact all of us -- and the other lens focuses a bit closer to home -- the importance of confronting climate change on behalf of children growing up today and the generations to come. "To me, it's just a profound problem facing society that has the potential and the likelihood of impacting so many facets of our lives. It just has to rise to the top," Washienko says. "We need to get more people to understand the intense urgency of the climate problem and that there really is hope. There's a lot we can do that can have a big impact on how climate change plays out." Motivated by her ethic of service and professional training in public health, Washienko doesn't shy away form big problems. Her optimism cuts across complexity and as a philanthropist, she value the multiple and reinforcing strategies in the environmental movement. "It's really important that we broaden the tent and help more people see their role in the climate fight, find their voice in the climate fight," says Washienko. "Ultimately, we win by a whole bunch of progress in a lot of different areas. Every solar panel that goes up on someone's roof, every mass transit line we build so people are in their cars less, or [ever person who] chooses to buy an electric vehicle instead of a gas-powered car -- all of those are steps in the fight. We all need to live on a planet that is stable." Washienko's approach demonstrates that in the face of complex problems like climate change, philanthropists can benefit from investing in multiple strategies. Knowing the scale and systemic nature of the problem, Washienko significantly invests in ambitious, multi-year policy and systems change efforts led by local organizations like Climate Solutions. She also focuses some of her resources on immediate carbon reduction strategies, like Northwest SEED's solar panel program. Closer to home, Washienko's sense of urgency can be seen through her ties with family and community. Family is a tether that unites people across geographic and economic borders, and for Washienko, one that made an already personal issue that much more urgent. "I would be concerned and active whether or not I'd ever had children. But, to have kids, have them be aware of what's happening and look to their parents for some sort of reassurance and be like, 'okay, this is looking bad!' -- I feel a strong moral obligation to say, 'I've done everything I can'." These beliefs, coupled with a thorough knowledge of the issue's time sensitivity, led Washienko to rethink her philanthropic strategy. Working with her advisers at Seattle Foundation and the Northwest Conservation Fellowship at Seattle Venture Partners, she decided to "frontload" her giving in the climate space and give significantly over a five-year period rather than parse it out evenly over a longer term. By nature, partnering with a community foundation complements Washienko's approach to advocacy, which comes from a desire to affect change that strengthens people's sense of connectedness. "Climate change can feel like a somewhat overwhelming problem to try to address. But when there are ways that a group of people each doing something relatively small can add up to something much bigger, we demonstrate and give people hope that we can tackle things more at the scale of the problem. I'm happy to see that Seattle Foundation is talking about climate change more directly and having it as a focus of some of their grantmaking efforts." Learn more about environmental philanthropy at the Seattle Foundation.


Looking for a way to get involved?

Climate is a fascinating topic, and others found these events, galas, conferences and volunteering opportunities aggregated by Giving Compass to be relevant for individuals with a passion for Climate.

Loading...
Learn More

Are you ready to give?

If you are interested in Climate, please see these relevant Issue Funds, Charitable Organizations or Projects where you can get involved.

Loading...
Learn More
Connect

Loading...

Loading...

Learn More
Take Action

Loading...

Loading...

Loading...

Learn More
More from
Giving Compass
  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    “Climate Justice” Advances Discussion of Climate Change Risks and Response
  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Why Building Climate Resilience in the South Needs Philanthropic Support
  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Rebecca Wolfe, Mercy Corps Director of Evidence and Influence
Follow Us
Newsletter

Become a newsletter subscriber to stay up-to-date on the latest Giving Compass news.

About Us
  • About Giving Compass
  • In The News
  • Contact Us
  • Content at Giving Compass
  • Partner With Us
Trending Issues
  • Environment
  • Homelessness
  • STEM Education
  • Equal Pay Act
  • Gender Equality

Copyright © 2021, Giving Compass, LLC

•
  • Privacy Policy
  • User Agreement

Sign in

Your personal information is confidential at Giving Compass. For more information, please visit our privacy policy. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use.