Ranked Nonprofits: National Climate Change 2012

The Natural Resources Defense Council's purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.
We work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life -- air, land and water -- and to defend endangered natural places.
We seek to establish sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth as central ethical imperatives of human society. NRDC affirms the integral place of human beings in the environment.
We strive to protect nature in ways that advance the long-term welfare of present and future generations.
We work to foster the fundamental right of all people to have a voice in decisions that affect their environment. We seek to break down the pattern of disproportionate environmental burdens borne by people of color and others who face social or economic inequities. Ultimately, NRDC strives to help create a new way of life for humankind, one that can be sustained indefinitely without fouling or depleting the resources that support all life on Earth.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is a nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens combining rigorous scientific analysis, innovative policy development, and effective citizen advocacy to achieve practical environmental solutions.

The World Resources Institute's mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Environmental Defense Fund’s mission is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends. Guided by science and economics, we find practical and lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

Launched in November 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, long recognized in the United States and abroad as an influential and pragmatic voice on climate issues. The Pew Center’s founder, Eileen Claussen, and its senior team continue to lead the effort.

At C2ES, we believe that ensuring safe, reliable, affordable energy for all – while protecting the global climate – is a paramount challenge of the 21st century. We see signs of progress around the world. But far greater effort is needed if we are to keep these challenges from becoming true crises. Now more than ever, we need committed voices with the expertise to cut through complexity and craft innovative solutions; the independence to separate fact from fiction; and the credibility to work with all sides to build common ground.

USCAN’s mission is to support and strengthen civil society organizations to influence the design and development of an effective, equitable and sustainable global strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure its implementation at international, national and local levels.

Climate Solutions works to accelerate practical and profitable solutions to global warming by galvanizing leadership, growing investment and bridging divides.

Since 1998, Climate Solutions has pioneered the vision and cultivated political leadership in the Northwest for the proposition that clean energy and broadly-shared economic prosperity can go hand-in-hand. Through our Business Leaders, New Energy Cities, and Harvesting Clean Energy programs, Climate Solutions builds a powerful constituency for local, regional and national action on climate and clean energy.

Climate Reality Project's Mission is to reveal the complete truth about the climate crisis in a way that ignites the moral courage in each of us.

The mission of Center for Clean Air Policy is to significantly advance cost-effective and pragmatic air quality and climate policy through analysis, dialogue and education to reach a broad range of policy-makers and stakeholders worldwide.