Solving Climate, Naturally

Walter Moore (President) and Peter Cowan (Director of Conservation Science) @ Peninsula Open Space Trust In this episode, we speak with Walter Moore and Peter Cowan on the leadership team at the Peninsula Open Space Trust, the engine for conservation of the natural landscapes around and within Silicon Valley. POST is a uniquely successful land trust and has helped conserve over 80,000 acres of land in one of the most biodiverse (and most expensive) regions in the world.  Walter brings unique perspective to POST’s journey, as an expert in land conservation and law who has served as POST’s President since 2011 and as a volunteer and general counsel since 1993. Walter is also a founding member of the Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council, a board member of the California Council of Land Trusts, and the former board charge of the Bay Area Open Space Council. Peter has served as POST’s Director of Conservation Science , and has held conservation leadership roles at Peninsula Open Space Trust, Save the Redwoods League and with the Environmental Quality Committee of the  California State Senate. In this episode, we cover a wide range of topics including: - Overview of POST - Walter’s personal journey at POST over three decades - POST’s history and creation, how POST works with Midpeninsula Open Space District in the Bay Area, and the rise of land trusts in the US across different regions - How land trusts work, and how POST’s acquisition process works - How POST has mobilized capital towards conservation at scale, and how funding sources for conservation have evolved over time - Thumbnail sketch of POST’s lands under conservation and framework for conservation prioritization - POST’s conservation approach, and how it relates to the evolution of conservation philosophies over the last few decades writ large - A pioneering approach to climate resilience credits, taking inspiration from the carbon markets - POST’s long-term goals for conservation and restoration – and why conservation is a verb requiring continued effort - POST’s success drivers, as a uniquely effective example of a land trust - Lightning round – Walter and Peter’s favorite POST trails and projects, books, and much more! Want to learn more? Check out these resources: POST’s Hiking Map [https://openspacetrust.org/hikes/] Note: Walter’s favorite trail is Tunitas Creek Beach, which was recently named Don Horsley County Park at Tunitas Creek Beach by the San Mateo County Supervisors. POST’s 2024 Impact Report [https://openspacetrust.org/2023-2024-impact-report/] “Whose Conservation?” [https://mahb.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Mace-2014-Science.pdf] by Georgina Mace (2014) “The Social Conquest of Earth [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12918295-the-social-conquest-of-earth]” by EO Wilson “James [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/173754979-james]” by Percival Everett” Episode recorded on: July 26, 2024

In this episode, we speak with Elizabeth Littlefield, Senior Partner at West Africa Blue, a community-centric blue carbon project developer operating in Sierra Leone and Guinea. Elizabeth brings unique perspective to the conversation from her time as the President and CEO of OPIC, now renamed the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), where she served from 2010 until 2017, as well as from her decade as CEO of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a policy and research center housed at the World Bank dedicated to advancing poor people’s access to financial services, and her 16 years at JP Morgan including as Managing Director in charge of capital markets and financing in emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Elizabeth also spent 1988-1990 living in West Africa setting up microfinance institutions with local communities. In this episode, we cover a wide range of topics including: - West Africa Blue’s projects in Sierra Leone and Guinea, and why carbon is necessary to the success of these projects - What the voluntary carbon market can learn from microfinance - Importance of transparent benefit-sharing agreements, and what carbon project developers tend to get wrong - Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) and how it is done in practice - The case for developing carbon projects with local communities and indigenous peoples - Lessons from the EU and the concept of a buyer of last resort to stabilize carbon markets - Role of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) in carbon markets, and understanding the diversity and limitations of DFIs’ mandates - adding nuance to the exhortation to “take more risk” - Need for rapidly-disbursing, pragmatic early stage capital for nature-based carbon projects Want to learn more? Check out these resources: West Africa Blue [https://www.westafricablue.org/] & its Living Labs [https://www.westafricablue.org/living-labs] of open-source information The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild [https://www.enricsala.com/the-nature-of-nature], by Enric Sala Episode recorded on: March 8, 2024

In this episode, we speak with Aakash Ahamed, a remote sensing scientist developing methods to measure forest carbon using instruments deployed on phones, drones, planes, and satellites. He is the co-founder and CEO of Working Trees, a start-up focused on leveraging mobile phone sensing technology to improve ease, accuracy, and transparency in tree carbon monitoring.  In this episode, Aakash shares Working Trees’ origin story at Stanford, the company’s journey to find product-market fit, plans for scale, and the challenge with measuring trees from space. In this episode, we touch on: How forest carbon is measured today, and the challenges and costs of doing so The sensors already in our mobile phones, and their usefulness for measuring forest carbon at low cost today… and on the flip-side, the limitations of satellites Carbon credits as bridge for financing for critical natural climate solutions Why Aakash is excited about the SEC’s climate disclosure regulation The importance of the scientific process and peer-reviewed papers to building trust with new technology Want to learn more? Check out these resources: Working Trees website [https://www.workingtrees.com/] Working Trees dashboard of project sites [https://dashboard.workingtrees.com/sites] Comprehensive Analysis of the SEC’s Landmark Climate Disclosure Rule [https://dart.deloitte.com/USDART/home/publications/deloitte/heads-up/2024/sec-climate-disclosure-rule-ghg-emissions-esg-financial-reporting] Working Trees iOS Application [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/working-trees/id1621922176] Working Trees Android Application [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.workingtrees.working_trees] Working Trees’ peer reviewed research [https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/10/2027] Episode recorded on: March 8, 2024

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 [https://crm.nature4climate.org/civicrm/event/info?id=46&reset=1] 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 [https://crm.nature4climate.org/civicrm/event/info?id=46&reset=1] 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 [https://crm.nature4climate.org/civicrm/event/info?id=39&reset=1] 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 [https://nature4climate.org/events/nature-positive-hub-nycw-2023-monday-18th/] Nature Positive Hub Day Two Agenda [https://nature4climate.org/events/day-2-tuesday-19th/] Nature Positive Hub Day Three Agenda [https://nature4climate.org/events/day-3-wednesday-20th/] Nature Positive Hub NYCW 2023 panel recordings [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZwFPkUsoHXl5ll80TfEDWoJwYg0MXGFV&si=ZadSq0q_bYlpjgUc] Nature for Climate [https://nature4climate.org/] Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures [https://tnfd.global/] Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM) [https://icvcm.org/] Nia Tero [https://www.niatero.org/] New Yorker article on South Pole’s Kariba Project [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/23/the-great-cash-for-carbon-hustle] South Pole announces senior leadership change [https://www.southpole.com/news/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 [https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/white-papers/nature-positive-strategy.pdf] > Salesforce goes ‘nature positive’ [https://www.greenbiz.com/article/salesforce-goes-nature-positive]  > Salesforce outlines strategy to boost private sector support for nature conservation and restoration [https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/nature-crisis/] > Salesforce’s FY23 Impact Report - A nature positive future [https://stakeholderimpactreport.salesforce.com/environment/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” [https://gistimpact.com/news-insights/groundbreaking-comparative-study-reveals-natural-farming-leads-for-yields-livelihoods-and-health/] > UN Decade on Restoration [https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/] Episode recorded on: July 21, 2023