CARBON FINANCE BOOTCAMP

A world-class educational experience at the nexus of climate change, finance, technology, and society. 

Training the next generation of climate and sustainability leaders in the American West.

A program of the Soil Carbon Solutions Center at Colorado State University, supported by the National Science Foundation CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine.

-Save the Date-

The Carbon Finance Bootcamp is returning May 12-14, 2025 to CSU Spur in Denver, Colorado.

We’re also offering a 2-day workshop on community engagement on carbon projects May 15-16.

Stay tuned for more info!

The Carbon Finance Bootcamp hosted by CSU’s Soil Carbon Solutions Center combines university resources and expertise with connections to industry and philanthropy, in order to provide a world-class educational experience at the nexus of climate change, finance, technology, and society. 

The bootcamp is designed to up-skill a new generation of climate and sustainability leaders. Participants include land managers, investors, industry professionals, government officials, consultants, and other stakeholders interested in gaining of-the-moment knowledge on the complex landscape of carbon finance and carbon management.

The in-person bootcamp welcomes participants for three days of learning, with an additional workshop on community engagement around carbon projects.

Carbon Finance Curriculum

The bootcamp provides an overview of carbon markets, climate and carbon finance mechanisms, and industry terminology. Students will explore tensions and tradeoffs as carbon markets grow and rapidly evolve. An annotated bibliography for deeper reading will be provided to all participants.

Targeted Networking

Participants connect with other sustainability professionals and meet researchers from CSU and beyond who are conducting leading research across carbon management sectors.

Expert Advising

Our community engagement workshop will walk participants through best practices in community engagement as it related to carbon project development. Participants will leave with a roadmap on how to engage in just, viable, co-directed community benefit plans.

Topics

  • GHG accounting: built environment, nature

  • Carbon markets (voluntary and compliance)

  • Carbon offsets and insets

  • Carbon removal (nature-based solutions, engineered, hybrid)

  • Science-Based Targets

  • Net zero

  • Carbon accounting standards

  • Protocols and protocol development

  • Climate smart commodities (ag, regenerative ag)

  • Social implications of carbon finance

  • ESG investing

  • Intersections with climate, adaptation, and conservation finance

  • Opportunities: careers, investment, innovation

Meet the Experts

Dr. Lauren Gifford

Founder, Carbon Finance Bootcamp
Associate Director, Soil Carbon Solutions Center 

Joint Faculty, Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability 
Colorado State University

Dr. Gifford is a human-environment geographer working at the intersection of carbon finance, global climate change policy, conservation, markets and justice. Her research asks how, and by whom, carbon is made a commodity for carbon removal solutions. She has particular expertise in carbon markets and offsets, climate finance, and climate tech. Beyond academia she has advised companies and organizations including Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase, Carbon Direct, Stripe, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Chooose, and many others. She advised the Government of Fiji at COP21 on the climate finance track of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, and regularly serves as subject-matter expert in interviews with major media, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, Time, Business Insider, and others.

Dr. Jane Zelikova

Director, Soil Carbon Solutions Center 

Joint Faculty, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
Colorado State University

Dr. Zelikova leads an interdisciplinary research team with world-class expertise to build tools and approaches needed to accelerate the deployment of credible agricultural based climate solutions, with a focus on soils. Prior to working with CSU, she served as the chief scientist for Carbon180, supporting climate change policy in carbon removal, specifically with natural climate solutions.

“There simply aren’t enough people with critical knowledge of carbon finance to meet the needs of governments, businesses and NGOs. We’re here to change that.”

— Lauren Gifford, Carbon Finance Bootcamp founder

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A: The short answer is the Carbon Finance Bootcamp offers insights necessary to build a career in climate adaptation, land and resource conservation, climate tech and entrepreneurship, carbon management, and really any type of climate action.

    The longer answer is that the climate / technology / society nexus is a booming space, and rapidly evolving, with unprecedented opportunities for careers, investment and policy-making. Jobs in climate policy, climate tech, land management, and carbon removal increasingly call for of-the-moment knowledge of carbon markets and climate finance. At the same time, land managers in Colorado and beyond are interested in enrolling their land in carbon finance programs, and private companies are investing in carbon management schemes to meet net zero commitments– but often lack sophisticated guidance.

    The Carbon Finance Bootcamp seeks to meet the need for professional upskilling to quickly and objectively share guidance on how to engage with the climate finance landscape.

  • A; We are not offering remote participation at this time, but hope to in the future.

  • A: Absolutely! CSU Spur has a list of suggested hotels near campus: https://csuspur.org/hotel-guide/

  • A: We can’t answer that. But we can tell you that, according to Climatebase, a technology-focused climate job site, in the last two years nearly 1 million people have used the site to apply for over 45,000 jobs at over 2,500 climate tech companies and environmental nonprofits. Climate Tech VC, a leading source on the new carbon economy, claims to have an audience of 40,000 climate investors, founders, and market leaders. A professional network called Terra.do aims to recruit new workers into the climate tech industry, with the goal to get 100 million people working on climate within the decade. Numerous climate tech start-ups that launched in the last two years have recently closed fundraising rounds of $50-$100 million, and need to fill hundreds of new jobs.

    Career and investment opportunities in this space abound!

  • A: Bootcamp tuition gives you three days of intensive learning, along with a detailed reading list of scholarly and gray literature to offer in-depth education on all topics addressed in class, and more. You’ll also receive lectures and Q&A from industry leaders, targeted networking time, and additional career and networking resources.

    Tuition includes a catered lunch every day, and a farm-to-table dinner the second night.

  • A: We aim to make the Climate Finance Bootcamp open, inclusive and accessible. A limited number of scholarships are available for Colorado or Wyoming based environmental justice practitioners, particularly tribal members and folks from frontline communities. If you need financial assistance, please let us know prior to March 30.

  • A: We’re offering the bootcamp again the week of May 12, 2025. If you interested in offering an abbreviated version of the bootcamp at your conference or event, reach out and we’ll see what’s possible.

Questions? Get in touch

Email lauren.gifford@colostate.edu with questions or fill out the form below: