Sliced: 🎙️ Untangling Climate Finance 2025 Roundup 🎙️
Season 3 of Untangling Climate Finance is in the books!
And what an incredible year it’s been! Throughout 2025, we had the privilege of hosting a dynamic lineup of guests who helped us dig deeper into the fast-evolving world of climate finance – from carbon markets and project development to impact investing, forest management, nature-based solutions, and beyond.
This season also marked a new milestone for the show – a growing global audience, hundreds of new subscribers, and thousands more streams. We’re grateful for every listen, share, and message of support. You’re the reason we keep having these conversations!
If you haven’t tuned in yet, now’s the perfect time to fire up an episode. Below, you’ll find all Season 3 episodes with links to all our streaming platforms. You can scroll further for Seasons 1 and 2 as well.
Looking ahead, Season 4 is already taking shape! We’re excited to welcome a powerhouse group of experts joining Jay to unpack topics like urban forestry, carbon credit ratings, impact funds, regenerative agriculture, the future of carbon markets, and much more.
And as always, we’d love your input. What conversations should we tackle next? Send us your suggestions – but do it fast because our Season 4 calendar is nearly filled up!
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Episode 1: U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities – Amplifying Impacts Through Investments (1/6/25)
In this episode, Alicia Cramer, Peter Stangel, and Trevor Cutsinger from the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities discuss their groundbreaking Impact Investing Program. They share how the program is transforming forestry finance, highlighting its impact, a success story, and exploring opportunities to scale sustainable forest markets while enhancing forest health and supporting rural communities.
Episode 2: Natalia Dorfman on the Role of Insurance in De-Risking Carbon Market (2/11/25)
In this episode, Natalia Dorfman, CEO and Co-Founder of Kita Insurance, explores how insurance is unlocking capital for carbon markets by de-risking investments. She discusses the challenges of carbon credit delivery, political risks, and counterparty reliability, and how insurance builds trust in climate finance. Natalia also shares emerging trends and what’s next for Kita Insurance in the evolving carbon market.
Episode 3: The Role of Philanthropy in Scaling Natural Environmental Solutions with Sacha Spector (3/18/25)
In this episode, Sacha Spector, Director of Environment at the Doris Duke Foundation, explores how philanthropy is shaping conservation finance. He discusses land protection, Indigenous-led stewardship, and climate-smart forestry, as well as the challenges of financing nature-based solutions in a shifting political landscape.
Episode 4: Kelly Cain on Building Trust and Tools for Tribal Climate Action (4/21/25)
In this episode, Kelly Cain of the National Indian Carbon Coalition explores how tribes are leading in carbon markets and climate finance. He discusses the development of the Tribal Carbon and Co-Benefit Tool, Indigenous land stewardship, and how carbon projects are helping Native communities reclaim land and drive sustainable, community-led solutions.
Episode 5: How Insurance is Unlocking Climate Finance with Chris Slater (5/20/25)
In this episode, Chris Slater, the CEO and Founder of Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company, explores how insurance is transforming carbon markets and climate finance. He discusses Oka’s innovative risk-transfer products, the role of insurance in unlocking capital for project developers, and how de-risking carbon deals is accelerating climate solutions across the globe.
Episode 6: Eric Wei on Scaling Safe Water Through Carbon Markets (6/24/25)
In this episode, Eric Wei, Carbon Credit Program Director at the Global Water Center (GWC), explores how carbon finance is unlocking safe drinking water access in underserved communities. He discusses GWC’s innovative approach to water-based carbon credits, the launch of their Carbon Aggregation Platform, and how climate finance can move beyond grants to fund resilient, long-term infrastructure.
Episode 7: Navigating Carbon Market Risk with Maria Filmanovic
(7/22/25)
In this episode, Maria Filmanovic, Co-Founder and Director of Abatable, explores how risk, transparency, and data are reshaping the voluntary carbon market. She discusses Abatable’s approach to high-integrity carbon procurement, the launch of their VCM Investment Attractiveness Index, and how better risk analysis can unlock smarter, more scalable climate finance.
Episode 8: Jodi Manning on Cool Effect’s 10-Year Journey in Climate Action (8/19/25)
In this episode, Jodi Manning, CEO of Cool Effect, explores how transparency, integrity, and education are shaping the future of the voluntary carbon market. She shares Cool Effect’s rigorous approach to project vetting, having reviewed over 10,000 carbon projects, and highlights the importance of price transparency, site-level due diligence, and community impact. Jodi also discusses rising demand for removals and super pollutant reductions, and how individuals can take meaningful climate action alongside corporate players.
Episode 9: Turning Nature Data in Business Strategy with Sebastian Leape (9/16/25)
In this episode, Sebastian Leape, CEO of Natcap, explores how nature intelligence is transforming corporate sustainability and shaping the future of climate finance. He shares how Natcap helps companies measure and manage their impacts on nature – like deforestation, water use, and pollution – while identifying critical dependencies that underpin business resilience and supply chains. Sebastian also discusses the growing influence of frameworks like TNFD and CSRD, the challenges with biodiversity offsets, and why integrating nature data into business strategy is becoming a competitive advantage.
Episode 10: Valentin Lautier on Opening Carbon Markets to Everyone (10/28/25)
In this episode, Valentin Lautier, Founder and CEO of Homaio, explores how they are helping everyday investors get involved with compliance carbon markets. He shares how Homaio turns EU carbon allowances (EUAs) into investable climate assets that generate both returns and real emissions impact. Valentin also discusses how regulation, technology, and accessibility are driving the next wave of carbon investing, and why giving individuals a stake in decarbonisation could accelerate global climate action.
Episode 11: Inside the Push for a Verified Carbon Market with Madeleine Carnemark (11/18/25)
In this episode, Madeleine Carnemark, Director, VCM+ Coalition, Carbon Policy and Markets Initiative at the High Tide Foundation, explains how carbon markets are shifting from a voluntary system to a verified, high-integrity global market. She discusses the coalition’s work to strengthen governance, improve transparency, unlock corporate demand, and build trust, while emphasizing why integrity and scale must move together to deliver real climate impact.
Episode 1: Dissecting Carbon Markets with Dr. Lambert Schneider
In this episode, Jay and Dr. Lambert Schneider connect to discuss carbon markets.
Dr. Schneider is the Research Coordinator for International Climate Policy at the Oko-Institut e.V. He has most of his career working on the various carbon markets around the world. Dr. Schneider cover various aspects of the complex carbon market sphere. Dr. Schneider demonstrates his extensive expertise in every response, sharing his concerns about certain market elements and his hopes for the future of the markets.
Episode 2: Seeds of Change – A Discussion with Mast Reforestation
In this episode, Jay speaks with Grant Canary (Founder & CEO) and Jonathan Loevner (VP, Carbon Markets & Policy) of Mast Reforestation to discuss the post-wildfire reforestation work their company is doing.
They discuss a recent stream financing agreement they made which is allowing them to expand their carbon credit projects. They share their insights on scaling, carbon credit generation, the issues they face, and their company goals in helping with reforestation.
Episode 3: Unpacking A Commodity Futures Contract with Rick Gilmore
This episode features a conversation between Jay, and Rick Gilmore, the President & CEO of GIC Group.
They discuss GIC Group’s new product, Commodities Plus Carbon (CPC), a novel futures contract that blends agricultural commodities with carbon markets which seeks to reward farmers with a premium on their crop yields. Rick sheds light on the CPC’s mechanics, its significance in today’s agricultural and environmental landscape, and the rationale behind its timely introduction.
Episode 4: Sustainable Farming and Soil Carbon Credits with Max DuBuisson
In this episode, Jay connects with Max DuBuisson, the Vice President of Sustainability, Policy & Engagement at Indigo Ag, an ag-tech company based in Boston.
Max discusses Indigo Ag’s role in sustainable agriculture, detailing their carbon credit project which engages about 1,000 farmers across 30 states to manage over 7 million acres. He highlights the project’s benefits, including significant profit sharing that has yielded over $12 million for farmers, and touches on Indigo Ag’s use of advanced technologies and strategic partnerships to promote global sustainable practices.
Episode 5: From Policy to Progress – Timothy Male on Nature-Based Climate Finance
In this episode, Jay covers environmental policy with Timothy Male, the Executive Director of the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC).
Tim outlines EPIC’s mission and its impact on U.S. environmental policies, focusing on initiatives like environmental restoration and the challenges of long permitting times. He discusses innovative financial mechanisms such as debt-for-nature swaps, state revolving loan funds, and pay-for-success contracts as scalable tools for nature-based climate finance. Tim emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships and advocates for increased funding. He concludes with a vision for the future of U.S. policy, stressing the need to improve policy narratives to drive financial resources towards enhancing our relationship with nature.
Episode 6: Revolutionizing Soil Health with Henry Rowlands
In this episode, Jay connects with Henry Rowlands, the Co-Founder, CEO, and Director of Soil in Formation (SIF), a U.S. public benefit corporation dedicated to restoring soil health worldwide through advanced soil health measurement technology and a contextual data platform.
They cover Henry’s extensive background in agriculture and soil management, his journey to co-founding SIF, the company’s core objectives, the challenges SIF aims to address with its remote soil sensor and actionable soil health metrics database, SIF’s efforts to integrate their technology into agriculture and soil carbon credit methodologies under the major carbon credit standards, and much more.
Episode 7: Sean Penrith Returns – Updates on Climate Finance, Carbon Markets & Impact Investing
In this episode, we welcome back Sean Penrith, CEO of Gordian Knot Strategies, nearly a year after his first appearance, to discuss some GKS’s key focus areas – climate finance, carbon markets, and impact investing. Jay and Sean explore the current state of climate finance for mitigation and adaptation, the challenges and progress in carbon markets, and the role and growth of impact investing, along with insights into biodiversity crediting.
Episode 8: Unlocking The Power of Climate Tech and Finance with Anna Lerner
In this episode, Anna Lerner, CEO of Climate Collective, discusses climate finance, cutting-edge tech like AI and geospatial, and the critical role of local communities in driving climate solutions. Anna also shares insights into green accountability, Climate Collective’s new AI accelerator, and the emerging field of biodiversity credits.
Episode 9: Harnessing Family Forests to Tackle Climate Change with Rita Hite
In this episode, Rita Hite, President and CEO of the American Forest Foundation, discusses the vital role of family forests in climate solutions and shares AFF’s innovative programs. Rita also announces AFF’s first-ever carbon credit auction for nature-based solutions, set for February 2025.
Episode 10: Sheri Hickok on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance
In this episode, Sheri Hickok, CEO of Climate Impact Partners, discusses the power of carbon markets in driving climate action. Sheri shares her journey from engineering to climate leadership and highlights impactful projects, like Climate Impact Partners’ reforestation work in Ghana, which combines carbon removal with sustainable jobs for local communities.
Episode 1: What is Climate Finance? Explained by Sean Penrith
To kick off the series, Jay spoke with Sean Penrith (CEO, Gordian Knot Strategies). Sean introduces the term “climate finance” and defines what exactly that means. He also recounts his journey from an entrepreneur working outside the realm of climate change to his current position, running a private firm that mobilizes and activates climate finance for clients all over the world.
Episode 2: To Bond, Or Not To Bond – A Discussion with Nathan Truitt
In this episode, Jay talked with Nathan Truitt (Executive Vice President, Climate Funding – American Forest Foundation).
They covered topics including forest carbon credit projects, an innovative new green bond, AFF’s recent Verra methodology, and the challenges and opportunities for scaling up climate finance focused on forest projects.
Episode 3: Pricing the Priceless with Paula DiPerna
In this episode, Jay chatted with author and carbon market expert, Paula DiPerna.
They discussed her new book Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Transformation to Value the Planet, Solve the Climate Crisis, and Protect Our Most Precious Assets. They also talk about her work on both the voluntary and regulatory carbon markets, and how she thinks carbon markets are key to decarbonization.
Episode 4: The Name is Bond, Green Bond – A Conversation with Sean Kidney
In this episode, Jay talked with Sean Kidney, the CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative.
They connected to review the current state of green bonds, the use of their proceeds, the prevalent topic of greenwashing, and how we can get more climate finance moving to slow down global warming. Sean also shares some personal information like his journey to becoming a leader in the bond space, and why he works tirelessly to fight the climate crisis.
Episode 5: A Veteran’s Takes on Carbon Markets – Insights with David Antonioli
In this episode, Jay hosted David Antonioli of DLA Climate Solutions.
They connected to discuss the state of the voluntary carbon market (VCM). David shares his opinions on some of the issues facing the VCM, as well as offers solutions for improvement. David also lays out some of his plans for the future following his departure from Verra, where he served as CEO for 15 years.
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