Triple J’s Hottest 100 listeners donated $250,000 for climate change

Triple j’s blockbuster Hottest 100 delivered more than music. The annual countdown also pulled in more than a quarter million dollars for long-term bushfire relief.

More 4,800 listeners donated upwards of $250,000 for Greening Australia, which tackles climate change by running tree-planting initiatives across the country.

“We’re gonna plant that money,” Greening Australia CEO Brendan Foran told Veronica & Lewis on-air.

Through the ABC’s partnership with Greening Australia, music fans score a Hottest 100 temporary tattoo pack for every $30 donated, a sum which can apparently suck half a tonne of carbon out of the atmosphere, or roughly the output from the production of 1,000 cans of booze.

The 2019 Hottest 100 countdown broke a bunch of records. Among them, an all-time 3.2 million-plus votes were cast. Also, Billie Eilish became the first female solo artist to win the contest, with ‘Bad Guy,’ and at 18, she’s the youngest act ever to hit No. 1.

The seeds to Greening Australia were planted in 1982, with a vision to protect, restore and conserve the country’s native vegetation.

By 2030, the environmental organisation aims to plant 500 million native trees and shrubs across the country, absorb more than 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.

Donate here.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.