Let's talk about climate finance

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report: "Let's Talk About Climate Finance"

Date: October 6, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishour (in for David Brancaccio)
Featured Guest: Justin Winters, Co-founder & Executive Director, One Earth

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Brief Overview

This episode delves into the urgent topic of climate finance—specifically, where private and philanthropic money is (and isn’t) flowing to address climate change. Sabri Benishour speaks with Justin Winters of One Earth about a new report mapping $400 billion in investments across climate solutions. The conversation breaks down imbalances in climate funding, reasons certain areas are overlooked, and actionable ways to redirect capital for maximum climate impact.

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Key Discussion Points

1. What is 'Climate Finance'?

[06:09–06:22]

• Sabri Benishour asks for a definition of climate finance.
• Justin Winters:
  • Climate finance includes "how resources flow, you know, both investment and philanthropic capital, all capital really, how it's flowing to address the climate crisis."
  • All forms of capital—from governments to private actors—contribute to the effort.

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2. Buckets of Climate Investment

[06:22–07:09]

• Winters describes the division of climate finance into three buckets.
• Over the last decade, climate finance has nearly doubled but is still “a sliver of global investment.”
• Less than 2% of philanthropic giving goes to climate and environment.
• One Earth and Vibrant Data Labs analyzed $400 billion in private and philanthropic capital across 10,000+ US organizations to track funding flows and gaps.

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3. Where the Money Flows—And Where It Doesn’t

[07:09–08:05]

• The report found stark imbalances:
  • 89% of all US private climate capital goes to energy transition (renewable energy, grid upgrades, storage, etc.).
  • Two other critical areas are significantly underfunded:
    • Nature conservation: Only 4% of total climate finance.
    • Regenerative agriculture: About 7% of total climate finance.
• Memorable Quote:

  "Almost 89% of all private capital in the US is flowing to the energy transition. Now, this isn't a bad thing, but there are two other critical solution pathways... nature conservation only received 4%... and regenerative agriculture wasn't much better. It received only 7%."
  — Justin Winters [07:12–08:05]

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4. How to Get Money to Neglected Solutions

[08:05–09:13]

• Host asks whether solutions like nature conservation or regenerative agriculture need government funding, or could attract early-stage venture capital.
• Justin Winters:
  • Government and philanthropy are especially crucial for nature conservation.
  • Regenerative agriculture can attract a range of capital: venture, investment, and government.
  • Advocates for holistic, innovative approaches—matching funding types and stages to specific needs.
  • Excitement about new climate markets, especially regenerative agriculture, which supports biodiversity and human health.
• Quote:

  "There are incredible opportunities for all types of capital, including venture capital, including investment capital. But we need to be more thoughtful about the types of capital to the solutions that need to support it and what stage those solutions are at. We need to think holistically and... in an innovative mindset about new markets that are going to emerge."
  — Justin Winters [08:16–09:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Imbalances in Funding:

  "We found some incredible imbalances... almost 89% of all private capital in the US is flowing to the energy transition."
  — Justin Winters [07:12].

• On Philanthropy:

  "Less than 2% of philanthropic giving is going to climate and environment."
  — Justin Winters [06:34].

• On New Approaches:

  "We need to be more thoughtful about the types of capital to the solutions that need to support it and what stage those solutions are at."
  — Justin Winters [08:16].

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:32] Introduction to the climate finance topic and guest.
• [06:09] Justin Winters explains climate finance.
• [06:22] Breakdown of climate finance “buckets.”
• [07:09] Discussion of where funding flows and the imbalances.
• [08:05] How to redirect funding.
• [09:13] Conversation concludes.

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Takeaways

• The vast majority of US private climate funding is directed at energy, leaving nature conservation and regenerative agriculture vastly underfunded, despite their critical role in climate solutions.
• Only a minuscule portion of philanthropic giving goes to environmental causes.
• Targeted, innovative investment—including but not limited to governments—could unleash the potential of neglected solutions such as regenerative agriculture and nature restoration.

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Further Listening:
For context on the broader economic news of the day, the episode also covered updates on the weight loss drug market (Ozempic/Wegovy), the shifting landscape in beer sales, and the decline of alcohol consumption in the US, but the segment with Justin Winters is the core focus for climate finance insights.

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Transcript

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[Sabri Benishour]

Big box stores want a piece of the weight loss drug action? From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishour in for David Brancaccio. Costco members will soon be able to buy weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy for a steep discount. It's the latest retailer to reach a deal to sell the drugs for just under $500 a month. Yes, that is apparently discount, following CVS and Walmart Marketplaces. Henry Epp has more.

[Henry Epp]

The move comes as Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovi, faces growing pressure in the market, both from competitors and from insurance companies. Drug maker Eli Lilly began selling its weight loss drug Zepp bound for $499 earlier this year, and other copycat drugs, many of them marketed online, have sprung up too. Some insurers have started to limit coverage of ozempic and other GLP1s, citing their high cost. That's led Novo Nordisk to offer its drugs at a discount direct to consumers and through these retail the company's share price has fallen sharply this year and it's cut thousands of jobs. I'm Henry Epp for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishour]

Constellation Brands owns Modelo and Corona Beers, among others. We're going to get quarterly financial results from Constellation today. After the closing bell back in September, the company said the outlook was not looking as good as it thought for the rest of the year because demand has been falling and because tariffs but as Marketplace's Savannah Peters reports, beer makers could have bigger worries on their minds.

[Savannah Peters]

When consumer sentiment takes a hit, like we've seen recently, beer sales usually follow, says analyst Nadine Sarwat with Bernstein Research. And Constellation is feeling that faster than other brands.

[Justin Winters]

Modelo, which is their biggest brand, its consumer base is around 50% Hispanic.

[Savannah Peters]

Sarwat says those consumers skew lower income and could be pulling back more quickly.

[Justin Winters]

And the Trump administration's immigration policy and.

[Savannah Peters]

Growing fear of ICE raids are keeping many undocumented people and their families from working and shopping and going out and buying beer. Constellation imports Modelo in Corona, which also means it's bearing the cost of a 50% tariff on aluminum cans. But the whole sector is facing another threat.

[Henry Epp]

The percentage of Americans reporting they drink fell down to 54% in 2025.

[Savannah Peters]

Lydia Saad with Gallup says that's the lowest percentage since the firm started polling Americans about their drinking habits 90 years ago. And with younger people abstaining at the highest rates, Saad says the trend is likely to continue. I'm Savannah Peters for Marketplace.

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Introducing your new Dell PC. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra processor, it helps you handle a lot even when your holiday to do list gets to be a lot because it's built with an all day battery plus powerful AI features that help you do it all with ease, from editing images to drafting emails to summarizing large documents to multitasking. So you can organize your holiday shopping and make custom holiday decor and search for great holiday deals and respond to holiday requests and customer questions and customers requesting custom things. And plan the perfect holiday dinner for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and Uncle Mike's carnivore diet. Luckily, you can get a PC that helps you do it all faster so that you can get it all done. That's the power of a Dell PC with Intel inside, backed by Dell's price match guaranteed. Get yours [e-mail] deals, terms and conditions apply. See Dell.com for details.

[Sabri Benishour]

Climate change does not solve itself. That requires, among many other things, money. Not just from governments, but from the private sector too. And that private money has been flowing. Environmental nonprofit One Earth has been tracking $400 billion worth of private investment in climate change solutions. But markets play favorites. What makes the most money attracts the most money, which means some solutions have been neglected. This is according to a report from One Earth and Vibrant Data Labs. Here to talk about it with us is Justin Winters. She is co founder and executive director at One Earth. Good morning.

[Justin Winters]

Thanks so much for having me.

[Sabri Benishour]

So when we talk about climate finance, what are we talking about exactly?

[Justin Winters]

Well, we're talking about how resources flow, you know, both investment and philanthropic capital, all capital really, how it's flowing to a address the climate crisis.

[Sabri Benishour]

When we think about resources flowing, investing money in things that might fight climate change, you have three buckets kind of investment that can get us there. Could you explain those and maybe give us an example?

[Justin Winters]

You know, climate finance over the past decade has nearly doubled, but it still only remains a sliver of global investment. And in fact, less than 2% of philanthropic giving is going to climate and environment. We did a really fascinating analysis with a company called Vibrant Data Labs and assessed and evaluated nearly 400 billion in both private investment capital and philanthropic grants across more than 10,000 US based companies and nonprofits and identified where are those funds flowing to climate solutions and where are they not flowing?

[Sabri Benishour]

Where is the money going and where is it not going?

[Justin Winters]

So we found some incredible imbalances. And the way that we assessed this was really looking at climate solutions. So what are the things that we need to invest in and support in order to solve this incredibly complex, challenging problem? What we found is that almost 89% of all private capital in the US is flowing to the energy transition. Now, this isn't a bad thing, but there are two other critical solution pathways that we need to invest in if we want to create a future that's livable. So that includes things like nature conservation and transitioning our food and our fiber systems to regenerative agriculture. So in the scope of our analysis, nature conservation only received 4% of total climate finance funding. And regenerative agriculture wasn't much better. It received only 7%.

[Sabri Benishour]

So how do you get money to nature conservation or regenerative agriculture? Are we thinking like early stage venture capital funding, or is this something that governments have to take on?

[Justin Winters]

Well, it's certainly something that governments have to take on. We need that form of capital too. But there's opportunity across all these pillars for nature conservation. That's the one that is particularly reliant both on government funding as well as philanthropic capital. But, you know, things like regenerative agriculture, I mean, there are incredible opportunities for all types of capital, including venture capital, including investment capital. But we need to be more thoughtful about the types of capital to the solutions that need to support it and what stage those solutions are at. We need to think holistically and we need to be thinking, you know, in an innovative mindset about new markets that are going to emerge. I mean, I'm particularly excited about regenerative agriculture and all the ways in which we can support our farmers and our food systems to transition to something that is more conducive to biodiversity, more conducive to human health.

[Sabri Benishour]

Justin Winters is co founder and executive director at One Earth. Thank you so much.

[Justin Winters]

Thank you.

[Sabri Benishour]

In New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace morning Report from 8pm American Public Media.

[Million Bazillion Host]

This week on Million Bazillion, we're doing some traveling and tackling all your travel related money questions. Find out how currency exchanges work, how money travels through the economy from where it's printed to our wallets, and we'll get to the bottom of why things seem so, so much more expensive at the airport. Don't miss this week's episode of Million Bazillion. Listen on your favorite podcast.

[Sabri Benishour]

Applause.