Leaders from across the globe convened in Panama City, Panama, for the 2025 Nature Summit, a milestone event hosted at the iconic BioMuseo. With its sweeping views of the Panama Canal and its bold, nature-inspired architecture, the BioMuseo set the tone for a forward-looking conversation on climate solutions. This year’s goals, to go from vision to action, and aligning Climate Finance, Technology, and Public-Private Partnership, brought together government officials, nonprofit leaders, technologists, financiers, and private-sector entrepreneurs committed to building a sustainable future.
At the heart of the discussions was the urgency to transition from dialogue to meaningful implementation, especially through financial innovation, cutting-edge technologies like AI, and new models of cross-sector collaboration. Two standout interviews on the main stage underscored this urgency and provided a powerful glimpse into the evolving nature of climate leadership.
Panama’s Path from Vision to Action in Nature Finance
Juan Carlos Navarro, Panama’s Minister of Environment, opened the summit with a powerful message about the importance of continuity and commitment in environmental protection.
“When we speak of environmental action, we have to speak about long-term guarantees,” Navarro emphasized. “In Latin America, support for conservation comes and goes. We need to ensure long-term financial support is in place—and that’s the only way we can ensure long-term protection and action stays in place.”
Navarro laid out Panama’s recent strides in nature finance and conservation policy, driven by growing political will and increased international collaboration. His ministry has doubled the number of park rangers in key protected areas, secured UNESCO recognition for critical natural sites, and established avenues for local communities to benefit economically from conservation efforts.
“We’re not claiming perfection,” he added, “but we’re moving forward. We’ve welcomed global expertise, leaned into transparency, and prioritized practical results.”
This grounded, action-oriented philosophy is at the core of Panama’s leadership in Latin America’s green transition. By investing in rangers, local engagement, and international partnerships, the country is turning environmental goals into real-world outcomes.
A Private Sector Call to Courage: Innovation Without Fear
Adding a bold entrepreneurial voice to the summit was Corneilus Shields IV, CEO of Kore Infrastructure, a clean energy company pioneering waste-to-energy technology without combustion. Shields delivered a deeply personal message about what it takes for the private sector to lead on climate.
“Now it’s time to show up a little bit differently,” Shields said. “I’m hearing a lot of talk about action. But from a private-sector perspective, action means risk. And we need to embrace risk as opportunity.”
Shields spoke candidly about the sacrifices and faith it has taken to build Kore Infrastructure, sharing how he has invested significant personal capital to scale an innovation that converts waste into clean energy.
“Every time I leapt, the net appeared,” he said. “When you are in service of something greater than yourself, that net will appear. As we talk about action, make it meaningful—but make it in a way that the private sector is willing to bet on you and take a risk.”
His message resonated with investors, innovators, and public officials alike: for climate solutions to scale, there must be alignment between vision, capital, and courage.
A New Blueprint for Global Environmental Collaboration
The 2025 Nature Summit in Panama marked a turning point in how climate solutions are discussed—and deployed. By hosting dialogues that merge the practicality of government policy
with the boldness of private-sector innovation, the summit illustrated what true collaboration looks like. As the world faces intensifying environmental challenges, events like this demonstrate that with the right partnerships, tools, and mindset, progress is not only possible—it’s already underway.
From Panama’s model of community-driven conservation to Kore Infrastructure’s tech-powered risk-taking, one theme remained constant throughout the summit: the future belongs to those ready to act.
Related Article: Nature Summit Focuses on Economic Drivers of Climate Action in Panama
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