But the fight isn’t over.

The work we were buildin at the United Nations is open source and will hopefully keep pushing forward - more transparency, more accountability, more real impact.

The question is: Will the U.S. lead, or will it get left behind?

We had a system. We had transparency. We were building the accountability needed to turn pledges into action.

And now? We’re watching it unravel.

The U.S. walking away from Paris doesn’t just set us back - it undermines the very systems designed to make climate finance work.

The real cost isn’t only in dollars. It’s in destroyed homes, unlivable cities, and lives lost.

Insurance companies and actuaries know this.

They’ve crunched the numbers. Climate science isn’t a debate for them - it’s a risk factor that threatens their entire industry.

So why can’t politicians do the same math?

But here’s the thing: Preventing climate disasters is cheaper than cleaning them up.

The wildfires that tore through LA last week? The floods drowning entire regions?

That’s the cost of delay. And it’s only getting worse.

We created the first-ever co-benefit standards in any platform.

Meaning carbon credits weren’t just about emissions - they had to support biodiversity, Indigenous rights, and sustainable development.

Climate action for everyone, not just the biggest players.

So we built a new system.

One that ensured carbon credits weren’t just real, but verifiable. That emissions reductions could be tracked transparently.

And we didn’t stop there.

The problem? Carbon markets were broken.

Countries and companies were making big climate pledges but had no way to prove they were delivering.

Without real accountability, it was all just a numbers game - and we were running out of time.

The U.S. pulling out of the Paris Agreement isn’t just bad policy - it’s a disaster.

At UNDP, I led building the National Carbon Registry, a product designed to make carbon markets actually work. No more greenwashing. No more junk credits.