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Abstract Flame

RESOURCES

Effective Environmentalism is a subcommunity within the Effective Altruism movement focusing on the intersection between EA and Environmentalism, primarily climate change.

 

As such, we emphasise making good decisions through a fair and honest analysis of all options. 

Introductory Material

Here are a few introductory pieces that will get you going fast

​Primary Material
 

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  • Taylor Sloan: Applying effective altruism to climate change (10 min)

    • An investigation of the most cost-effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions and which industries have the most potential for change. The results are surprising!
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  • Future of Life Institute: Climate Change Is the Most Urgent Existential Risk (7 min)

    • An argument that climate change and biodiversity loss may pose the most immediate and important threat to human survival given their indirect effects on other EA issues such as nuclear war and AI safety.
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  • 80,000 hours: Climate Change Problem Profile (25 min)

    • An overview of climate change and why it is a top cause area for Effective Altruism (within the larger category of existential risks). The profile includes arguments for and against working on this problem and how are people currently tackling climate change.
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  • Founders Pledge: Climate Change Executive Summary (10 min)

    • The Founders Pledge is a “community of entrepreneurs” that is committed to funding “evidence-led” solutions to global problems. This executive summary from 2020 outlines the scale of the current climate crisis, discusses the role of energy, and recommends ways to harness low-carbon technology. If you are short on time, focus on the informative graphs.
       

  • Project Drawdown: Table of Solutions (skim for 4–5 minutes)

    • An integrative assessment of solutions to climate change. Note that Drawdown Scenario 1 is roughly in-line with 2ËšC temperature rise by 2100, while Drawdown Scenario 2 is roughly in-line with 1.5ËšC temperature rise at century’s end. Reduced food waste, health and education, and onshore wind turbines are among the highest-impact solutions. 

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Secondary Material
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Image by Rohit Tandon

Organisations

A few important ones to get acquainted with

Problem Ranking

Research

Grantmaking

  • ClimateWorks

    • A grant-making foundation, with a focus on cooling technologies.

      • Note: The last annual report was in 2011 and their last award was given in 2018.
         

Movements

  • 350.org

    • A movement for 100% Renewables through grassroots campaigns and training movement members. They also host resources for climate activists.

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Job Databases

Choosing the right intervention

What are possible interventions within your chosen subproblem and how much of the subproblem do they solve? 

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For example, clean energy can substantially decrease CO2 emissions because fossil fuels are a major contributor to emissions.

Crowd Cheering

Our Living Resources

The document below holds an updated archive of resources from the Effective Environmentalist community.

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