#010 - Effective climate giving with Emily Thai

Emily Thai

Emily is a Manager at Giving Green, helping to drive high-impact climate donations.

In this episode we discuss

• Emily’s journey from studying engineering, venture capital, consulting

• How giving green uses research and communication to drive high-impact climate donations

• The biggest mistakes people make when donating to climate change

• How individuals differ from corporations when it comes to effective climate giving

• Arguments why you shouldn’t worry about your personal carbon footprint

• Reconciling our identities as engineers against what work we enjoy doing and the impact we want to have

• Decarbonising heavy industry and deep-tech R&D

• Sean’s thoughts on doing a PhD and what he might have done differently to have more impact through his PhD

Top resources

• Giving Green is actively hiring to grow their research team, with roles closing in mid-October! One of their researchers even has a PhD in fluid mechanics, like Sean. Check givinggreen.earth/careers for details

• Giving Green’s top recommendations for climate donors

• Giving Green’s corporate climate giving recommendations for businesses

• White paper on climate giving for business

• Climate Leadership Initiative for Philanthropists

Emily Thai

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esthai/

• Giving Green

  • Website: https://www.givinggreen.earth/

  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giving-green/

  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/GivingGreenE

Timestamps

00:00:00 Intro
00:01:48 Emily
00:02:17 Emily's journey
00:08:24 Emotional engagement for work
00:09:56 Giving Green
00:13:33 How to think about effective giving
00:20:39 Common mistakes in climate giving
00:25:46 Why you shouldn't worry about your carbon footprint
00:32:08 Resolving our identities as engineers
00:36:51 Sean's decision to not pursue academia
00:40:45 Opportunities for impact in the climate space
00:44:14 Industrial decarbonisation
00:47:52 Flexibility in career planning and skill development
00:50:03 Resources for effective climate giving
00:54:59 What do you wish you had invented?
00:55:38 Sean's thoughts on the value of doing a PhD
01:02:41 Learn more about Emily and Giving Green
01:04:35 Outro

Learn more

Climate change resource page

Learn more our recommendations for working in climate change as an engineer

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