Climate Papa Turning acres into options with Aarden AI CEO Danan Margason
Agriculture, forestry, and land use together account for nearly 24 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet somehow land sits in a weird blind spot: ignored by climate conversations focused on energy and transport, underanalyzed by markets, and mispriced by farmers and timber investors alike. That’s the problem, and opportunity, we’re going to discuss today.
I sit down with Danan Margason, founder and CEO of Aarden, to explore how AI can help land owners understand their options. Aarden sits at the center of a messy, trillion-dollar decision problem—enabling landowners and capital allocators to evaluate a single parcel across radically different paths: timber harvests vs. solar fields, carbon projects vs. housing, restoration now vs. monetizing later.
We dive into the systems thinking behind land use and why this is such a massive market that’s been underserved by technology.
Along the way, Danan shares his journey from crew boats in Seattle to Booking.com, through Carbon Direct’s push for high-quality removals, and into company-building back with his original crew buddy.
Referenced:
Get connected:
Danan - LinkedIn | danan@aarden.ai
Ben - LinkedIn | Climate Papa
Feedback? Guest ideas? Get in touch by emailing ben@climatepapa.com
Music: Slynk & Lazy Syrup Orchestra - Mellow Kinda Hype (Balkan Bump Remix)