Effective climate change donations
Australians donate billions each year to environmental and climate causes. But when it comes to climate change, not all donations achieve the same impact. Some approaches are visible and popular; others are quieter but far more effective at reducing global emissions.
Why it matters
Evidence-based climate giving in Australia
The EAAE Environment Fund helps Australians make effective climate change donations by directing funding to climate charities informed by the best available evidence and research on high-impact, systemic change.
Climate change is a global problem, and emissions reductions matter wherever they occur. The question isn’t whether to act — it’s how to act in proportion to the scale of the problem. Effective Altruism Australia Environment (EAAE) was established to help donors move beyond intuition and towards evidence-based climate giving, informed by expert research and careful judgement, through the EAAE Environment Fund.
The fund
What is the EAAE Environment Fund?
The EAAE Environment Fund is a tax-deductible fund run by Effective Altruism Australia Environment. It enables Australians to donate to a small number of high-impact climate charities working on interventions expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at scale.
EAAE determines where funds are allocated. These decisions are guided by independent research from Giving Green, an international climate charity evaluator, alongside EAA’s own assessment and governance processes.
How funding decisions are made
Guided by independent climate research
EAAE is responsible for all grantmaking decisions for the Environment Fund, drawing on external evidence to guide those decisions. Our primary evaluation partner is Giving Green, a research-first organisation dedicated to identifying evidence-based climate solutions and funding opportunities that are expected to reduce global warming effectively.
At the core of this process are three research criteria
Scale
The potential magnitude of emissions reductions an approach could deliver.
Feasibility
How plausible it is that additional funding will translate into real-world outcomes.
Funding need
The extent to which a strategy or organisation is under-funded.
Giving Green’s team applies these criteria systematically across geographies, sectors and technologies to identify high-leverage climate strategies and the organisations best positioned to enact them. Their approach is publicly documented and continuously refined, reflecting uncertainties about climate philanthropy and the evolving evidence base. Read more about Giving Green’s research process.
Where your money goes
Partner climate charities supported
The EAAE Environment Fund currently supports three climate charities, selected based on the best available evidence about their expected impact.
Why give through the fund
Why give through the EAAE Environment Fund?
Effective climate change donations, without doing the research yourself
Climate impact assessment is complex and technical. The EAAE Environment Fund pools expert research and judgement so donors can give confidently without needing to evaluate dozens of climate charities independently.
A focus on systemic impact
Rather than funding small-scale or symbolic projects, the fund prioritises interventions capable of influencing entire industries, policies and energy systems.
Transparent and evidence-led
Our approach is grounded in publicly available research, with clear reasoning behind why particular organisations are supported.
FAQs
Climate charities in Australia: frequently asked questions
Have another question? Email us at [email protected].
Why not focus on tree planting or carbon offsets?
Giving Green’s research suggests many tree-planting and offset projects face challenges around verification, additionality and marginal impact. The Environment Fund therefore prioritises climate interventions expected to deliver larger, more durable emissions reductions per dollar, particularly through systemic change.
Does policy and legal work really make a difference?
Yes. Giving Green highlights systems-change approaches — such as policy, regulatory and institutional reform — because they can influence entire sectors and create long-lasting impact beyond a single project. See Giving Green’s explanation of systems-change climate giving.
Why only a few climate charities?
Because focus increases impact.
Concentrating funding on a small number of high-performing organisations allows those charities to scale faster and pursue time-sensitive opportunities. Spreading funds thinly across many charities often reduces effectiveness rather than improving it.
How often are partner organisations reviewed?
Partners are reviewed periodically as new evidence becomes available or funding needs change. Allocations may be updated if stronger opportunities emerge.
Why focus on global impact rather than only Australia?
Climate change is global. A tonne of CO₂ avoided has the same effect regardless of where it occurs. The fund prioritises interventions that reduce emissions most effectively overall, including globally focused work.
Can I choose which organisation my donation supports?
Donations to the Environment Fund are allocated across partner organisations based on EAAE’s assessment of where funding can do the most good at the time.
The fund is structured this way because of the regulations that apply to environmental charities in Australia.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes. All donations to the EAAE Environment Fund are tax-deductible in Australia through Effective Altruism Australia Environment.
Donate to the EAAE Environment Fund
Make your climate donation count by supporting evidence-based, high-impact climate charities.