Sliced: Los Angeles's Wildfires and the Path Forward
Gordian Knot Strategies
We are Igniting Climate Solutions: Mobilizing $1 Billion Per Year in Impact Investment by 2030!
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By: Jay Tipton
This last week has been absolutely horrendous, and this is not the article I intended to start the new year off with. However, as we all have learned time and time again, life seems to have a knack for changing our plans.?
Parts of Los Angeles, the place I called home for nearly 10 years, have been burning to the ground. My former flat in Santa Monica, where I have many years of cherished memories, sat squarely in an evacuation zone. My best friend who still resides there had to flee, as well as many of my dear West Side friends. Worst of all, I’ve had friends who have lost their homes entirely to the devastating fires.?
Simultaneously, the 1.5° Celsius (C) target is dead. Although not many people want to step up and explicitly declare it, it’s true.?
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) reported last week that 2024 was the warmest year on record globally. It was also the first calendar year that the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels with the monthly global average temperature over that threshold for 11 months of the year.?
What a start to 2025.
Everyone in our space knows that these two series of events are connected. Fires, floods, hurricanes, heat waves – all courtesy of a hotter planet. The hotter it gets, the more severe and frequent these catastrophes become. When I think about Los Angeles, my heart breaks not just for what is happening there right now, but also for what I know the city will eventually experience next.??
In these moments of distress and sadness, admittedly, my optimism about reining in the worst of climate change wanes. For many, such as myself, it is hard to see hope through the smoke, violent winds, battering rains, and flooded waters.?
On the other hand, I am grateful that I find myself in the middle of a type of work that is trying to make change because I know that we have solutions at hand that could help us speed up our efforts. Carbon markets, impact investing, grants, debt-for-nature swaps, and green bonds – are all viable, operational financial tools that are currently being used in the fight.?
For instance, the Innovative Finance for National Forests (IFNF) program, led by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and the USDA Forest Service (USFS), provides grants to projects nationwide that develop and implement innovative financial models. These models leverage private and public capital beyond the annual appropriations from the USFS to enhance the resilience of the National Forest System. Now in its fourth round of funding, IFNF has supported numerous initiatives focused on improving forests’ resilience to wildfires.
The Endowment recently launched the second round of its Impact Investing Program, offering up to $6.5 million in funding. This program focuses on supporting working forests, promoting sustainable forest management practices, and ensuring the health and preservation of U.S. forests, among other key priorities.
There are even efforts in place for forests that have already burned. Mast Reforestation is utilizing the voluntary carbon market to help landowners restore their forestland after wildfires by generating and selling carbon credits.?
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These opportunities and efforts highlight the momentum behind financial solutions for our forests. Yet, beyond funding models and carbon credits, wildfires profoundly impact lives and communities. This balance between hope and loss was on my mind during a recent Zoom call with a client. We were discussing the tragedy of the fires and what might happen next. I pointed out to the client that although these awful moments are filled with sadness, anger, and confusion, they also often ignite determination in the communities that experience them.?
If anything, the LA fires have only reminded me why I do this work in the first place. Like an unwanted New Year’s resolution, it offered motivation to continue the daily grind of trying to help navigate this global mess against an enemy that continues to grow stronger with each passing month. There is only one way forward, and it’s to carry these painful memories in both mind and heart, but also with profound motivation for building a better tomorrow.?
Also, for those who want to help those impacted by the LA fires, there are numerous avenues. If you’re local, a list of volunteer opportunities is here. If you want to donate money, try the following:?
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities has just announced an RFP for their new Impact Investing Program. The program seeks to deploy up to $5 million in 2024 through impact investments in companies, funds, or projects that advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable benefits for the health and vitality of working forests and forest-reliant communities in the United States.
Gordian Knot Strategies is supporting the development of the Impact Investing program. We encourage you to read the Endowment’s press release here, review the RFP materials here, and share with your network.
This is a great opportunity for companies and project developers seeking capital on reasonable investment terms. Please note that this is not a grant making endeavor.
There will be an informational webinar about the opportunity in early December; registration information is provided in the RFP materials here.
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