Protecting Forests & Scaling Climate Impact

​California’s forests are in crisis. Decades of fire suppression, drought, and climate change have created landscapes primed for catastrophic wildfires. Yet, proactive forest management—thinning and prescribed burns —can restore forest resilience and increase carbon stocks over time. $100 billion in annual funding is needed to finance resilience activities, yet where those funds will come from remains an open question.

This panel connects the dots between forest health and biomass-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Experts from Blue Forest, Charm Industrial, Wren, Cal Fire, Graphyte, and more will break down how carbon markets and innovative financing can help close California’s billion-dollar forest management gap while durably storing carbon dioxide. We’ll explore:

• ​The science behind forest resilience and why it’s crucial for climate adaptation

• ​How biomass-based CDR (like bio-oil sequestration) creates a win-win for wildfire mitigation and carbon removal 

• ​The role of carbon markets in scaling these solutions

• ​Why cross-sector collaboration—spanning science, policy, and finance—is essential to success

​Speakers include:

• ​Micah Elias, Director of Natural Capital, Blue Forest

• ​Nora Cohen Brown, Head of Market Development and Policy, Charm Industrial

• ​Hannah Murnen, Chief Technology Officer, Graphyte

• ​John McCarthy, Program Manager- Wood Products & Bioenergy, Cal Fire

• ​Andy Miller, CEO, Loamist

• ​Haley Leslie-Bole, Senior Manager - US Lands and Climate, World Resources Institute

• ​Zeke Hausfather, Climate Research Lead, Stripe
  

​Concluding the panel, please join Charm Industrial, the current leader in delivered 1000+ year permanent carbon removals, for a tour of its first and second-generation carbon removal machines as well as its fossil-free iron-making pilot plant.

​Join us to learn how forest restoration and CDR go hand-in-hand—and how you can help accelerate this critical work.

By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of SF Climate Week.