Cool Earth

Cool Earth's Mission & Why we exist

Cool Earth backs people to protect rainforest and fight the climate crisis.

We exist to champion the relationship between people, rainforest and climate.

We are a people-first charity working in the three biggest, carbon-capturing, tropical rainforests on Earth.

We give cash directly to rainforest communities, to fund projects that create choice, tackle the root causes of deforestation and protect vital carbon sinks.

Why people?

People are the solution to the climate crisis. Indigenous peoples and local communities have protected, nurtured and kept rainforest healthy for thousands of years.

Backing people that live in rainforest by recognising and respecting their rights is essential in fighting the climate crisis.

We listen to and work in partnership with indigenous leaders and local, in-country NGOs to get cash to the people best placed to invest it. When cash is paired with traditional knowledge, it funds radical solutions – be it beehives, solar farms or satellites in space – it all protects rainforest.

Why rainforests?

We focus our work on tropical rainforest due to its sheer potential to store carbon and regulate our global climate. Protecting tropical rainforest is a cost-effective and potent way to fight the climate crisis.

Keeping rainforest intact could provide 23% of climate mitigation urgently needed to cool our planet. Storing carbon isn’t the only thing rainforest does.

Rainforests affect our weather and are at the heart of Earth’s water cycle. Continued deforestation could trigger major shifts in rainfall and increase temperatures worldwide.

It is home to the most biodiverse habitats. In the Amazon alone there are over 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fish, 1,200 birds, 420 mammals, 420 amphibians, and 370 reptiles have been scientifically classified. Not to mention that rainforests around the world are home to millions and millions of people.

In fact, rainforest is estimated to be home to 350 million people around the tropics. As well as being essential for shelter, health and food, rainforest is also an intrinsic part of many indigenous communities’ cultures and traditions.

We know that indigenous people and local communities are the best protectors of rainforest.

That's why we start with people, work in tropical rainforest and believe in radical solutions.

Key stats

3 Rainforest Biomes: We work across the Amazon, Congo Basin, and New Guinea rainforest biomes.

105m trees in our Partnerships: Trees are our greatest natural carbon-storing technology in the fight against the climate crisis.

40 People-Powered Projects: From the Amazon to New Guinea to the Congo Basin, communities all over the world are fighting deforestation.

117m Tonnes of Carbon Stored: Carbon is being stored and kept out of the atmosphere in all of our partnerships in the Amazon, Congo and New Guinea rainforests.