Yishan brings Silicon Valley’s expertise in scaling to the climate movement. Yishan founded Terraformation in Hawaiʻi in 2020 to build and deploy tools that tackle the largest bottlenecks to global reforestation. The company hosts a forest carbon accelerator, supporting early-stage forestry teams to launch, build, and scale biodiverse reforestation projects. In addition to producing high-quality, verified carbon credits, these projects generate complementary sustainable revenue streams to support local economies. Terraformation’s partner network spans five continents and includes diverse landowners and organizations. Today, the company has planted over 4.7M trees, and its accelerator program is on track to sequester 7.5M tons of CO2 from current projects. Prior to founding Terraformation, Yishan served as the CEO of Reddit, Director of Engineering at Facebook and was part of the engineering team that led to the exponential growth of Paypal. Yishan studied computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in California with his family and dogs.

Summary

In this episode of Arthur's Round Table, Yishan Wong, founder of Terraformation, discusses his journey from the tech industry to tackling climate change through reforestation. He emphasizes the importance of using low-tech solutions for large-scale environmental challenges and presents the case for the Trillion Trees Initiative as a practical approach to combat climate change. Wong outlines the steps involved in reforestation, the significance of community involvement, and how individuals can contribute to this global movement. He also addresses the economic aspects of investing in climate solutions and the potential for a sustainable future through collective action.

Takeaways

Yishan Wong transitioned from tech to climate solutions.

Scaling technology requires reliable, low-tech components.

Reforestation is a practical solution to climate change.

The Trillion Trees Initiative aims to plant one trillion trees.

Community involvement is crucial for successful reforestation.

Planting trees can be done by individuals and communities.

Investing in reforestation has long-term benefits.

Understanding the economics of climate solutions is essential.

Math is critical in evaluating climate change solutions.

Nature has inherent mechanisms for carbon sequestration.

Titles

From Tech to Trees: Yishan Wong's Journey

Scaling Solutions for Climate Change

Sound Bites

""Nature is working 24/7.""

""You better know your math.""

""This solution is very tunable.""

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Yishan Wong and Terraformation

02:57 Scaling Technology and Climate Solutions

05:47 The Importance of Low-Tech Solutions

08:51 Reforestation as a Practical Climate Solution

12:00 Understanding the Global Movement for Trees

14:56 The Role of Simplicity in Climate Solutions

17:50 The Power of Collective Action

21:03 The Trillion Trees Goal

24:04 Defining Reforestation and Afforestation

27:08 The Importance of Native Species

29:51 Learning from Past Reforestation Efforts

33:06 The Practical Steps for Reforestation

40:54 The Importance of Community in Reforestation

45:50 Skills and Infrastructure for Successful Reforestation

48:07 How Individuals Can Contribute to Reforestation

56:10 Understanding the Economics of Tree Planting

01:01:47 The Vision for a Sustainable Future