October 21 - October 25, 2024
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In this Week’s Issue: $15.8 billion across 32 deals in Transition Finance ($13.9 billion), NbS ($472 million), Carbon Removal ($20 million), Hard-to-Abate Industries ($713 million) and the Blue Economy ($694 million).
10 Essential Deals and Commitments:
Transition Finance
- The EU invests $5.18 billion in ETS funds across 85 projects
- KKR purchases a $3.2 billion stake in Enilive
- Serra Verde raises $150 million for a Brazilian rare earth mine
- Avaana closes a $135 million early-stage tech climate fund
Nature-based Solutions
- Capital Dynamics obtains $199 million loan to build agrivoltaic solar in Italy
- Bezos Earth Fund provides $60 million to NFWF for restoration projects
- Mirova is appointed to manage a $108 million biodiversity fund
Hard-to-Abate Emissions
Carbon Removal
Blue Economy
News Highlights
Policy and Regulation
- Brazil launches a new investment platform to coordinate climate capital throughout the country
- NYC’s public pension funds halt all future midstream and downstream fossil fuel investments
- Singapore grants 30-year licenses for low-carbon electricity investments
Climate & NbS Finance
- Nature4Climate launches a new nature tech integration guide & nature tech directory database
- WWF and TNFD launch Nature Data Public Facility
- UNDP launches new BIOFIN workbook to guide biodiversity spending
Emerging Science
- UNEP emissions gap report finds world currently on 2.6-3.1 degree warming trajectory
- Protected coral reefs found to have 10% more fish biomass than unprotected reefs
- A new paper explores open-source methodology for measuring business impact on nature
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Nature-based Solutions ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Deals
Capital Dynamics arranges $199 million for agri-PV duo projects [renewables now]
- Capital Dynamics has obtained a €185 million loan ($199 million) to finance the completion of 2 agrivoltaic sites in Italy with a capacity of 187 MW. The 2 solar farms will be planted with olive groves and prickly pears and will also support beekeeping initiatives. When completed, they will produce 324 GWh of clean energy annually.
- The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $60 million grant to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to support the restoration of the Northern Great Plains grasslands and longleaf pine forests. This grant aims to enable local projects across multiple states to restore 1.6 million acres, enhancing ecosystem health and biodiversity. Over the next two years, activities will include planting native species, managing invasive plants, and supporting at-risk wildlife populations, contributing to carbon sequestration efforts. This funding builds on the previous $90 million provided by the Bezos Earth Fund to NFWF and partners.
Agrolend raises $53 million investment round [pr newswire]
- Creation Investments has led a $53 million Series B investment round in Agrolend, contributing $20 million to enhance the company's credit offerings for farmers in Brazil. The round will support the expansion of Agrolend's digital lending platform to serve 5,000 small and medium-sized clients in Brazil. The funding round was co-led by Syngenta and joined by other investors like Telefónica and Norinchukin Bank and brings Agrolend's total capital raised to nearly $100 million.
Aviva invests in Nattergal’s $52 million seed round [cso futures]
- Insurance firm Aviva has invested £40 million ($52 million) in a seed funding round for Nattergal, led by Lansdowne Partners. Nattergal plans to use the funding to expand its operations, including ongoing restoration work at Harold's Park Wildland in Essex. The company, which purchases natural capital investments and manages them to promote biodiversity, carbon capture, and soil health, plans to have 20-30 sites under management globally by 2030. In the UK, the company will sell Biodiversity Net Gain units to the property sector.
Fund Formation
- A group of French institutional investors has appointed Mirova to manage their €100 million ($108 million) biodiversity fund, 'Fonds Objectif Biodiversité'. The investor consortium includes major entities like BNP Paribas Cardif and Caisse des Dépôts and will focus on investments in small and medium-sized European companies transitioning to sustainable practices. Mirova will utilize environmental data from CDP to assess companies' risks and progress in mitigating biodiversity impacts, to guide investments.
Transition Finance ≥ $100M
Commitments and deals
Commitments
Piraeus Bank commits $6.4 billion in loans for sustainable development by 2027 [morningstar]
- Piraeus Bank has announced a commitment to provide up to €6 billion ($6.4 billion) in loans for sustainable development and green transition projects by 2027. This initiative is expected to support decarbonization efforts and enhance resilience against climate change, and to support it the bank is expected to establish a portfolio focused on sustainability and innovation.
U.S. DOE invests $900 million to support small nuclear reactors [esg today]
- The U.S. Department of Energy has opened applications for $900 million in funding for Gen III+ small modular reactor technology development. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will be distributed in two tiers, the "First Mover Team Support" tier providing $800 million to 2 teams deploying a first plant, and the "Fast Follower Deployment Support" tier, providing up to $100 million to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments.
Deals
European Commission allocates $5.18 billion in ETS revenues to 85 decarbonization-focused projects [fastmarkets] [esg today]
- The European Commission has allocated €4.8 billion ($5.2 billion) from emissions trading revenues to support 85 net-zero projects through its Innovation Fund, raising its total investment so far to €12 billion ($13 billion). This funding primarily targets decarbonizing the maritime sector, facilitating the development of renewable fuel projects, and expanding sustainable transport initiatives across 18 EU countries. The selected projects are expected to produce 61 kilotonnes per year of renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBO) and reduce emissions by approximately 476 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the next decade. The investments are also expected to produce 525 kilotonnes per year of renewable fuels. All selected projects are expected to begin operations before 2030.
KKR purchases a $3.2 billion, 25% stake in Enilive [esg today]
- KKR, an alternative asset and private equity investment firm, has announced a 25% acquisition stake in Enilive, a mobility and biofuels-focused arm of the Italian energy company Eni, for $3.2 billion. The transaction is expected to help support Enilive's operations, with the company setting goals of doubling biorefining capacity from 2023 to 2026 to reach more than 5 million tons per year by 2030.
Biden Administration allocates nearly $2 billion to enhance U.S. power grid resilience and capacity [the well news] [doe]
- The Biden administration has announced nearly $2 billion in 38 projects across 42 states to enhance the U.S. power grid's resilience against extreme weather and expand its capacity to meet increasing demand. This funding will support upgrading over 950 miles of transmission lines and constructing more than 300 miles of new lines, adding 7.5 GW of grid capacity and supporting nearly 6,000 jobs. The projects aim to streamline the interconnection process for new clean energy initiatives, potentially accelerating the approval of generation projects that could create 51,300 skilled jobs.
U.S. DOE Invests $428M to boost clean energy manufacturing in coal-impacted regions [mining weekly]
- The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $428 million in grants to support clean energy manufacturing in 15 coal-affected U.S. communities across 12 states, funding 14 projects by small and medium enterprises in areas with decommissioned coal infrastructure. The investments are expected to leverage $500 million in private investments, focusing on five key supply chains: grid components, batteries, low-carbon materials, clean power, and energy efficiency. The initiative aims to revitalize local economies and repurpose former coal worker expertise while strengthening U.S. clean energy production.
The EU allocates $411 million in LIFE grants for 133 projects [ec.europa.eu]
- The European Commission has awarded over €380 million ($411 million ) in LIFE Programme grants to support 133 environmental and climate action projects across Europe, covering over half of the total €574 million project investment needed. The funding will be split between;\
(a) €74 million ($80.6 million) for circular economy projects, targeting reductions in water use, waste, air, and noise pollution, including battery waste recycling projects, textile waste recycling initiatives, and desalination infrastructure;
(b) €144.5 million ($156 million) for nature and biodiversity restoration, including aquatic seabird restoration and urban nature integration projects;
(c) €62 million ($67 million) for climate resilience, mitigation, and governance, including agricultural resiliency and adaptation and circuit breaker gas reduction projects;
(d) €99 million ($107 million) to accelerate clean energy transition efforts, including projects focused on digital training to reduce construction industry emissions, and a sustainable energy investment facility for emerging energy communities.
Pine Gate secures $288 million in equity capital for solar portfolio [renewables now]
- Pine Gate Renewables has secured a $288 million equity investment from Blackstone Credit and Insurance to support a 780-MW DC solar portfolio. The financing will support 6 solar projects in 2 states, with corporate offtake agreements in place for the power produced by all of the projects.
Island Green Power secures $195 million in financing to support UK portfolio [renewables now]
- Island Green Power, a renewable energy project developer, has secured £150 million ($194.7 million) in financing to cover development and operating costs for its UK portfolio. The financing was provided by Goldman Sachs with the support of Akeros, in the form of an initial committed £100 million ($130 million) tranche with a further £50 million ($65 million) accordion.
Dominion buys Kitty Hawk North from Avangrid for $160 million [renewables now]
- Dominion Energy has completed its purchase of the Kitty Hawk North offshore wind lease area from Avangrid, adding 40,000 acres to its gigawatts scale Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project. The adjacent Kitty Hawk South lease remains under Avangrid, which hopes to develop 2.4 GW of generation.
Serra Verde secures $150 million investment for rare earth elements project in Brazil [serra verde]
- Serra Verde Group has been added to the Minerals Security Partnership's (MSP) list of projects critical to the global energy transition, with the United States, a member of the MSP, welcoming this development. The Energy and Minerals Group and Vision Blue Resources have led a $150 million investment in Serra Verde, with founding investor Denham Capital continuing its support to enable operational enhancements and advance long-term growth. Serra Verde is the only scale producer outside Asia of four critical rare earth elements essential for efficient permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and air conditioners.
- The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $134 million in funding for two projects led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to enhance climate resilience in Somalia and Iraq. These initiatives aim to address water and food security challenges exacerbated by climate change, supporting millions of farmers and pastoralists in adapting to droughts, floods, and water scarcity. The projects focus on building resilient agricultural systems in fragile contexts, providing communities with essential knowledge and tools for adaptation. The Ugbaad project in Somalia will provide $95 million over 7 years to restore 50,000 hectares of degraded land, while the Strengthening Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Agriculture Livelihoods in Iraq’s Rural Communities will receive $29.25 million and $9.7 million in co-financing to enhance water use efficiency and promote climate-resilient agriculture across the country.
Redaptive secures $100 million investment from CPP Investments [CNW Group]
- Redaptive has secured a $100 million equity investment from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) to accelerate growth and enhance its service offerings in the Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) sector. This funding will support projects aimed at helping large Commercial & Industrial companies achieve their decarbonization and net-zero goals through comprehensive energy efficiency programs. Redaptive's model aims to provide long-term energy efficiency solutions at no upfront cost to customers, utilizing a shared-savings approach and proprietary metering technology for real-time energy data.
Fund Formation
- Nuveen has raised €157 million ($170 million) for a global impact credit strategy aimed at addressing affordable housing, community development, and climate change, supported by investors like Gjensidige Pensjonsforsikring and TIAA. The fund, part of Nuveen's €380 billion ($410 billion) fixed income range, seeks to reduce social inequality and climate impacts through investments in liquid public fixed-income markets, targeting both financial returns and measurable social and environmental outcomes aligned with the UN SDGs.
- Avaana Capital closed its $135M climate-focused fund, exceeding its target, to invest in 20-25 early-stage companies in areas like energy transition, supply chain, industrial decarbonization, and food systems. Backed by GCF, the US International Development Finance Corporation, UK Government, and others, the fund will provide $1-$3.5 million first checks and follow-up on successful investments. Avaana has already invested in six startups, including EV charger provider Kazam, ESG platform Sentra World, and agritech company Eeki Foods.
- Sarmayacar has secured a $15 million anchor commitment from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for its Climaventures Fund, aimed at boosting climate-tech innovation in Pakistan. Targeting a total of $40 million, the fund will invest in local startups in the following sectors: renewable energy, electric mobility, and sustainable agriculture. An additional $10 million will support an affiliated venture accelerator program run by the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) for earlier-stage climate-tech startups. This initiative underscores global interest in addressing Pakistan's climate challenges through scalable solutions.
Green Bonds ≥ $100M
Commitments and deals
Completed Issuances
EnBW raises $663 million in green bonds [renewables now]
- EnBW has issued two green bonds with a combined value of $663 million to finance climate-friendly projects, the first bond placement by the company in the Australian capital market. Proceeds from the bond will be used for climate-friendly projects in accordance with the EU taxonomy, and the EnBW Green Financing Framework, with a focus on expanding renewable energy construction and grid expansion.
Iberdrola secures $647 million in green bond issuance [iberdrola]
- Iberdrola has successfully issued £500 million ($647 million) in 12-year green bonds, marking its largest issuance in sterling in 15 years. Demand for the bond reached £2.1 billion ($2.7 billion), allowing the company to secure a coupon rate of 5.25%. The release marks Iberdrola's first green bond issuance in sterling. The funds will be directed towards future renewable investments across the UK.
Pan African Resources issues $47 million sustainability-linked bonds [morning star]
- Pan African Resources PLC, a Rosebank-based gold producer, will issue sustainability-linked bonds worth ZAR 840 million ($47 million) following an oversubscribed subscription. The senior second-ranking bonds carry a floating interest rate of 305 basis points over the ZAR-JIBAR reference rate.
Carbon Removal ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Deals
Planetary Technologies secures $11.35 million Series A funding for ocean-based carbon removal solutions [morningstar]
- Planetary Technologies has raised $11.35 million in Series A funding, led by Evok Innovations, with participation from BDC Capital, Amplify Capital, DNX Ventures, and Iconiq Capital. The funding will enhance the company's ocean alkalinity enhancement initiatives, which aim to improve the ocean's natural carbon removal capabilities. This investment will support the expansion of pilot projects, scaling operations, technology development, and regulatory cooperation.
- Carbon Ridge, a developer of onboard carbon capture and storage solutions for the maritime shipping industry, has raised $9.5 million in funding, bringing its total to $15.5 million. Led by Crosscut Ventures and Western Technology Investment, the investment will support the commercialization of its patent-pending technology, which aims to reduce the footprint of carbon capture while minimizing energy consumption and eliminating over 99.9% of particulate, NOx, and SOx emissions.
- Morgan Stanley has signed a long-term agreement, at an undisclosed amount, with Climeworks for the delivery of 40,000 tons of carbon removal, extending until 2037. This contract, the second-largest for Climeworks, provides essential funding for its Project Cypress DAC hub, which is eligible for up to $600 million in DOE support. While the cost per ton was not disclosed, Climeworks aims to reduce costs to $400-600 by 2030 with its new Generation 3 technology. The partnership supports Morgan Stanley's goal of achieving net-zero financed emissions by 2050.
Hard to Abate Sectors ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Commitments
- The U.S. Agency for International Development launched the India-U.S. Low Carbon Cooling Initiative, targeting $1 billion in funding for super-efficient cooling technologies by 2030. USAID also announced the U.S.-South Asia Mayoral Platform for Clean Energy and the Clean Energy Investment Facilitation Platform, both aimed at accelerating South Asia's clean energy transition and promoting sustainable growth.
Deals
U.S. DoE invests over $518 million in carbon storage projects across 19 states [energy.gov]
- The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has announced over $518 million in funding for 23 projects across 19 states aimed at developing large-scale carbon storage infrastructure to combat climate change. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these projects will facilitate the storage of at least 50 million metric tons of CO2 over 30 years. Selected projects will focus on site characterization, planning, and construction phases under the Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) initiative.
- The European Commission has approved a €128 million ($138 million) state aid measure to support SSAB's project to decarbonize its steel production in Sweden. The funding, part of the EU’s Just Transition Fund, will help SSAB transition from coal-based steelmaking to electric arc furnace production using fossil-free energy. This project aims to reduce Sweden’s CO2 emissions by 7%, in alignment with the EU climate goals, and accelerate the green transition in the steel industry.
The EU provides $54 million for a Danish e-methanol project [renewables now]
- European Energy A/S has secured a €50 million ($54 million) grant from the EU Innovation Fund to construct a green methanol production facility in Denmark. Negotiations on the grant implementation are still ongoing, but the plant is expected to be able to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of green methanol annually once operational and will offset 150,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions yearly.
Universal Fuel Technologies raises $3 million for SAF [esg today]
- Universal Fuel Technologies, a California-based Sustainable Aviation Fuel technology developer, has raised $3 million to support its project development. The company plans to use the funding to build lab space in Texas and scale its technology to reduce SAF production costs and carbon emissions, using a proprietary chemical process.
Vale and Petrobras form strategic alliance for decarbonization product supply [green car congress]
- Vale and Petrobras have signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement, for an undisclosed amount, to advance decarbonization efforts through the supply of three products: co-processed diesel with renewable content, natural gas, and a bunker blend with 24% renewable content. The agreement builds on a previous protocol from September 2023, allowing for testing and potential marketing of these products. Petrobras has already started supplying Diesel R5, a renewable-content diesel, for industrial-scale tests on Vale's operations in Brazil.
Blue Economy ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Deals
Saur issues $594 million blue bond [esg today]
- Saur, a water management service provider, has priced an inaugural €550 million ($594 million) blue bond, which will finance sustainable water management-related initiatives. The bond makes Saur the first European water utility to issue a blue bond. It will finance new and existing projects that include the production and distribution of water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and water desalination using technologies aimed at minimizing environmental impact.
Fund Formation
- The Blue Revolution Fund (BRF), a sustainability-focused aquaculture impact investment fund established by Hatch Blue and advised by The Nature Conservancy, has raised €93 million ($100 million) to invest in over a dozen early-stage aquaculture ventures. This funding aims to enhance ocean health, mitigate climate change impacts, and support coastal communities. BRF will focus on investments in next-generation fish farms, regenerative seaweed and bivalve farming, and alternative seafood while ensuring measurable environmental outcomes through its unique fund structure.
Research and Knowledge Sharing
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Policy and Regulations
- The Brazilian Government, GFANZ, BNDES, and the Green Climate Fund have announced the launch of a new Brazil Climate & Ecological Transformation Investment Platform (BIP), an initiative aiming to organize investments and implement the country's Climate Plan. The platform will aim to coordinate existing initiatives focusing on increasing the investable pipeline across sectors, developing financing mechanisms to enable strategic and catalytic use of public capital, and supporting Brazil's G20 and COP30 presidencies. The BIP will focus on 3 initial sectors: NbS and Bioeconomy, Industry and Mobility, and Energy, and will source projects from the public and private sectors, to mobilize $10.8 billion in capital. Acelen Renewables' $3 billion green diesel project, the $95 million Corridors for Life ARR project, Atlas Agro's $1.15 billion green fertilizer plant, and Biomas' $150 million, 14,000-hectare Atlantic forest restoration project, have already been brought under the auspices of the BIP, along with other smaller projects.
CFTC approves guidance for DCMs on voluntary carbon credit derivatives [mondaq]
- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved final guidance for designated contract markets (DCMs) to list voluntary carbon credit (VCC) derivative contracts. This guidance addresses risk management and price discovery in the VCC market while emphasizing industry-recognized standards for integrity. DCMs must ensure that listed derivatives are not easily manipulated and must monitor contracts' terms related to underlying markets. Additionally, the CFTC has initiated its first enforcement action against a carbon credit project developer for providing false reports, highlighting its commitment to regulating the evolving VCC market.
- New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced a proposal to prohibit future investments by the city's public pension funds in midstream and downstream fossil fuel infrastructure. This follows previous actions to divest from fossil fuel reserve owners and exclude upstream fossil fuel investments. The new policy aims to mitigate climate-related financial risks and aligns with the funds’ broader Net Zero Implementation Plans, which include significant investments in renewable energy and climate solutions. The Comptroller's team will develop specific policy language for review by the pension fund trustees in early 2025.
- Quantum Commodity Intelligence has released a short analysis of the way that Paris Agreement Article 6.4 standards for carbon dioxide removal are being crafted to avoid bureaucratic delays. The article argues that the unexpected adoption of standards in a piecemeal way, as opposed to the release of full recommendations, has allowed the carbon market to begin to anticipate potential requirements under a full Article 6.4 implementation, though standards could later be modified by the negotiators at COP29 or a future COP.
Singapore grants 30-year import licenses for low-carbon electricity investments [reuters]
- Singapore will offer 30-year import licenses to companies investing in low-carbon electricity projects to help ensure returns on substantial initial investments. The city-state plans to import 6 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035, with conditional approvals granted for 10 projects in Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. These initiatives require significant investment in solar farms, battery systems, and international power cables to secure reliable energy supplies.
Finance Research and Updates
Nature4Climate, Nature Tech Collective, KPMB, and partners release new nature tech integration guide and nature tech directory database [nature 4 climate] [nature 4 climate]
- Nature4Climate, Nature Tech Collective, KPMB, the Climate Collective, and Serea have released a new report focused on how businesses can integrate nature tech into their operations. The report, part of an ongoing series focused on nature-tech that Capital for Climate contributed to in 2022, provides guidance on utilizing nature-tech for compliance reporting and disclosing, advice on how companies can address nature data gaps, insight into nature-tech usage from case studies, and up to date market information, including investments state of play. The report is accompanied by a new "Nature Tech Directory", a database for tracking 1,000 companies worldwide that are active in the nature-tech sector.
- The WWF and the TNFD have launched the Nature Data Public Facility (NDPF) to enhance financial institutions' ability to assess natural value and biodiversity loss. This initiative combines the TNFD's data collection with WWF's geospatial ESG consortium, providing tools for better decision-making regarding environmental risks. The NDPF will also collaborate with organizations like Ordnance Survey and the University of Zurich to improve nature-related financial data quality, with further details to be presented at the upcoming World Biodiversity Summit during COP16.
UNDP launches new guidance for financing biodiversity goals [undp]
- The UNDP has launched a new BIOFIN Workbook 2024 at COP 16 in Cali, Colombia, which provides roadmaps for countries to access financing for biodiversity protection. The report hopes to help countries close the $700 billion annual biodiversity funding gap and is based on the work of the UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), which currently supports 23 countries in implementing biodiversity finance policies and reducing environmentally harmful subsidies.
The Common Initiative launches COP16 position paper [the common initiative]
- The Common Initiative, a recently launched think tank focused on positioning biodiversity as a key component of global financial reform, has released a position paper for CBD COP16, focusing on how the Colombian COP16 presidency can use the opportunity to begin to close the biodiversity financing gap, which they estimated as falling around $700 billion yearly, based of figures from COP15.The paper contains guiding questions and recommendations for action on multilateral reform, fund development, and the launch of the World Coalition for Peace with Nature, as well as detailed appendices on COP16 proceedings. The Initiative hopes to start a constructive dialogue on how financial flows for biodiversity can best be designed to ensure that they are effective, support developing countries, and respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
UN releases report on intersection of nature and global public debt crisis [cepal]
- The UN Expert Review on Debt, Nature & Climate has released an interim report entitled "Tackling the Vicious Circle" focused on how emerging markets and developing countries can effectively protect nature while escaping from increasingly large debt burdens. The report identifies current issues with sovereign debt sustainability frameworks (DSFs), and makes 3 recommendations: 1. to incorporate climate-related risks and measures to reduce them into the Debt Sustainability Analysis used to build DSFs, 2. to incorporate nature-related risks and measures to reduce them into DSAs, and 3. to extensively use different environmental scenarios in constructing DSAS to account for nature and climate effects on developing countries. The recommendations will be expanded and updated in the full report, released in 2025.
Emerging Science
30X30 Ocean goals far behind target [eco business]
- A global assessment of progress on 2030 Ocean preservation goals from the Bloomberg Ocean Fund suggests that the world is far behind target on meeting the ambitious Marine Protected Area goals set forth at CBD COP15. With only 6 years left to implement the goal, MPA's and other conservation measures cover only 8.3% of the ocean and fully protect only 2.8% of the ocean surface. The assessment suggested that only 9.7% of the ocean would be protected by 2030. Protecting 30% of the ocean is expected to require 300 large, and 190,000 small MPAs, without even taking into account the high seas, a daunting target to meet under current conditions.
- A new paper in Communications Earth & Environment seeks to develop a consistent open-source methodology for mapping the impact of business on nature. The asset-based approach, which focuses on the natural impact of physical corporate holdings, analyzed over 580,000 mapped physical assets owned by over 2000 companies, using high-resolution satellite images, to create global maps of impacts on select ecosystem services.
UNEP finds transition far off target in 2024 emissions gap report [unep]
- UNEP has released its 2024 Emissions Gap Report with extremely dire warnings regarding the planet's current climate change trajectory. The gap finds that the world is likely on course for temperature increases of 2.6-3.1 degrees C by 2100, unless cuts of 42% by 2030, and 57% by 2025 are made. While hitting the 1.5C target is technically still possible, it is now highly unlikely, potentially necessitating enormous international cooperation or radical policies to cut or remove emissions.
Research suggests Thwaites glacier more vulnerable than expected [Yale climate connections]
- A study by a team at the University of California Irvine, published in PNAS, raises concerns that the Thwaites glacier may be more vulnerable to climate change than it first appears. The team analyzed satellite data to find that seawater intrusion was propagating much further inland than expected, which would worsen as warming increases. The glacier currently causes 4% of global sea level rise and is shrinking by 50 billion tons of ice each year.
Protecting coral reefs shown to boost fish numbers by 10% [mongabay]
- A new study in PNAS finds that 10% of coral fish may be there because of habitat protection programs, an encouraging sign of the positive effects of Ocean Conservation. The study analyzed 2,600 reefs across the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and found that unguarded reefs had a 10% drop in biomass, compared to those under MPAs. The study did not, however, quantify if there would be a spillover effect from protection, where biomass removal was displaced to other regions.
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The Nature Tech Market. Necessary, Emergent, Dynamic
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