Solving Climate, Naturally Solving Climate, Naturally

SCN host Julia Strong and field correspondent Morrison Mast report from New York Climate Week 2023, bringing listeners voices from the Brazilian Amazon, London, New York, and more to experience one of the climate community’s biggest weeks and understand the state-of-play of nature-based solutions during this tumultuous time in carbon markets. In this episode, we share our takeaways from climate week by sharing recordings from panels and conversations at Nature4Climate’s Nature Positive Hub throughout the week. Our three main takeaways were:
NY Climate Week should be rebranded to Nature and Climate Week given the plethora of not only climate but also nature focused events.
Indigenous peoples are increasingly included in the conversation and recognized as critical and influential stewards of and stakeholders in nature-based solutions. 
Concern about the current state of the market exists alongside optimism about ongoing efforts to resolve current issues and a general belief in the importance of this tool to protect, restore, and better manage nature for climate, biodiversity, and nature outcomes.
Other themes covered include:  
Increasing corporate engagement in nature conservation and NbS spurred by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.
Alignment between climate action and biodiversity conservation via 30x30 commitments and Convention on Biological Diversity.
The importance of indigenous sovereignty in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.
Balancing necessary improvements with optimism, and views from some of the world's largest REDD+ project developers on rebuilding trust in carbon markets.
Featured Voices (in order of appearance):
Lucy Almond, Chair, Nature4Climate and Strategic Communications Lead for Nature-based Solutions at World Economic Forum
Roman Czebiniak, Nature Based Solutions & Climate Private Sector Lead, WRI
Eric Wilburn, founder and principal consultant, NatureBridge
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples from a Nia Tero panel
Nemonte Nequimo, Indigenous activist, member of the Waorani Nation from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador, and co-founder of the Indigenous-led nonprofit organization Ceibo Alliance from a Nia Tero panel
Nara Baré, Indigenous leader and first woman elected to lead Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), Brazil
Renat Heuberger, co-Founder South Pole
Joshua Tosteson, President, Everland from a Nature Positive Hub panel
Want to learn more? Check out these websites for more information on the organizations, efforts, and events mentioned in the podcast:
Nature Positive Hub Day One Agenda
Nature Positive Hub Day Two Agenda
Nature Positive Hub Day Three Agenda
Nature Positive Hub NYCW 2023 panel recordings
Nature for Climate
Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures
Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM)
Nia Tero
New Yorker article on South Pole’s Kariba Project
South Pole announces senior leadership change
Interviews and panels recorded on: September 18th-22nd, 2023
Solving Climate, Naturally commentary recorded on: November 5th, 2023

Tim Christophersen leads Salesforce’s nature positive strategy - internally defining Salesforce’s nature-related goals and how to meet them, partnering with other corporations to help them advance action for nature, and driving cross-sector partnerships to unlock nature-based solutions at scale. Tim shares the challenges for nature-based solutions investments and corporate action today, provides his take on the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) and other recent regulatory and standards developments, discusses misconceptions in the market today, and gives tips on how to make the business case for nature in the private sector.
In this episode, we also touch on:  
> Tim’s journey from the UN to Salesforce
> The role of regulators and supranational organizations in driving impact for nature
> Why Tim chose to join Salesforce in particular
> How Tim makes the business case internally and externally for nature
> Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) and how it can be made more approachable to corporates
> Tim’s perspectives on the future of biodiversity markets
> Misconceptions of nature-based solutions in the market today
> Financing barriers and the status of the pipeline of nature-based projects
> The role of philanthropy in unlocking capital
> How to get involved in nature-positive action
Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
> Salesforce’s nature positive strategy
> Salesforce goes ‘nature positive’ 
> Salesforce outlines strategy to boost private sector support for nature conservation and restoration
> Salesforce’s FY23 Impact Report - A nature positive future
> GIST Impact study on “natural farming through a wide-angle lens: true cost accounting study of community managed natural farming in andhra pradesh, india”
> UN Decade on Restoration

Episode recorded on: July 21, 2023

In our first episode featuring a corporate sustainability leader focused on nature-based solutions, we interview Megan about her role at Iberostar, her priorities as they relate to nature-based solutions, and the challenges and opportunities driving innovation for both adaptation and mitigation internally and with partners externally. Megan shares her thoughts on what a nature positive, responsible tourism industry looks like, and what she wishes her peers in corporate sustainability knew about nature-based solutions. 
In this episode, we also touch on:  
> Megan’s journey from PhD student at Stanford to leading sustainability at Iberostar
> Iberostar’s sustainability goals and making the business case for sustainability
> How Iberostar’s action contribute to broader, industry-wide efforts
> The role of nature - both for adaptation and mitigation - in the hospitality sector 
> Megan’s experiences investing in nature-based solutions projects
> How to build trust with on-the-ground communities for meaningful impact
> Driving innovation and action on sustainability in the private sector
Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
> Wave of Change - Iberostar’s commitment to responsible tourism
> Iberostar’s decarbonization roadmap
Episode recorded on: June 23, 2023

In this episode, we talk with Clara about Restor, an online platform that hosts more than 100,000 restoration and conservation projects worldwide and connects on-the-ground land stewards of these projects with the financing and information they need to succeed. Clara speaks about what these projects actually look like, the opportunities and limitations of digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (DMRV) technology, and the role of Restor in driving the overall restoration movement forward. 
In this episode, we touch on:  
> Clara’s journey from the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica to CEO of Restor
> How Restor works - its users, business model, and tech
> Nuances of DMRV for projects in the global south
> Examples of project successes and failures
> Intersection between restoration and productive land uses like agriculture
> Misconceptions and barriers to scale for restoration projects
Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
Restor’s Home Page
Restor on YouTube
Episode recorded on: June 16, 2023

In this episode, we talk with Ariel about her work at Patch scaling carbon removal solutions through innovative finance mechanisms and tech, what’s holding the voluntary carbon market back today, and the ins and outs of soil carbon relative to other nature-based solutions out there. 
In this episode, we touch on:  
> Ariel’s personal journey from her family’s background in farming and ag to her work in business to drive capital to climate solutions
> Patch’s role in the climate tech ecosystem
> The nuances of soil carbon particularly as it relates to MRV
> Pillars of high-integrity carbon credits 
> Offtake agreements and strategies for managing risk in carbon projects
> Corporate claims and carbon credit buyer misconceptions
 
Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
Compensation vs. contribution: Comparing climate spending models
Introducing CarbonOS: the infrastructure for the carbon market of the future
Patch Offtake: A business solution driving outsized impact for our climate future
5 climate commitments and how to identify yours
A buyer's guide to trusted carbon credits: 3 things to consider when purchasing carbon credits
Episode recorded on: April 7, 2023

In this episode, we speak with Megan Reilly Cayten. Megan has developed, financed, and managed projects to deliver positive impacts for people and the planet on four continents, and is currently Senior Investment Manager with Climate Asset Management, a new institutional natural capital platform. She has a background in power and infrastructure development, finance, and asset management , and has advised funds, companies and projects on climate and carbon offset strategy and impact. She is a Senior Adviser to the Oceans 2050 Foundation, board member of the largest conservation NGO in Mexico and Environmental Voter Project and is on the National Council of World Wildlife Fund. Her passion is climate restoration, with the goal of leaving our children a habitable planet.

In this episode, we touch on:  
The specific opportunities and challenges around scaling natural climate solutions in emerging markets, and the importance of centering indigenous communities as partners and stewards
The power of the ocean as a climate lever,  the climate impacts to oceans of absorbing incredible amounts of energy and heat, and the status of emerging methodologies to unlock seaweed as a form of at-scale carbon sequestration
Climate Asset Management’s mandate, how it addresses the unique dimensions of investing in NCS, and how NCS investing differs from conventional infrastructure and real asset opportunities
What’s required for making natural capital an asset class, the path to making nature-based projects bankable, and what’s needed to drive more investment into natural climate solutions 
Why “nature is the new climate” - why nature and biodiversity considerations are as essential to our focus as addressing greenhouse gas emissions

Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
Nature is the New Climate (Megan Reilly Cayten, Environmental Finance)
The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review
Financing the Earth’s Assets: The Case for Mangroves (Earth Security)
Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures
France’s Article 29 on biodiversity disclosures and the UK’s 2021 Environment Act mandating that projects deliver a biodiversity net gain
“Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered” (E.F. Schumacher)
Episode recorded: February 1, 2022