I believe the single most important action next year is to dramatically scale new financing mechanisms already bringing billions of dollars into conservation and climate action. As The Nature Conservancy's Global Board Chair, I have watched two recently developed tools move from experiment to proof. First, Nature Bonds, which TNC helped pioneer, allow countries to refinance sovereign debt on significantly better terms and direct the savings into long-term conservation. Six projects are expected to unlock approximately $1 billion.
Second, Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) uniquely brings governments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, philanthropy, and private capital into a single overarching agreement, tying certain funding commitments to community benefits, measurable outcomes, and accountability. Through Enduring Earth, PFPs have secured more than $2 billion in sustainable financing while supporting durable conservation across 245 million hectares.
Gabon shows how the tools can reinforce each other. Building on a successful 2023 Nature Bonds transaction, the Gabon Infini PFP launched in 2026 aims to mobilize up to $200 million over a decade for nature, communities, and climate resilience.
These new models work. Now is the time for governments, development banks, philanthropy and investors to take them to the scale our climate and biodiversity challenges demand.
What’s one sustainability effort you personally will try to adopt in the next year?
Over the next year, my wife, Tracy, and I will build on a 25-year effort to restore Sinking Creek Farm and make it a living laboratory for biodiversity, education, and community action. Tracy first envisioned this work, and together we have helped overgrazed pastures, forests and streams recover in a high mountain valley of Central Appalachia.
Our goal now is to ensure that what we have learned does not remain on our farm. This spring, in partnership with the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, Virginia Tech scientists, iNaturalist, and other collaborators, we conducted a BioBlitz—an intensive effort to document as many species as possible in a short period. Sixteen scientists and volunteers recorded more than 1,400 species, creating a scientific baseline for future research.
We will bring students and community members—from 4-H participants to doctoral candidates—to the farm for continuing fieldwork, research and hands-on learning. These programs will expand scientific knowledge, engage the public and support peer-reviewed research. Indigenous land stewards working with the Institute will continue guiding our restoration of native grasslands.
The science will inform prescribed fire, rotational grazing, riparian buffers and other regenerative practices. More importantly, it will help prepare a new generation to care for the land. By sharing this work openly, we hope to turn one farm's recovery into a lasting regional legacy.
What is a climate solution that isn't getting the attention or funding it deserves?
Nuclear power. Many environmentalists still cringe when I say it. I understand why. Safety, cost, construction time, security and spent-fuel storage are serious concerns. I know we can address them through rigorous engineering, a modernized regulatory process built around safety and disciplined investment.
As a Tennessean, I have seen what nuclear makes possible through our Tennessee Valley Authority. In 2024, nuclear power generated 42% of Tennessee's electricity, compared with 18% nationwide. France generates roughly two thirds of its electricity from nuclear. Nuclear can work at scale.
As a physician and conservationist, I see a tremendous health opportunity. Air pollution from burning fossil fuels damages our hearts and lungs. Nuclear provides very low-carbon electricity around the clock. Alongside wind, solar, storage and efficiency, it can anchor a dependable clean-power system.
Reaching nuclear power’s full potential may take a decade or more. That is precisely why we must begin now: keeping safe, existing plants operating, investing in advanced reactors, training workers and openly sharing progress. New designs and stronger safety systems give me confidence.
In my own field of heart transplant surgery, progress came through science, candor, collaboration and the willingness to solve difficult problems. Nuclear requires the same, and I am excited by what we can accomplish.
What gives you hope about the future of the planet?
What gives me hope is the accelerating movement linking planetary health to human health and wellbeing. Across more than 80 countries and territories, we at The Nature Conservancy are seeing it firsthand. As a transplant surgeon, I have spent my life looking inside the human body. Yet the world around us shapes the health within us: the soil beneath our feet, the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate around us. Each shapes our health and wellbeing today.
That understanding is changing the climate conversation. Biodiversity loss, pollution, and unstable weather patterns are human health issues that matter today, right now. They affect a child's asthma, an older person's heart and a family's food and water. When the issue becomes this immediate and personal, it moves beyond partisan lines and awakens a shared sense of responsibility and stewardship.
This movement is reinforced by innovation. This year, utility-scale solar is among the least expensive new sources of electricity in the United States – cheaper than new coal. When the cleaner choice is also the healthier and more affordable choice, progress will accelerate.
People increasingly understand why this matters, and practical solutions are rapidly moving within reach. That combination grounds my hope and optimism.
