Matthew Owen is the Founder of Cool Earth.Cool Earth is a charity that believes the most effective way to fight climate change is to protect the best carbon-storing technology that already exists: the rainforest.And the best way to protect the rainforest? It’s not carbon credits or tree planting apps, it’s supporting the indigenous people who have been guardians of the rainforest for thousands of years. Cool Earth gives cash direct to rainforest communities enabling them to fund local projects and tackle the root causes of deforestation. In this episode I chat to Matthew about his career journey from finance to charity, the current state of climate change, the most impactful changes we can make, why tree planting apps aren’t the solution and his journey building Cool Earth. Highlights:
01.43: Matthew’s journey from finance to charity 
04.49: The current stage of climate change and is there still hope?
09.39: The damage that’s been done to the rainforests 
10.35: The attempts to protect the rainforests over the decades 
16.32: Tree planting apps – helping to solve the problem or not? 
21.53: The most impactful ways to affect climate change 
25.56: Cool Earth and their approach to protecting the rainforest 
31.52: How do the indigenous people use the money
36.24: The harsh reality of charity fundraising 
47.20: Matthew’s motivations and why it’s soon time for him to take a step back 
51.55: Matthew’s advice on building a charity from the ground up 
Our Host:Craig Turner. Founder of Confido Talent, a business that helps Tech For Good startups to scale their product, design and engineering teams. https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigturner7/ / www.confidotalent.com / craig@confidotalent.com Our Guest:Mathew Owen, Founder of Cool Earth. https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-j-owen/ / https://www.coolearth.org/  Our Sponsor:Jobs For Good. The only job platform to find the best jobs in sustainability, impact and much more. www.jobsforgood.io / https://bit.ly/3wjwJa0 Our Producer:Jabriel Al-Suhaimi. Jabriel is a podcast aficionada, editing and producing podcasts for many, including himself. https://www.jabrielalsuhaimi.com/ / https://twitter.com/jabealsuhaimi  Our Content and Marketing:Rachel Loosley, Content and Marketing Manager at Confido Talent. https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelloosley/ / rachel@confidotalent.com