Rainforest Trust

Deforestation accounts for one third of carbon emissions worldwide, as well as reducing biodiversity and threatening species extinction. The Rainforest Trust’s mission is protecting threatened tropical forests and endangered wildlife worldwide by partnering with local and community organisations in and around vulnerable areas. Through these highly effective partnerships, they ensure sustainable results necessary for the long term protection of tropical ecosystems and the wildlife they hold. They are one of the top rated charities on Charity Navigator for their efficacy and transparency. Since 1988 they have protected over 23 million acres of land and around 1.3 billion trees. https://www.rainforesttrust.org

Trees for the Future

The world is losing trees at a rate of 50 soccer fields per minute, mostly in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. This leads to degradation of arable land and desertification, and can lead to famine in vulnerable areas. Trees for the Future are active in many countries, helping local communities with reforestation projects and organic polyculture farming. It’s a great charity because it addresses both the issues of deforestation as well as poverty and hunger in the third world. https://www.trees.org

Effective Altruism

Effective Altruism Australia’s objective is to help others as much as possible for every dollar donated. To do this, they support charities that are consistently ranked as highly cost effective by independent charity evaluators such as GiveWell and The Life You Can Save. Because of their focus on transparency, commitment to evaluation and follow-up, and scaling of proven interventions, there is high confidence that these charities can reliably transform the lives of the worst off. They partner with five charities, supporting them by fundraising on their behalf in Australia: the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF), the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), Deworm the World Initiative, GiveDirectly and Malaria Consortium. https://effectivealtruism.org.au

Climate Council

The Climate Council was founded in 2013 as a not-for-profit, 100% community-funded organisation after the federal government abolished the Australian Climate Commission. Climate Council are Australia’s leading climate change communications organisation, providing authoritative advice to the Australian public on climate change and solutions based on the most up-to-date science available. https://www.climatecouncil.org.au

Australian Greens

I don’t much like making a political statement here, but environmental degradation and climate change are likely to be the biggest challenges facing humanity this century, and the Greens are the only major political party in Australia taking these issues seriously. They are also trying to get big money out of politics to prevent capitalism hijacking democracy. As such they don’t accept large corporate donations, so rely on small grass-roots donations. https://greens.org.au