Nature As Technology With Anna Lerner | S4E11 ⛰️🎧

Tereza Bizkova, Maya Dentzel

09 Dec 2024 • 2 min read

What does it take to make climate finance more transparent and equitable?

In Episode 11 of Season 4, The Regeneration Nexus, of the ReFi Podcast, hosts Maya Dentzel and Tereza Bízková welcome Anna Lerner Nesbitt, CEO of Climate Collective, a community of companies, labs and investors digitizing natural assets and climate solutions for large-scale climate impact. Drawing from her roles at the World Bank and Meta, Anna offers insights into the systemic challenges and opportunities within climate finance and technology.

Anna highlights that a significant portion of global climate finance remains tied to subsidies that harm ecosystems or comes with restrictive conditions, limiting its effectiveness. “We need to rethink how funding flows—redirecting harmful subsidies and designing mechanisms that prioritize measurable outcomes,” she says. She points to blockchain-backed biodiversity credits, such as those developed by Region Network and Terrasos, as a way to ensure verifiable conservation impacts through transparent, immutable data systems.

While these innovations show promise, she critiques the broader industry’s reliance on technological solutions that often overlook local realities. She emphasizes that systems must integrate cultural relevance and governance structures to succeed. AI, she explains, holds great potential for scaling climate action, particularly in providing real-time monitoring of deforestation and ecosystem health. However, she stresses that these tools should enhance, not replace, local stewardship.

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There’s so much techno-enthusiasm where people go into communities thinking they have the solution, but they lack understanding of governance structures or how to safely manage data related to indigenous or local communities.

Key insights from Episode 11 include... 💡

Fixing accountability at COP summits: Anna critiques the lack of follow-through at COP summits, calling for systems like blockchain to track climate pledges, ensure transparency, and drive measurable outcomes.
Biodiversity credit markets for restoration: Emerging markets backed by blockchain are enabling industries to invest in nature-based solutions, bridging the gap between corporate commitments and tangible ecosystem restoration efforts.
Blockchain-powered climate equity: Initiatives like Savimbo are using blockchain to create transparent payment systems for Indigenous communities, ensuring fair compensation for ecosystem restoration and addressing barriers like exclusion from formal banking systems.
Indigenous-led innovation in technology: Collaborative efforts focus on integrating traditional ecological knowledge into technological solutions while ensuring data sovereignty and non-exploitative practices, setting new ethical standards.
AI for measurable conservation: Projects like GainForest leverage AI, drones, and satellite imagery to provide real-time data on biodiversity and forest health, enabling actionable insights and scalable solutions for conservation.

🎧 Tune in to Episode 11

And don’t forget! We’re hosting a live discussion on Episode 11 this Friday, December 13, at 11 AM ET! 🎙️ Share your thoughts and dive deeper into the world of regenerative finance with us. 🌿

👉 Join the discussion on Twitter Spaces: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1lDxLloegPbxm

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