Jad Daley

American Forests is the oldest national conservation organization in the U.S., working to keep the nation’s trees healthy and resilient since 1875. Jad Daley took the helm in 2018 and has made climate change one of the organization’s main focus points. American Forest’s policy leadership was key in securing $14 billion in climate-related forest investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, including an historic $1.5 billion for tree planting in disadvantaged urban areas. At the end of last year, the organization announced a $20 million partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service to help the agency with the herculean task of reforesting millions of charred acres over the next five years using climate-resilient restoration methods.

What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?

We urgently need the U.S. government to double down on the historic investment in natural climate solutions that was included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Public and private actors alike are scaling up rapidly to advance forest solutions such as reforestation that simultaneously address carbon emissions, protect communities, and restore biodiversity – and doing this just as much in cities as in rural areas. The scaling of natural climate solutions is like building a whole new sector of our economy that will need long-term staying power to care for and enhance the natural systems that must continue providing solutions over decades. Another major investment of public funding would send a clear signal that money will be available to help build out the workforce and supply chains necessary to deliver solutions, like increasing seed collection and tree nursery capacity, so we actually have enough of the right trees to plant for reforestation. 

Where should climate activism go in the next year?

The climate movement urgently needs to get back to its roots and become a real societal movement. The modern climate movement has too often become a blame game that lets individuals off the hook for their own actions and suggests overly simple solutions that are someone else's responsibility. It speaks mostly to those who are already engaged, and effectively gives up on those who are not. Instead, we need to present an honest assessment of our collective responsibility for the emissions driving climate change and ask every citizen to work in equal measure on personal action to advance solutions, responsible consumption, and political engagement. A sincere societal push fed into the work being done by non-profits, companies, and governments could take us to the next level in our climate solutions, freeing up more hands to help, and sending the right signals to empower climate leadership from both the public and private sector. Non-profits have a key role to play by creating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get directly involved.

If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next U.N. climate conference, what would you say?

Recent COP events often feel dominated by discussions of complex financing structures for climate solutions and ideas for how the private sector can help. While the private sector is undoubtedly essential, public policies that are unapologetic in asking for deep change are hardly mentioned. You might respond that the politics in your countries simply will not support the kind of climate policies that I am suggesting. But we will not know for certain unless we ask. Unless we put forward policy solutions that create their own political change because scared citizens who have lost hope see in them how we can overcome climate change with real and lasting solutions. Even daring to raise such ideas might cost some their political careers. Yet what is clear is that incremental public policies will only incrementally slow the advance of climate change, they will not stop it. We are running out of time to win on climate, and we must be willing to risk anything to try. Let's all commit to showing bold political leadership starting tomorrow.

*Disclosure: Donors to American Forests include TIME co-chairs and owners Marc and Lynne Benioff.