Hi there! We’re Zach (left) and Zephyr Cooper (right), and we’re brothers from Seattle who are doing a COTAP fundraising/offsetting campaign we’ve named “Hike for the Future.” Check out our video above to hear what we have to say!
We’ve set a goal of hiking 100 miles by the end of Summer 2022, with a fundraising goal of $2,000.
As of December 4th, we’ve REACHED our hiking goal of 100 miles and so far we’ve raised $1,565!
Your Support Matters
We’re asking that folks support our campaign by donating any amount through this page (COTAP’s minimum is $45/3 tonnes). You may donate elsewhere on the COTAP site, but please be sure to include “Hike for the Future” in the “Referred by:” field or include it in your donation notes when donating a vehicle or cryptocurrency etc. You may also forward your donation receipt to donate at cotap dot org along with “Hike for the Future.” If you have questions or would like to confirm that your donation has been added to this campaign, please email donate at cotap dot org. Also, you can go here to see if your employer matches donations.
COTAP’s Partner Projects Help People Like Oliva Nyirazuba
In 2012, Oliva became a participant of Ecotrust Uganda’s Trees for Global Benefits project. She lives in the Maliba community of Western Uganda’s Kasese district, and she’s planted 400 trees which are sequestering an estimated 203.4 tonnes of CO2.
Oliva is projected to earn $610.40 from TGB. In this interview, you’ll learn how she uses those earnings, as well as about her children and grandchildren, one of her favorite ways to relax, what “MIFA” stands for, how she lost some of her trees, and how her community views firewood thieves!
More about COTAP
Established in 2011, Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty (COTAP) is a U.S.-based NGO with two missions: global poverty alleviation and carbon emissions mitigation.
COTAP is a U.S. 501(c)3 public charity which exclusively supports projects certified under the Plan Vivo Foundation Carbon Standard. Plan Vivo is the longest-standing voluntary forestry carbon standard in the world and the only standard which requires that project organizers share 60%+ of carbon revenues with participating communities. This, combined with COTAP’s modest margin of 10%, ensures that projects deliver $8.10+ per tonne in income for some of the world’s poorest communities.
COTAP supports the following projects:
- CommuniTree reforestation project in northwestern Nicaragua
- Trees for Global Benefits reforestation project, which operates throughout Uganda
- Khasi Hills Community REDD+ Project in Meghalaya, India
- Drawa Rainforest Carbon Project in Vanua Levu, Fiji
- Bujang Raba Community Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) Project in Jambi, Indonesia
- Scolel’te Community Reforestation Project in Chiapas, Mexico
Individuals and organizations from any country may support COTAP’s projects, and through a variety of payment options including all major cryptocurrencies, donor-advised funds, credit cards, PayPal, and even vehicle donations. Further, COTAP offers a recurring monthly offsetting option and accepts donations in U.S. Dollars, Euros, and Great British Pounds.
Transparency
Tonnes offset on this page will be evenly allocated to all COTAP projects. You will receive a detailed offset acknowledgement, and your tonnes will be included in COTAP’s public carbon credit retirements on the Markit Environmental Registry like this. You can track COTAP’s progress and download projects’ annual reports, which contain detailed accounting of payments to communities, in our Transparency section.
Additional Program Details
COTAP pools purchases of carbon offsets by individuals and organizations to support certified afforestation and reforestation projects which make payments to farmers in exchange for the planting and long-term maintenence of trees on their land. All of our projects are certified by Plan Vivo, the longest-standing forestry carbon standard in the world, and the only standard which requires that projects have detailed plans for direct carbon revenue sharing with participating communities.
Forest protection, plantings and tree growth are monitored and verified, and farmers receive front-loaded, performance-based payments over a period of 7 to 10 years for carbon sequestration which is projected to take place over the course of 25 or more years. In addition, farmers benefit from their trees’ fruit and nut crop income, increased food and fuel security, improved soil quality, and reduced erosion.
More About Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offsets are the market-based climate change solution through which you take responsibility for your unavoidable CO2 emissions from driving, flying, and home energy use. By buying offsets, you are taking responsibility for your personal contribution to climate change by indirectly compensating others for performing the service of counteracting the emissions which you haven’t yet been able to eliminate. When you offset through COTAP, you’re going a step further by also transforming livelihoods of some of the poorest communities on Earth.
Through COTAP, offsetting is a transparent, accountable, and far-reaching funding mechanism that protects and restores ecosystems while changing lives for the poorest. Though offsetting can be a practical and relevant part of your personal climate action plan, offsetting alone will not stop climate change – there is no substitute for policy and coordinated, global government action. Offsetting should only be done alongside other equally important personal climate change actions, like advocating for cleaner energy sources and reducing your carbon footprint. Offsetting, advocacy, and reduction efforts all work together. For example, the process of measuring your emissions helps to reveal opportunities for reducing your footprint as well as areas where we need cleaner energy sources.
Learn More About COTAP
To learn more, please see the Mission, Projects, How It Works, How We’re Different, Transparency, and Standards sections of our site and see our above menu.
Be cool like us and do COTAP endurance event fundraiser
If you’re interested in doing an endurance event to raise awareness and funding for COTAP and its projects (running, cycling, triathlon, etc.), check out their program details here.
