Meeting events

The event will feature an intimate dialog with National Geographic Explorer at Large, Nalini Nadkarni. Nalini will discuss her work as a pioneer of scientific tree canopy research and her efforts to inspire awareness for trees in diverse societal sectors, including corporations, faith-based groups, artists, and people who are incarcerated.

Join to explore how forests, like people, react and recover from disturbance and envision the new future we need to chart to ensure healthy forests into the future, while also redefine our relationship with forests.

Event Highlights

• Fireside chat with Nalini Nadkarni, National Geographic Explorer at Large to discuss the Our Trees Initiative – a campaign and living archive that elevates stories of the ecological, cultural, aesthetic, and spiritual connections to trees, and Sacha Spector, Program Director for the Environment at Doris Duke Foundation, to discuss a new emerging consensus in the forest community
• Insights from the 9^th American Forest Congress to inspire action, create space for new partnerships and build towards a transformative forest paradigm
• Personal “Tree Stories” from diverse voices spanning science, culture, and community to explore how collective narratives can help us move to a new paradigm, fostering resilience and recovery for the U.S. and global forests.

Over a million tons of CO2 stored/avoided with the Inga Tree Model in 14 years Inga Foundation’s Communications Strategist Marian van Noppen will debut our 9-minute film on Inga Alley-Cropping during Climate Week NYC 2025, with founder/director tropical ecologist Mike Hands available for Q&A via Zoom on Sunday afternoon, 3 to 4 pm on September 21. The session, From Abandoned to Abundant is hosted at Treehouse Doris Duke Center. Respond to this invitation to RSVP (ingatrees@gmail.com) if you would like to attend as pre-registration is required

​For the first time, carbon projects are not only reducing emissions but also delivering verified, measurable benefits for women. This groundbreaking session highlights pioneering initiatives in India—solar water pumps of a women’s social enterprise and livelihood activities linked to a mangrove restoration project—that apply the W+ Standard to quantify women’s empowerment across time savings, knowledge, and income generation, alongside carbon reductions.

​Featuring Jeannette Gurung, Founder of WOCAN and the W+ Standard, alongside Sandeep Roy Choudhury the Co Founder & Director of Value Network Ventures and Elizabeth Munee Kiamba (Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP)

​Speakers will demonstrate how these projects generate new revenue streams through gender outcome credits while strengthening climate resilience and community well-being.

​Participants will learn how investors, corporates, and carbon buyers can engage with this next generation of high-impact carbon projects that put women at the center of climate action.

​As scrutiny increases around carbon credit quality, additionality remains a central and evolving integrity principle within the voluntary carbon market in evaluating nature-based solutions. This session will explore how shifts in the interpretation and application of additionality can unlock greater recognition and investment in REDD+ and High Forest, Low Deforestation (HFLD) contexts.

​Speakers will examine how project developers, investors, and standard setters are strengthening and adapting their approaches to additionality, particularly in the context of REDD+ and jurisdictional programs, and highlight new frameworks and tools that help demonstrate impact in areas with strong existing protections. The session will also share insights from emerging nature stewardship initiatives like HIFOR, that can enhance market access for HFLD regions and support high-integrity investment in forests and nature.

Join carbon finance leaders for a collaborative workshop on managing multi-stakeholder risks in nature-based carbon programs. Explore how differing risk perceptions impact projects, share strategies for equitable risk-sharing with smallholder farmers, and learn proven approaches to building resilient, high-quality projects.

This is an invitation-only event. What incentives are needed to scale business demand for carbon credits? This session will explore what signals and safeguards companies need to confidently purchase high-integrity carbon credits at scale.

Permanence is one of the toughest challenges in the voluntary carbon market. Climate impacts like wildfires and drought can erase carbon gains long before the credits expire. This session explores how we can rethink permanence by shifting from static buffers to active risk management and aiming for 1,000 years of climate impact. Join us to discuss current challenges, the best of existing models, and a bold new path forward.

As the climate and biodiversity crises intensify, nature must move from the sidelines to the heart of global climate action. With COP30 on the horizon, this session will explore how we can elevate nature in policy, finance, and business: 

• How can we unlock a new era for collaboration on climate and nature and make a compelling case for investment? 
• How can we best mobilise the private sector in supporting biodiversity conservation efforts?  
• What is needed to enhance reporting on nature-related risks and opportunities? 

Following the launch of TNFD’s ‘Asking Better Questions on Nature’ guide for board directors at Ecosperity Week in Singapore, which focuses on 12 key questions for board directors to ask company executives, and the sort of analysis they should expect to see from their organisations to support those discussions, this event at London Climate Action Week will continue the conversation.

The guide, produced in collaboration with Chapter Zero, Competent Boards, Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) and Green Finance Institute, is designed to help senior executives across business and finance surface critical insights about nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities to inform their decision making.

Speakers will delve into the core aims of the guide and how boards and directors can use it as a resource in their risk management strategy, all leading towards being able to efficiently identify the decision-useful information needed to bring nature-related considerations into the company’s governance, strategy, risk management and capital allocation decision making.

We invite board members, non-executive directors, legal counsel and other senior and C-suite members to register for this event.

The session will include a short presentation and panel discussion, followed by discussion and breakouts with attendees. A light breakfast and coffee/tea will be served.

Speakers to be announced soon.

To register, please email Charlie Dixon at charlie.dixon@gfi.green

In association with the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), Lloyds Banking Group is hosting a roundtable to discuss the role of private finance in supporting the delivery of the UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan (NBSAP). The session will be a private event convening SMI Financial Services Taskforce member banks alongside relevant public sector bodies & NGOs to identify potential overlaps between NDCs and NBSAPs and drive public / private sector engagement on NBSAPs.

Nature is increasingly being recognised as a material issue for business.

From water availability and land degradation to evolving disclosure requirements like Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the ways in which companies depend on natural systems are becoming more visible. These are not just environmental issues; they have real implications for supply chains, risk exposure and corporate reporting.

Join Barclays, Aviva and Environment Bank for a high-level breakfast discussion during London Climate Action Week. This session will explore how companies are starting to treat nature as essential infrastructure, and how nature-related investments are beginning to play a role in supporting resilience, compliance and long-term value.

We will examine how businesses are responding to emerging frameworks such as TNFD and Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), and what practical steps leaders can take today to address nature-related risks and opportunities.

Panellists will share insights on:

· How nature-related risks and dependencies are influencing operational and financial decision-making

· The shift from traditional CSR towards science-based approaches to nature investment

· How verified ecological data can support TNFD, CSRD and SBTN-aligned reporting

· What credible, forward-looking business action on nature looks like, and why timing matters

Industry-leading panellists include:

– Naomi Kerbel (Host)
A communications expert with deep experience in broadcast, including Bloomberg, Sky News and CNBC.

– Vicky McAllister (Sustainability Director, Barclays)
Vicky has an extensive career in finance and sustainability, with a specific focus on nature. In her current role as Director of Nature Strategy and Policy at Barclays, she leads work on nature risk and impact management as well as working closely with Sustainable Finance colleagues to determine how Barclays can participate in the growing nature finance agenda and engage clients on this topic.

She has over twenty years’ corporate sustainability experience, twelve of which have been at Barclays working on climate change, human rights, client due diligence and reputation risk. She represents Barclays at industry groups and events such as the Sustainable Markets Initiative Financial Services Taskforce and COP16. Prior to joining, Vicky spent ten years working in sustainability consulting and research across a variety of different industry sectors and has a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Biology.

– Thomas Viegas (Group Nature Lead, Aviva)
An expert in economics, finance, and policy with extensive experience at the Bank of England, HM Treasury, TNFD, and shaping UK and global macro-financial policy at Aviva.

– Emma Toovey (Chief Land & Nature Officer, Environment Bank)
Instrumental in developing the Biodiversity Net Gain policy and the voluntary biodiversity market product, Nature Shares, in England.

This breakfast event is aimed at senior-level business leaders. While it is open to all interested in nature alignment for businesses, we may need to decline registrations from those outside these parameters if capacity is reached.