Planting seeds of change: How people and partnerships tackled climate change in 2024

This year, a hurricane washed away mountain towns in the U.S., a brutal heat dome oppressed India and wildfires ravaged South America. But amid the chaos were signs of hope, courtesy of people who proved that our efforts do make a difference in the fight against climate change.

These Mastercard employees, partners and innovators made a marked effort in 2024 to restore and protect areas all around the globe in ways that will be long-lasting and impactful. 

Mitigating risk from extreme weather

Ensuring that Mastercard’s people and facilities are safe — no matter what Mother Nature throws their way — is a job Montana Eck and his climate risk and resilience team approach with enthusiasm and empathy. After all, Eck himself lives in Asheville, North Carolina, which was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Helene. 

His team is developing comprehensive plans to enhance the company’s physical resiliency, including a checklist to mitigate the impact of extreme weather on infrastructure and landscaping designed to withstand both higher- and lower-than-normal temperatures for years to come. In the meantime, they’re making changes like painting parking lots and rooftops in cooler colors so they reflect rather than absorb heat and elevating equipment in flood-prone areas. 

Reforesting former mining sites 

Green Forests Work is planting trees to regenerate forests and spur local economies that have been destroyed by coal mining. “If you’re going to put money into reforestation projects, there’s so much benefit to doing it on mined land,” says Chris Barton, Green Forests Work’s founder and president. “They’re a scar on the landscape.”

GFW works with landowners, local communities and organizations like the Priceless Planet Coalition, created by Mastercard in partnership with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute. The coalition aims to fund the restoration of 100 million trees at sites around the world. 

In an effort to sequester carbon emissions and support local economies, GFW has planted more than 7 million trees across six states — including 100,000 on this hilltop in Martin County, Kentucky, a former coal-mining site. In 2024 the coalition expanded sites globally to 22, including in the high Andes, the eastern Himalayas of India, and Thailand’s Kaeng Krachan National Park, underscoring its efforts to maximize benefits on climate, communities, and biodiversity. 

Securing economic stability for marginalized groups 

Nearly 6 million small-scale fishers globally earn less than a dollar a day, often depleting fisheries in the process of trying to scrape a living from the sea. Rising ocean temperatures spurred by climate change are making their job even harder. The tech platform Abalobi helps fishers use technology to find sustainable and legal fishing spots, sell their catch to local restaurants and markets, and take out loans for better GPS-equipped boats and housing.

This year, Abalobi received a boost from the Climate Smart Innovation Hub, a program launched by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and the Climate Innovation for Adaptation and Resilience Alliance to connect entrepreneurs with climate scientists, financial service providers and investors to help unbanked workers become more resilient to climate change.

The hub showcased Abalobi among more than 70 banking and financial services solutions designed to drive financial resilience and promote environmental sustainability. The products serve affected populations around the world with a range of financial tools including credit, savings, payments and insurance.

Inclusive climate action

Climate change disproportionately affects global populations that are hardest to reach — whether for geographic, administrative or social reasons. Many of these communities have developed innovative solutions that offer lessons for addressing climate challenges at scale. For example, southern Kenyan villagers are restoring mangrove forests, which capture 10 times more carbon than regular forests, and selling the carbon credits to large companies.

These “blue economy” projects have helped fuel a rise in prosperity in Kenya, which caught the attention of Reach Alliance. Founded in 2015 as a partnership between the University of Toronto and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the alliance looks for development strategies for climate-vulnerable communities around the world. It’s made a list of five key factors for boosting inclusive climate resilience in vulnerable communities: program sustainability, repurposing existing technology and resources, local ownership, appropriate incentives and a network of partnerships.

After studying the mangrove projects, the Reach Alliance realized that in addition to bringing new prosperity, these projects also protect villagers against extreme weather events. Kenyans in the project areas gain a new a source of income that they invest back into their communities, thus contributing to the development of sanitation, education, health and environment in their own neighborhoods. Ultimately their better understanding of successful sustainability models opens the door to an increase in similar projects around the globe.