UpRoot on Climate Proofers

Great to be on Climate Proofers to talk UpRoot with Louie Woodall. In this conversation we explore the climate mechanisms driving PIB expansions, the impacts across industries, and the technologies we can back to bring these threats under control—plus how PIB risks fit into the wider climate adaptation conversation.

We discuss warmer winters allowing pests to overwinter and reproduce faster, shifting wildlife migration patterns opening new territories, and changing precipitation creating breeding grounds.

The consequences are severe: mountain pine beetles killing 100,000 square miles of North American forest, spotted lanternflies devastating US orchards, zebra mussels blocking waterways, and ticks expanding into Europe spreading Lyme disease.

The emerging diagnostic (DX) and remediation (RX) technologies offer solutions, but the challenge lies in building a market without common language—educating investors on opportunity size while helping startups understand "climate adaptation" as a fundable category.