Investing in a Resilient Future: From Climate Finance to Human Health

Investing in a Resilient Future: From Climate Finance to Human Health

Author: Commonwealth Club of California August 11, 2026 Duration: 1:08:56
Natural and human-made extreme weather events are disrupting food systems worldwide, threatening the long-term economic stability and health of already vulnerable populations. Across the globe, 80 percent of the poorest live in rural communities and rely on smallholder farming for their household food and income. And smallholder farmers produce around one-third of the total share of the world’s food, yet are disproportionately affected by climate risks, uncertainty, and poverty, often having limited resources to adapt to these changes. Then how are these communities building resilience and developing better strategies to cope with a changing climate? This panel brings in two perspectives within the climate field: financial need in scaling climate solutions, and research on how climate change impacts agricultural systems and human health. Mercedes de la Vega is an associate director of climate partnerships at Acumen, leading strategic partnerships at the intersection of climate solutions and poverty. She helps mobilize capital to serve businesses, driving change for the climate-vulnerable communities, strengthening their ecosystems. Tammy Nicastro is a researcher affiliate at UCSF who focuses on studies of climate-sensitive agricultural livelihood interventions and their impacts on improving agricultural productivity and income, and household nutrition and health for smallholder farmers to support individuals’ health and nutritional needs. As climate pressures intensify, research, innovations, and investments in improving healthier food systems, improving health outcomes, and building resilience will shape the lives of future generations living in areas most vulnerable to climate disasters. An International Relations Member-led Forum program. Forums at the Club are organized and run by volunteer programmers who are members of The Commonwealth Club, and they cover a diverse range of topics. Learn more about our Forums. Organizer: Frank Price  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Commonwealth Club of California Podcast
Podcast Episodes
CLIMATE ONE: It’s Too Damn Hot… So What Can We Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:09
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Duration: 1:09:16
For 500 years, telescopes have opened windows on the cosmos with increasing power and precision. Beginning with the historic telescopes funded by Andrew Carnegie and built by George Ellery Hale atop Pasadena’s Mount Wils…
Ecocivilization: Making a World That Works for Al [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:59
It has been said that it is easier to imagine the end of the world than it is to imagine the end of capitalism. Yet Jeremy Lent says that is what this historical moment urgently calls for. As climate chaos, inequality an…