Roger Spitz is a Climatebase Fellow, Cohort 5.

In June 2024, I was awarded the Climatebase Fellowship. This allowed me to solidify foundational knowledge in climate science, gain further insights into the latest climate change developments and solutions, and network with other mission-driven thought leaders and social entrepreneurs in the space and globally.

Expanding Climate Foresight and Methodologies

My participation in the Climatebase Fellowship provided valuable new perspectives on my development of climate foresight, further propelling my journey in formalizing associated methodologies and approaches. It complemented the work of my Disruptive Futures Institute, which equips leaders with the tools to navigate the energy transition through transformative change and capacity building for resilience. Leveraging my expertise and reach from writing bestselling books on green business and sustainable development, the Disruptive Futures Institute is continuously expanding its access and impact; while the Climatebase fellows supporting me for my Capstone project allowed me to stress test ideas, gather new angles, and learn from feedback loops.

Transforming Carbon Markets with Capstone Projects

As a board member of Lux Carbon Standard (Brazil’s first carbon credit certifier), I gain firsthand perspectives on the maturing carbon credit markets, which are going through a transition phase. The global voluntary carbon credit markets (VCMs) face significant challenges in terms of (i) reputation, (ii) value and liquidity of the underlying assets, (iii) transparency, and (iv) affordability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

I decided to use this experience to write a joint paper on how to transform the VCMs with James Balzer, who works for the New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, and the Environment. Using Brazil and the company LuxCS as a case study for the article and our Capstone project, we focus on “anticipatory governance” and the pathways to transforming the VCMs:

• Making them accessible to smaller players
• Speeding up the certification process
• Providing high integrity, transparency, and credibility
• Focusing on actual conservation
• Offering broader applicability across Brazil's biomes.
  

By addressing these areas, LuxCS intends to improve the accessibility, credibility, and overall effectiveness of the VCM in Brazil. A dozen fellows from Climatebase support the Capstone project, which will lead to the publication of our work in an academic journal.

All these themes explore the drivers to achieve transformational change towards sustainable value creation, a core focus of my fifth book which will be released globally in September 2024. Featuring prominently in Disrupt With Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World, I also explore the duality of climate change. In the face of climate risks, building resilience is essential. Greenaissance, a green revolution fueled by momentous innovation and investment across fields, offers paths towards a sustainable energy future.

The Climatebase Fellowship, my Capstone project, publications, board positions, and work in climate foresight all have one thing in common: the goal of achieving systems-level change to create sustainable futures.  Read more of my thoughts on how to achieve this here.

Roger Spitz is the author of the bestselling four-volume collection The Definitive Guide to Thriving on Disruption and Disrupt With Impact: Achieve Business Success in an Unpredictable World. Spitz’s Disruptive Futures Institute equips leaders for sustainable value creation through transformative change and capacity building for resiliency. Spitz is a Climatebase Fellow and board member of Lux Carbon Standard (Brazil’s first carbon credit certifier).

Applications for Cohort 6 of the Climatebase Fellowship are open untill August 16th.  Learn More and Apply.