Welcome to the inaugural newsletter for Climate Wise. In these uncertain times, challenged as we are by COVID-19, the fact remains that the largest threat to our planet is the rising global temperature caused by changes in our atmosphere, and no amount of social distancing is going to change that. We need to see the energy and focus COVID has brought to the world brought to our fragile climate. Climate Wise gives you, the individual, the family, the community or the business, the ability to do that by offsetting your footprint and make a positive difference to the world around us.
Climate Wise has hit the ground running in these challenging times and is determined to harness the power of individuals by ‘crowdfunding for the planet’ and enabling people around the world to have a positive impact on the environment. In much the same way that we are all working together as a worldwide population to stop COVID-19, we believe we can harness the collective to reduce our impact on the climate and ensure the planet is left clean and safe for our children, their children and their grandchildren.
What has the organisation done?
We’ve been hard at work getting Climate Wise ready and have been preparing for launch since the end of last year. From setting up our legal structures to building our website, all the back-office administration work has been completed to enable us to maximise our impact.
Identifying, selecting and monitoring programmes has been a core part of our work and we are now working with our donors and our projects to ensure we link those who want to give to the most meaningful projects.
What projects are we supporting?
Kenya Biogas Programme
The Kenya biogas programme provides biodigesters to individual households. These domestic biodigesters provide a way for households with livestock to reduce their dependence on polluting firewood and expensive fossil fuels.
This project has already built more than 15,000 biodigesters and saved over 200,000 tons of wood – while creating 115 jobs in the local area.
India Wind Turbine Project
This 100 MW wind power plant, supported by Orange Renewable, is located in the district of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, India.
The project consists of 50 wind turbines of 2.0 MW each generating clean electricity. The goal is to generate over 215 GWh of clean energy and positively impact the lives of local communities.
Improved Cookstoves in Peru
The MICROSOL initiative, “Qori Q’oncha – Improved Cookstoves Diffusion Programme in Peru”, is distributing lifesaving cookstoves in Peru.
Each new stove sold emits less greenhouse gas emissions compared to the original stove, helping to bring down global emissions and providing better quality cooking equipment for vulnerable families.
More than 140,000 improved cookstoves have been installed, benefiting approximately 600,000 people living in poverty in Peru.
Coalition for Rainforest Nations
The Coalition for Rainforest Nations was created in 2005 by its members and the United Nation’s REDD+ Mechanism. It was designed to support conservation and to contribute to the battle against climate change. Today this coalition includes 90% of the world’s remaining rainforests.
The mission of the group is to create sound and long- lasting opportunities for environmental sustainability, social and economic advancement. To date, they have sequestered over 8.6 billion tons of CO2.
What’s Next?
Now we’re up and running we can start to shout about all the amazing projects we’re involved with – and celebrate the donors that make it possible. Over the next few months you will see us live and active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.
In addition, we will be adding a carbon footprint calculator to the site so you can compute an estimate of your personal footprint based on your lifestyle. We will also be launching an online shop where you can purchase unique, environmentally-friendly, Climate Wise merchandise.
A key part of our work will be talking to businesses and schools about our initiatives, and as we add donors you will undoubtedly see an increasing number of Climate Wise team members out and about in communities near you.
What can you do to help?
Spread the word! The more people that realise that such a small donation can contribute to major change, the better. This is crowdfunding for the planet so please speak to people, share on social media and help be part of this movement for environmental change.