Climate Solutions Track

The Climate Solutions track aims to amplify the urgency of the climate crisis, while exemplifying real investment solutions. This year’s sessions emphasize the importance of community-based climate solutions, and will include a special evening event entitled Love and Resilience that celebrates the powerful influence of social movements in re-shaping economic narratives.

Decarbonizing Financial Lending (Wednesday, February 26th | 2:15 PM)
Organized with William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Amalgamated Bank

In order to avoid a temperature rise above 2° over pre-industrial levels and meet the goals outlined in the Paris Accord, we need to slash carbon emissions by 45% below 2010 levels by 2030. To get there, we need to significantly shift the financing away from carbon intensive industries (such as coal, oil and gas, internal combustion engine vehicles, and non-regenerative agriculture) and towards climate solutions. Join the session to learn about how we can drive this change and the important implications of carbon-free banking for an asset owner.

Speakers:

• Ivan Frishberg, Director, Impact Policy, Amalgamated Bank & Confluence Board Member

• Marilyn Waite, Climate Fiance Program Officer, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

It Takes an Ecosystem: Building a More Inclusive and Resilient Local Economy (Wednesday, February 26th | 2:15 PM)
Organized with Sunwealth Power

Forget about “It takes a village”—if we want to tackle big, audacious goals like reducing the racial wealth gap and building a more inclusive and resilient local economy, we need a whole ecosystem of players doing their part. From activists and incubators to organizers and influencers, to investors and implementors, we all have at least one role to play in driving change. Using Practitioners’ experiences as the background we discuss how organizations are working together to build a more regenerative economy. Leave with a plan about how to identify and activate allies in your own community in radical new ways.

Speakers:

• Jessica Brooks, Chief Development Officer, Sunwealth Power

• Ivy Jack, Head of Equity Research, NorthStar Asset Management

• Mark Watson, Managing Director, Fair Food Fund

Tales from the Fire: Place Based Climate Investing for a Just Transition (Thursday, February 27th | 10:45 AM)
Organized with Coastal Enterprises Inc (CEI)

The benefits of climate action align with many investors’ focuses on rural and urban economies, environmental justice, and resilience of low-income communities. However, opportunities that align investor needs with viable solutions are few. In this session, we will review three local deals through the lens of a CDFI, a place-based foundation and international investment fund manager. Together they will examine how to leverage capital based upon fair transition principles. The session will highlight the value of place-based knowledge, technical assistance, and enabling policy in helping advance clean energy investment.

Speakers:

• Catherine Godschalk, Vice President of Investments, Calvert Impact Capital (Moderator)

• Dr. Nelson Colon, President, Puerto Rico Community Foundation

• John Egan, Chief Investment Officer, Coastal Enterprises Inc (CEI)

• Justin Maxson, Executive Director, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation

Resilience is the New Sustainability (Thursday, February 27th | 10:45 AM)
Organized with Natural Investments, Tides, and Root Capital

The climate crisis is here, and rapidly implementing effective adaptation and resilience strategies is among the world’s most urgent challenges—especially for the most vulnerable populations who did little to cause this crisis, but now must face its consequences. Join us for a discussion to better understand what resilience means with the help of some frameworks, and to self-identify synergies in each of our work. We will have deep conversations around resilience in agriculture and energy systems, in addition to perspectives around capital access and policy environment.

Speakers:

• Peter Martin, Philanthropic Director, Tides (Moderator)

• Michael Kramer, Managing Partner, Natural Investments

• Arturo Massol-Deyá, Founder, Casa Pueblo

• Amy Mullen, Chief Development Officer, Root Capital

Field Trip: Investing in a Just Transition in Puerto Rico: An Estuary Exploration by Boat (Thursday, February 27th | 12:30 PM)

Join practitioners in a shared learning opportunity to explore local solutions to resilience among communities in the environmentally degraded Caño Martín Peña neighborhood, a 3.5-mile long natural tidal channel that is part of the San Juan Bay Estuary. The region is the only tropical estuary within the EPA's National Estuary Program, and was among the most affected regions during Hurricanes Irma and María. The trip, in partnership with Proyecto ENLACE, a prominent non-profit, and Excursiones ECO, a community micro-enterprise committed to the restoration of Caño Martín Peña and San Juan Bay Estuary, will include a boat trip through the estuary to discuss the area history, followed by a bus tour that explores various neighborhood interventions.

Tour Leaders:

• Melba Ayala, Co-founder, Excursiones ECO

• Dan Chu, Executive Director, Sierra Club Foundation

• Mario Núñez Mercado, Executive Director, Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE

• Lucy Cruz Rivera, President, G-8

• Estrella D. Santiago Pérez, J.D., Environmental Affairs Manager, Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE

Field Trip: Exploring the Investable Landscape: Hike El Yunque National Forest (Thursday, February 27th | 12:30 PM)

The IPCC report “Climate Change & Land,” released in August 2019, emphasized the critical role of land management to curtail the impending climate crises. This report was a call to action for investors to mobilize capital towards land based climate solutions. With the world’s forests at the heart of those solutions, this field trip will take attendees on a hiking tour through trails of 28,000 Acre El Yunque National Forest, the only tropical rain forest in the US. The trip will be led by a local tour guide, with expert investor insights from EcoTrust.

Tour Leaders:

• Kim Foley, Director, Investor Relations, Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM)

• Jorge A. Montalvo, Professional Tour Guide Founder, Patria Tours

• Dr. Tamara Heartsill Scalley, Research Ecologist, International Institute of Tropical Forestry

Field Trip: How a Disaster Seeded a Local Food Movement (Thursday, February 27th | 12:30 PM)
Organized with the Ocean Foundation

Hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed an estimated 80% of Puerto Rico’s crops and farmland. However, Puerto Rico has continued to develop its food economy, increasing the amount of locally grown food on the island. How are these after effects a model for ecological resilience, sustainability, and community empowerment? This field trip will feature local producers with a unique story to offer investors, relevant to Puerto Rico and beyond. Conservación Con Ciencia will guide our visit to the Naguabo Fishing Cooperative, a commercial fishing cooperative that has made fishing more sustainable from the catch to consumption. Participants will gain a comprehensive view of the strengths and challenges for local fishermen and residents more than two years after the natural disasters.

Tour Leaders:

• Jason Donofrio, External Relations Officer, Ocean Foundation

• Raimundo Espinoza, Founder and Executive Director, Conservación ConCiencia

• Isabel Rullán, Co-Founder and Executive Director, ConPRmetidos

• Naguabo Fishing Cooperative