Season 4, Episode 2: Mark McPherson on City Forest Credits and Human Impact

In this episode, Jay connects with Mark McPherson, Founder and Executive Director of City Forest Credits, to explore why urban forests are one of the most undervalued forms of climate infrastructure, and how carbon finance can help protect them before they’re lost.

Mark explains how urban forests deliver climate, health, and equity benefits directly where people live and how City Forest Credits developed human-centered “Carbon+” protocols to address that gap. They also discuss why preserving existing urban forests - and avoiding emissions today - is just as critical as long-term carbon removals.

They touch on who is buying urban forest carbon credits - including companies like REI and Airbnb, as well as professional sports teams such as the Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins - what makes these credits premium despite their smaller volumes, and why demand certainty remains one of the biggest barriers to scaling impact. 

Mark also shares real-world examples of projects where carbon finance helped preserve threatened forests near cities - projects that may not have survived otherwise.

Give it a listen to learn how urban forests connect climate action to human well-being, and what it will take to mobilize capital at the scale cities need.

Resources:

• City Forest Credits: https://www.cityforestcredits.org/
• Preservation Protocol: https://www.cityforestcredits.org/carbon-credits/carbon-protocols/
• Project Portfolio: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/6404da1948fc4b43b7dc463f961b0005
• If you are interested in purchasing Carbon+ Credits, please message Jay at: [email protected]

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About:

Untangling Climate Finance⁠ explores the dynamic field of climate change finance through conversations with industry experts about topics including climate solutions, global carbon markets, carbon projects, novel technologies such as AI and distributed ledger, and much more.

If you have any questions, comments, a future guest recommendation, or are interested in joining Jay for an episode, please shoot him a message at: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Credits:

The podcast is produced by ⁠⁠Gordian Knot Strategies⁠⁠.

It is written, narrated, and edited by ⁠⁠Jay Tipton⁠⁠.

Music is by ⁠⁠Diamond_Tunes⁠.