New Giving Green initiative launched to combat climate change

At IDinsight, our calling is to use data and evidence to improve people’s lives. Since inception, our work has focused on partnering with leaders and communities in low-income parts of Africa and Asia. This is where there is the greatest concentration of need and where we believe we can have the most impact.

But there are some challenges that transcend boundaries. Principal among these is climate change, a threat to human societies as well as plant and animal ecosystems. Despite global rallying cries and the efforts of individuals, policymakers, celebrities, and businesses globally, we are not yet making a dent. Worse yet, we are spending valuable resources on approaches that are failing to sufficiently reduce carbon emissions. If a donor or investor or government asked for the most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — they would come up short.

After spending hours looking for a resource that would tell him the most evidence-based, cost-effective way to donate to address climate change, IDinsight Partner and Chief Economist, Daniel Stein, saw a deep need. He saw the need for a new resource to help donors identify organizations that are measurably moving the needle on climate change.

Last week we launched a new beta project, Giving Green, to further achieve this end. In Dan’s words,

“This initiative is designed to help donors, policymakers, businesses, and individuals answer a simple question: ‘How can I best allocate funds to fight climate change?” It is a simple question with no simple answer.’”

At IDinsight, our comparative advantage and mission lies in tailoring cutting-edge data and evidence tools to help people identify what works so they can make impactful decisions. We believe bringing rigorous analysis to the climate space will further that aim.

We decided to prototype Giving Green ahead of this giving season. We put our team of economists, public policy professionals, and effective altruists to the task: assessing donation opportunities to reduce GHG emissions and make recommendations for funders. Our initial research has concentrated on the carbon offset market, where companies and individuals can purchase carbon credits in an attempt to go “carbon neutral.” Our team researches which offsets, if any, can be purchased with confidence.

The Giving Green initiative at IDinsight is still in beta mode. As we build it out, we are eager to collaborate with funders, researchers, and service providers who are interested in finding the most cost-effective climate donation recommendations based on rigorous analysis.

If you would like to collaborate with us, please get in touch: givinggreen@idinsight.org.