In this Week’s Issue: $2.1 billion across 20 deals in Transition Finance ($168.9 million), NbS ($93.5 million), Carbon Removal ($1.8 billion), Hard-to-Abate industries ($67 million) and the Blue Economy ($22 million).
Foresight Group secured £27 million ($33 million) in fresh equity from East Riding and West Yorkshire pension funds for Foresight Natural Capital Ltd (FNC), bringing its UK natural capital strategy to £300 million ($372 million). The funding will expand FNC’s portfolio beyond afforestation and forestry assets to include Biodiversity Net Gain projects, peatland restoration, and regenerative agriculture. The pension funds view natural capital as a long-term investment aligned with net-zero goals and ecosystem services.
MyLand, a company specialising in soil health innovation, has secured $23 million in funding led by Proterra Investment Partners. The capital will support the expansion of its Soil as a Service™ platform, which enhances soil productivity, sustainability, and climate resilience using native microalgae. This funding follows a $20 million loan facility from PaceZero Capital Partners, reinforcing MyLand's growth strategy across key U.S. agricultural regions and international markets.
Nala Earth has secured €3.8 million ($3.9 million) in seed funding to support its efforts in integrating nature risk into corporate decision-making and promoting ecosystem restoration. This brings the company’s total funding raised to €5.5 million ($5.5 million).
OneThird, a foodtech company focused on reducing food waste, has secured €3.5 million ($3.6 million) in Series A funding, bringing its total raised to €9.25 million ($9.6 million). The round was led by Invest International, with participation from Pymwymic Home and Oost NL. The funds will support the development of its AI and sensor technology, which helps farmers and retailers reduce waste by predicting shelf life. OneThird plans to expand its offerings and market reach in Europe and North America, leveraging its technology for a growing list of produce.
The LEAF Coalition has committed $30 million to Ecuador for large-scale forest conservation programs, with Norway and UK governments guaranteeing purchases of up to three million tonnes of emissions reductions at $10 per tonne. The credits will be marketed through Emergent, with any profits above $10 going to Ecuador, while establishing a new model for government-led REDD+ initiatives supported by public-private partnerships.
Manulife Investment Management has closed its $480.1 million Manulife Forest Climate Fund, securing commitments from U.S. and global institutional investors. The fund prioritizes carbon sequestration over timber production, aiming to sequester over 6 million tons of CO₂ and generate high-quality carbon credits. It has acquired over 150,000 acres, with key properties in Oregon, Michigan, and the southern U.S., balancing conservation, carbon credit generation, and sustainable forestry income.
DBS Bank (Hong Kong) and MTR Corporation closed a HK$1 billion ($128.4 million) five-year sustainability-linked loan (SLL), the first in Hong Kong’s public transportation sector with SBTi-approved decarbonization targets. DBS assisted MTR in securing a second-party opinion to validate the SLL’s sustainability performance targets. The loan supports MTR’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions across its rail network and property portfolio while reinforcing both entities’ commitment to sustainable finance.
Sightline, a market intelligence platform, raised $5.5 million in seed funding to scale its AI-powered platform, which helps companies and investors navigate climate transition decisions and capital allocation. The platform delivers data on deals, company activities, and the climate economy, supporting stakeholders in sectors like energy, transportation, and industry. The funding will enhance research, broaden sector coverage, and accelerate platform development to meet increasing demand. The round was co-led by The Westly Group and Molten Ventures, bringing Sightline’s total funding to over $7 million.
Meta has signed four new environmental attribute purchase agreements with Zelestra to produce 595 MW of renewable energy from solar projects across four Texas counties, supporting the company's data centers and advancing its goal of net-zero emissions by 2030. This latest deal expands Meta's renewable energy portfolio in Texas and brings its total agreements with Zelestra to 800 MW, including previous projects in Indiana.
IDB Invest has provided UCB Power, a Brazilian energy storage solutions provider, with a $35 million financing package to expand battery production capacity in Amazonas and Minas Gerais states and improve import capabilities. The initiative aims to benefit 440,000 people while enhancing regional energy storage capabilities and supporting economic development in the Amazon region.
Denmark has announced new initiatives to revitalize its offshore wind and hydrogen sectors, including canceling a failed 3-GW tender and launching a new 2-3 GW offshore wind competition in 2025 with improved terms and state subsidies. The plan also includes funding for hydrogen market development and a modified pipeline project to enable hydrogen exports to Germany by 2030, though the Bornholm Energy Island project faces delays due to legal issues.
Shift4Good closed its first fund at €220 million ($228 million) to invest in startups decarbonizing global transportation, surpassing its initial €100 million ($103 million) close in 2022. The Paris- and Singapore-based fund has backed 13 companies across Europe and Southeast Asia, targeting Series A and B investments in areas such as fleet electrification, hydrogen, and battery circularity. Investors include Renault Group, BNP Paribas, and the European Investment Fund, with a strategy aligned with EU Article 9 sustainability criteria.
Borski Fund, a gender lens fund based in Amsterdam, has reached its €50 million ($52 million) fundraising target with over €9 million ($9.3 million) in commitments from M&G Investments. The fund, which invests in female-led tech start-ups and companies creating positive impacts for women, has made 17 investments to date. Recent investments include ventures in green chemistry, deep tech, and AI-driven healthcare solutions. The fund aims to catalyze further interest from Dutch institutional investors in DEI and gender lens investing.
Swedfund has committed €40 million ($41 million) to the Emerging Africa & Asia Infrastructure Fund (EAAIF) to support climate-resilient infrastructure and digital connectivity in Africa and Southeast Asia. Managed by Ninety One under the Private Infrastructure Development Group, EAAIF aims to address infrastructure gaps, enhance adaptation to climate change, and attract private capital. Previous EAAIF projects include renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, such as Côte d’Ivoire’s Biovea biomass plant, which supplied power to 743,000 consumers and cut emissions by 120,000 tCO2e annually.
France plans to issue up to $11.5 billion in green bonds in 2025 under a special law enacted due to its delayed 2025 budget, though this amount may increase once the budget is passed. As the largest sovereign sustainable bond issuer globally with $85 billion raised to date, France also plans to update its green bond framework in early 2025, marking the first revision since its 2017 inception.
The Government of Ontario is preparing to issue its first green bond of 2025, which will finance projects including rapid transit expansion and EV charging infrastructure. As Canada's largest green bond issuer with over CAD20 billion raised since 2014, Ontario has nearly reached its CAD2.3 billion ($1.6 billion) target for the 2024/25 fiscal year through previous issuances.
Ambipar has raised $400 million through a green bond issuance with an 8-year term at 10.875% annual interest rate, with the proceeds intended to refinance and extend the company's debt maturities.
SalMar issued NOK 4.35 billion ($388 million) in green bonds across two tranches: a NOK 3.25 billion ($287 million) five-year senior unsecured bond and a NOK 1.1 billion ($97 million) seven-year senior unsecured bond. The bonds are expected to be listed on the Oslo Børs, with settlement on 30 January. Danske Bank, DNB Markets, Nordea, and SEB acted as global coordinators, with Rabobank as joint lead manager.
Stockholm Exergi secured $1.8 billion in support from the Swedish Energy Agency through a reverse auction to develop a bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility at its Värtan plant. The project aims to capture 800,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from biomass-based combined heat and power operations, with permanent storage under the North Sea. The facility has environmental approval, plans to start capturing CO2 within three years, and has secured offtake agreements with Microsoft and Frontier on behalf of major corporate buyers.
Clyde & Co facilitated an innovative carbon capture agreement between The Carbon Removers, Carbonaires, and UBS, aimed at decarbonizing the Scotch whiskey supply chain. The deal includes installing four Nimmons900 Units in distilleries across Scotland to capture biogenic CO2 during whiskey production, with plans for long-term storage. The project is expected to capture 599,280 tons of CO2 equivalent over 18 years, generating carbon removal credits, with UBS investing to secure a share of the credits. The captured carbon will initially be stored in cement, with future plans for permanent storage in oil wells.
Microsoft and Chestnut Carbon have signed a 25-year agreement for over 7 million tons of nature-based carbon removal credits, representing the largest voluntary corporate investment in U.S. conservation forestry. The project will restore 60,000 acres and plant 35+ million trees across Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana, supporting Microsoft's goal to become carbon negative by 2030 while providing environmental and community benefits.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded up to $1.5 million to a British Columbia-based carbon capture and storage developer to study CO2 capture implementation at a pulp mill site in Arkansas through a cost-sharing agreement.
ClimeFi has launched "Beyond Emissions," a new initiative partnering with Stockholm Exergi's $1.8 billion BECCS project in Sweden to make carbon dioxide removal more accessible to buyers. The program eliminates upfront commitments, reduces minimum purchase requirements to 1,000 tonnes per year, and provides price guarantees and due diligence support, aiming to streamline access to Europe's largest biogenic carbon capture and storage facility.
Rio Tinto and Norsk Hydro have formed a partnership to invest $45 million over the next five years in carbon capture technologies for aluminium production. The initiative will focus on identifying and evaluating solutions to reduce carbon emissions during aluminium electrolysis, with R&D conducted at facilities in Europe and Norway. The companies aim to develop commercially viable technologies to help meet their respective net-zero goals, with both continuing their own decarbonization efforts independently.
Haffner Energy, LanzaTech, and LanzaJet have formed a partnership (at an undisclosed amount) to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) using biomass conversion and syngas technology. The collaboration spans the full value chain, from developing commercial plants to technology licensing and investment in SAF projects. By combining LanzaTech's waste carbon conversion, LanzaJet's Alcohol-to-Jet technology, and Haffner Energy's biomass processing, they aim to generate low-carbon SAF from various feedstocks. The initiative also seeks to stimulate job creation, local economic growth, and innovation in clean energy technology.
DHL Express will purchase 7,200 kilolitres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually from Cosmo Energy Holdings' unit starting in April, marking the first SAF procurement at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan. This initiative supports DHL's goal to increase SAF consumption to over 30% by 2030. Cosmo plans to produce 30,000 kilolitres of SAF per year from used cooking oil at its Osaka refinery. DHL aims to expand SAF procurement to additional airports worldwide later this year.
Ecocem plans to build its first ACT low-carbon cement technology facility in Dunkirk, France, with a €50 million ($52 million) investment funded through a green loan and government grants. The facility, set to be operational by 2026, will have an initial capacity of 300,000t/yr of ACT and will increase the plant's total production capacity beyond 1Mt/yr.
HNO International has secured a $10 million hydrogen offtake agreement with a Texas-based company specializing in zero-emission mobility. Under the deal, HNO will supply hydrogen from its Scalable Hydrogen Energy Platform (SHEP™), producing up to 500 kg of clean hydrogen daily to power a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The agreement also includes HNO's Compact Hydrogen Refueling System (CHRS™) for refueling support. The deal is expected to generate nearly $10 million in multi-year contracts as HNO scales hydrogen production.
MCi Carbon secured a $5 million investment from Mitsubishi UBE Cement Corporation (MUCC), marking MUCC as the fourth major Japanese investor alongside ITOCHU, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. The partnership includes a collaboration agreement on mineral carbonation technology and a three-way MoU with ITOCHU. MUCC aims to use MCi’s technology to decarbonise cement production in Japan, while the investment also supports the commissioning of MCi’s 'Myrtle' mineral carbonation demonstration plant in Australia.
BlackRock launched the UK-domiciled BFM Brown to Green Materials Fund, the first mutual fund using the FCA’s “Sustainability Improvers” label under its new SDR framework. Managed by the team behind BlackRock’s similar European fund, it targets companies in high-emission materials industries with credible decarbonization plans. The fund seeks to capitalize on overlooked opportunities in metals, mining, cement, chemicals, steel, and construction materials as these sectors benefit from lower sustainability risks and re-rated valuations.
The UK has announced up to £18 million ($22 million) in funding for Indonesia's Blue Planet Fund (BPF) Country Plan and the Climate and Ocean Adaptation and Sustainable Transition (COAST) Programme. The funding aims to improve climate resilience and sustainable development in Indonesia's coastal communities, focusing on blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrasses. COAST will support blue finance initiatives, conservation, and restoration efforts, catalyzing local partnerships and investment opportunities in blue carbon. This funding builds on existing partnerships and governance frameworks to drive progress in the national blue carbon market.
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Canada has unveiled a new protocol for Direct Air Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage (DACCS) that will allow companies to generate tradable federal offset credits for removing and permanently storing atmospheric CO2. The initiative, open for public review until March 28, 2025, is supported by significant investments including $40 million from Breakthrough Energy for a DAC testing facility in Alberta, aiming to make carbon removal commercially viable while advancing Canada's net-zero emissions goals
China exceeded its 2030 renewable energy target six years early, with solar capacity rising by 45.2% and wind by 18% in 2024. This acceleration positions China’s renewables to surpass coal within five years, as emissions may have already peaked. Meanwhile, U.S. renewable deployment faces challenges under President Trump’s administration, with China strengthening its role as a global leader in clean energy manufacturing.
The voluntary and compliance carbon credit markets are exploring potential convergence, with Article 6 seen as a step towards enhanced integrity for carbon credits in the global south. This convergence could address credibility issues, particularly for nature-based carbon credits, and attract institutional investors like pension funds. However, market disparities between the global north and south, along with challenges in the voluntary market such as low-quality credits and governance concerns, remain. While Article 6 offers a boost, its impact will take time, especially in low-carbon-price regions.
The European Commission has unveiled its "Competitiveness Compass" roadmap, which includes significant plans to simplify sustainability reporting requirements, particularly for smaller businesses. The initiative aims to reduce reporting burdens by at least 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs through an upcoming "Omnibus" package that will streamline key regulations including the CSRD, CSDDD, and Taxonomy Regulation, while maintaining the EU's commitment to its Green Deal objectives.
Germany's government and opposition parties have agreed to amend the Federal Immission Control Act to restrict wind farm development outside designated areas, prohibiting preliminary approval applications for such sites except for repowering projects. While the change primarily affects North Rhine-Westphalia and is considered "painful" by developers, the wind energy association BWE views it as an improvement over previous proposals while maintaining the framework for accelerated expansion.
Japan plans to update its transition finance guidelines in 2025, building on its dominant position in the global transition bond market where Japanese issuers raised $17.4 billion of the total $20.6 billion in 2024. The update will incorporate recent international guidance changes and lessons from Japan's own Climate Transition Bond program, with a particular focus on improving impact reporting standards.
G20 nations are failing to demonstrate leadership in climate action as the deadline approaches for countries to submit their updated National Determined Contributions (NDCs) for emissions reduction targets to the United Nations.
The IFRS has released new guidance to help companies implement its sustainability reporting standards, specifically supporting a "climate-first" approach that allows businesses to initially focus solely on climate-related disclosures before expanding to other sustainability topics. This guidance addresses materiality considerations, risk disclosures, metrics, and other technical requirements to help companies prepare decision-useful information for investors.
The American Bankers Association has criticized the TNFD's draft guidance on nature transition plans as conceptually flawed, arguing that financial institutions cannot drive nature-positive outcomes in the real economy. The ABA contends that the guidance lacks clear metrics and understanding of transition pathways, while emphasizing that government policy and market forces, rather than financial institutions, should lead environmental progress.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) committed $2.5 billion to 44 climate action projects in 2024, including debt-for-climate conversions and first-time single-country initiatives in Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Somalia. GCF streamlined funding access, extended its Readiness Programme, and introduced a new REDD+ policy to support forest conservation. The commitments prioritize underserved regions and innovative financing to enhance climate resilience.
The UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance has issued a request for information (RFI) from asset managers on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) investments to help scale the market. The Alliance highlights the necessity of CDR even under ambitious decarbonization scenarios and calls for scalable investment vehicles. It acknowledges barriers such as commercial viability and long-term demand uncertainty and plans further work on policy solutions. Asset managers with existing or planned CDR investments are invited to respond by 7 March 2025.
FAIRR, an investor network with $75 trillion in assets, highlights the greater emissions-reduction potential and biodiversity benefits of nature-based solutions in livestock production. A report evaluating 22 climate interventions found that nature-based solutions outperformed tech-based ones in mitigating climate risks and supporting ecosystem health. Despite their effectiveness, nature-based solutions receive just 45% of global climate-focused funding, with the majority flowing to tech-based interventions. Experts stress the need for more private and public capital to support these underfunded solutions and drive the transition to a sustainable food system.
A new McKinsey report outlines a private sector roadmap to address the $700 billion annual nature financing gap and support the halt and reversal of biodiversity loss by 2030. It guides businesses on developing a nature strategy and finance action plan, with an emphasis on biodiversity credits, though applicable to other nature finance mechanisms. The plan involves four steps: defining actions and value, identifying metrics, procuring credits with integrity, and managing communication and claims. These steps aim to advance nature-positive efforts while ensuring financial and environmental benefits.
A report by BloombergNEF highlighted global investment in the energy transition reached a record $2.1 trillion in 2024, marking an 11% increase driven by renewable energy, power grids, electrified transport, and energy storage. However, investment needs to average $5.6 trillion annually from 2025 to 2030 to meet net-zero goals, with current levels at only 37% of the required pace. China led investment with $818 billion, reflecting a 20% increase from 2023. Despite growth, the pace is slower than in previous years, highlighting the need for further progress in industrial decarbonization, hydrogen, and carbon capture.
The Nature Positive Initiative (NPI) will begin developing parameters for ‘nature-positive’ claims in March, piloting streamlined nature metrics with financial institutions such as BNP Paribas, Rabobank, and UBS. The initiative aims to condense hundreds of metrics into four universal indicators—ecosystem extent, ecosystem condition, landscape intactness, and species extinction risk—while also proposing case-specific metrics for rare events. NPI is collaborating with standard-setters like TNFD and GRI, with final indicators expected early next year.
A recent study by Jeffrey Smith, researcher at Princeton University, analyzed three land-based carbon capture strategies—reforestation, afforestation, and bioenergy cropping—and found that reforestation is the only method that both sequesters carbon and enhances biodiversity. The study highlighted that afforestation and bioenergy cropping could harm ecosystems by destroying habitats, while reforestation actively restores ecosystems, benefiting species. The research used advanced computational models to track species distribution and habitat affinities, aiming to inform effective climate mitigation strategies.
In response to the fashion industry's significant carbon footprint, startups are developing sustainable alternatives focusing on two key areas: Phycolabs is creating threads from seaweed as a fossil-fuel-free alternative to synthetic fibers, while Aiper is producing bacterial-based dyes that require less water and energy in the dyeing process. These innovations represent emerging solutions in the quest for low-carbon fashion production.
A recent study by Athulya, T. et al., explores how home gardens in tropical regions can serve as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation. The research examines the relationship between plant diversity and soil microorganisms, demonstrating their combined impact on soil carbon storage capacity. This finding highlights the potential role of diverse home gardens in addressing climate challenges through natural carbon sequestration processes.
A new study by Higgings,C. and Bishwajit, G., investigates the conditions necessary for successful implementation of nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate adaptation in the Guinean Forests of West Africa. The research presents evidence from three countries - Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Guinea - examining the factors that enable effective climate adaptation strategies through natural solutions in this critical forest region.
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