Harnessing AI for Climate Innovation: Bridging the Data Gap
Artificial intelligence (AI) stands at the forefront of climate innovation, promising revolutionary advancements in sustainability. Yet, its potential can only be realized if there’s access to diverse, high-quality data—a significant challenge in the climate sector. This data gap complicates an intricate financial landscape for climate tech, supported by various sources, including public, philanthropic, and private funding.
Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Office hosted an AI + Climate Innovation Lab, convening over 100 industry experts, founders, and investors to explore AI and data needs across nine climate subsectors during San Francisco Climate Week 2025.
The Role of the Cisco Foundation
Through the Regenerative Future Fund (RFF), the Cisco Foundation actively promotes the availability of open-source, high-quality data and innovative AI applications designed to tackle climate challenges. Their latest initiatives offer tangible examples of how blending finance can catalyze climate resilience, particularly in regenerative agriculture and wildfire resilience.
Empowering Farmers: The Future of Regenerative Agriculture
Farmers in the U.S. keen on adopting regenerative agricultural practices confront numerous obstacles, notably limited access to capital and insufficient data infrastructure. Recent reports from the USDA highlight concerning trends—a 21% decline in farm working capital in 2023 and another 17% drop in 2024. Such economic shifts hinder the ability of farmers to invest in sustainable practices, threatening long-term growth and sustainability.
To combat these challenges, the Cisco Foundation has strategically invested in the Fractal Farmer Agriculture Regenerative Management (FARM) Fund. This innovative financial model supports farmers while allowing them to maintain control over their land. Offering ten-year contracts with incentives linked to the adoption of regenerative practices, Fractal presents an attractive alternative to conventional debt financing.
Success Stories in Regenerative Practices
The impact of Fractal’s model is noteworthy. By collaborating with 14 farms, Fractal has observed a 6.5% increase in crop yield compared to local benchmarks. These gains highlight a remarkable potential for economic resilience in an otherwise uncertain landscape.
For farmers like Jesse Hough, the General Manager of Hough Farms in East Central Nebraska, this long-term investment approach has proven invaluable. The model enables him to make informed on-farm decisions while aligning incentives for both farmers and investors to benefit over time.
Farmers using Fractal technology to gain insights into climate risk and soil health.
Fractal employs advanced AI and machine learning to evaluate land productivity and create precise land valuations. By incorporating factors such as climate risk and soil health, Fractal’s models offer a more nuanced perspective than traditional methods, ensuring more accurate assessments of farms’ long-term potential.
The Need for Enhanced Data Infrastructure
To continue providing robust support for farmers like Jesse, Fractal emphasizes the necessity for improved data infrastructure. This infrastructure will facilitate underwriting processes and optimize incentive frameworks, ensuring farmers can fully leverage AI applications.
Dr. Emma Fuller, co-founder of Fractal, stated, “When regenerative practices improve yield resilience, the cash flow impacts ripple from land value to crop insurance. Through Open Ground, we’re partnering with Earth Genome to make vital data accessible, driving meaningful impact sector-wide.”
Investing in Open Data: A New Frontier
To accelerate the creation of crucial datasets, the Cisco Foundation has also granted early-stage funds to Earth Genome. Their innovative Open Ground initiative aims to integrate historical climate data, localized extreme weather models, and advanced crop failure classifications, enabling precise field-level insights. This open-access approach empowers a broad spectrum of stakeholders—from researchers to insurers—to invest confidently in regenerative agriculture.
A New Era in Wildfire Management: The Vibrant Planet Initiative
In addition to agriculture, Cisco Foundation’s innovative financial model extends to wildfire management through partners such as Vibrant Planet and Vibrant Planet Data Commons. These organizations tackle the critical issue of wildfire risk and land management by harnessing technology.
Vibrant Planet’s foundational philosophy asserts, “You can’t understand what you can’t see.” With increasing climate instability and outdated fire suppression strategies, U.S. forests are more vulnerable than ever to devastating wildfires. Unfortunately, inadequate access to high-quality data has stymied restoration efforts and marginalized Indigenous perspectives.
Leveraging Advanced Technology for Forest Health
To address the urgent need for comprehensive data, Vibrant Planet utilizes satellite imagery, remote sensing, and AI-driven modeling to paint a detailed, real-time picture of forest health and fire risk. By integrating this technology, Vibrant Planet can provide actionable insights to land managers and policymakers.
Vibrant Planet Data Commons Data Dashboard
The Vibrant Planet Data Commons aims to make forest science and data both meaningful and accessible. Supported by Cisco since 2022, it has already developed core infrastructure and publicly available data packages, including a wildfire ignition probability model, as well as tools designed for community engagement.
Championing Indigenous Knowledge in Climate strategy
Vibrant Planet prioritizes the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in its strategies, actively developing protocols alongside Tribal partners. This collaboration ensures that their data packages remain relevant and sensitive to the unique histories of the regions involved.
Dr. Chelsey Walden-Schreiner, Director of Science Development at Vibrant Planet Data Commons, remarked, “Together, Vibrant Planet PBC and VPDC form a hybrid engine for change—where science meets scalable systems, and market-driven innovation aligns with public good.”
The Interdependence of For-Profits and Nonprofits
The interplay between for-profit and nonprofit ventures is crucial in fostering a climate-resilient future. By working collaboratively, organizations can amplify their impact and create transformative climate strategies that benefit everyone.
Closing the Circle: Data-Driven Climate Resilience
These efforts illuminate how blended finance and open data can foster AI-driven approaches to climate resilience. By supporting adaptive agricultural practices and refining forest management techniques, we move closer to a sustainable future.
In conclusion, harnessing AI for climate innovation holds incredible potential, but only with improved access to diverse, high-quality data. Through partnerships like those seen with Cisco Foundation, Fractal, and Vibrant Planet, we are not just enhancing agricultural productivity and wildfire management; we are paving the way for a resilient, sustainable world that values ecological balance and community investment.
