Cool Earth
Cool Earth is a UK-based international NGO that funds Indigenous communities to protect endangered rainforests in order to combat the climate crisis and protect ecosystems.
| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Johan Eliasch and Frank Field |
| Type | NGO |
| Focus | Environmentalism, Conservation, Ecology |
| Location |
|
Area served | Brazil (project completed) Cambodia Cameroon Democratic Republic of Congo Ecuador (project completed) Mozambique Papua New Guinea Peru |
| Method | Collaboration |
Key people | Johan Eliasch, Frank Field, Mark Ellingham, Lord Deben, Baroness Jenkin |
| Website | CoolEarth.org |
The charity is associated with long term partnerships with Indigenous villages, unconditional cash transfers, and advocating for basic income as an effective conservation strategy. It shares many of its methods and values with organisations and networks, like Give Directly and the Basic Income Earth Network.
It is supported by Professor James Lovelock and Professor Johan Rockstrom and a number of celebrities including the late Dame Vivienne Westwood, Pamela Anderson and Ricky Gervais. Professor James Lovelock, was quoted in the Guardian saying, “You're far better off giving to the charity Cool Earth, which gives the money to the Indigenous peoples to not take down their forests.”. Professor Johan Rockström, a world leading climate scientist, and Cool Earth Trustee has also shared his opinions on the charity, “Cool Earth has one of the most effective means of showing that conservation of rainforests can go hand in hand with community development.”and “I would put rainforests right there at the top of humanity’s to-do list. Cool Earth has one of the most effective means of conservation.”.
In 2016, a detailed external evaluation of Cool Earth undertaken by Giving What We Can found Cool Earth to be the most cost-effective charity working on mitigating climate change through direct action. The report concluded: "Cool Earth is overall the most cost-effective climate change charity which can reliably reduce emissions without risk". Awards made to the charity include Charity of the Year Civil Society Media Charity Awards and best International NGO at the PEA Awards.
The organisation is funded by over 70,000 individuals as well as foundations and businesses in the USA, UK and Europe. Moreover, Cool Earth is ranked “highly effective” by multiple charity evaluators. For example, it has received a top rating from GiveWell, which is a leading independent evaluator of charities.