The climate crisis has arguably never been more visible and destructive than in the last few months, with record-breaking heat waves, fires, and floods occurring simultaneously around the world. The latest IPCC report confirms what we already know: human activity has warmed the planet, and further inaction will have horrific consequences.
The good news is that we know exactly what we need to do to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change: We need to transition to renewable energy, fast. This is not a terribly complicated task: humans have all the technology and means to make the switch to clean energy, and the market is already shifting in the right direction. All we are missing is the government regulation necessary to make the transition happen within the next few years. Unfortunately, the fossil fuel industry has spent decades interfering with political systems in order to maintain their dominance in the market and keep the world dependent on pollution. With our most powerful industries and leaders battling for change (or lack thereof), it can be difficult for everyone else to feel that their actions can move the needle in the right direction.
Enter the Carbon Lighthouse Association (CLA). Our nonprofit allows individuals and businesses to help create the systemic change we desperately need to combat the climate crisis. We purchase pollution permits from US-regulated carbon markets, and then we hold the permits indefinitely so they can never be used to pollute. This practice effectively lowers the carbon emissions cap for every cap and trade auction we participate in, tangibly preventing pollution before it happens. Plus, when we bid against fossil fuel power plants on behalf of our donors, we are raising the price to pollute by increasing demand, making pollution that much more expensive and inconvenient. Disrupting both the operations and financial gains of fossil fuel corporations is an effective way to accelerate the clean energy transition.
CLA’s participation in the cap and trade auctions create even more systemic change. The majority of every donation we receive to buy carbon allowances is reinvested by the states that host the auctions into energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. So far, these reinvestments alone have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars saved on energy and health bills, thousands of green jobs created, and millions of tons of CO2 emissions avoided. These results prove that investing in a greener future means investing in an improved quality of life for the general public, and can serve as inspiration for other governing bodies to follow suit.
The Carbon Lighthouse Association allows our donors to easily and tangibly create systemic change by funding green government reform. Our donation impact calculators will not only tell you exactly how many tons of CO2 emissions will be prevented as a result of each donation, they also provide an estimate of each donation’s additional impact after being reinvested by state governments. Create systemic change now.