June 24 - June 28, 2024

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In This Week's Issue:  $11.6 billion across 34 deals in Transition Finance ($10.3 billion), Nature-based Solutions ($566 million), Hard to Abate Industries ($129 million), Carbon Removal ($544 million), and the Blue Economy ($110 million).

Essential Deals and Commitments:

Transition Finance

• Brookfield Asset Management plans expansion of its Indian green energy assets to $10 billion by 2028
• EU invests $3.2 billion in ETS revenues in clean energy and industrial decarbonization projects
• Volkswagen invests $1 billion in joint venture for EV infrastructure with Rivian, with $4 billion in planned additional investment
• Dominican Republic launches $750 million target green bond raise
• IFC will provide a $150 million financing package to SeABank to catalyze blue finance and green bonds
• Washington state invests $72.6 in carbon market revenues across 71 projects

Nature-based Solutions

• Stafford Capital & JP Morgan Asset Management selected to manage $375 million in timber investments with carbon sequestration focus for ACCESS Pool
• Compagas invests $93 million in Brazilian Biomethane infrastructure
• Axa Climate and Treemetrics launch forest insurance products

Hard-to-Abate Emissions

• Rondo Energy, a thermal battery company, secures $80 million in funding to support industrial decarbonization
• KKR and Ignis launch a new industrial decarbonization facility

Carbon Removal

• Heirloom Carbon Technologies, a carbon removal company, invests $475 million to build DAC plants in Louisiana

Blue Economy

• HUON invests $73 million to expand land-based salmon aquaculture in Tasmania

News Highlights

Policy and Regulation

• Denmark imposes the world’s first carbon tax on livestock
• US govt, spurred by paper lobby, joins countries arguing for delay of EU Deforestation Regulation
• Brazilian environmental agency employee strike escalates and slows enforcement

Climate & NbS Finance

• IIGCC publishes updated Net Zero Investment Framework
• PRI launches the Spring biodiversity stewardship initiative with 200 investors representing $15 trillion in assets
• PRI, UNEP, and CBI launch combined taxonomy effort to reduce complexity

Emerging Science

• Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation study finds indigenous community conserved land in the Amazon protects local climate systems
• Frontiers study suggests protection of just 0.74% of tropical land could prevent the majority of expected extinctions
• WRI finds Canadian wildfire emissions of 3Gt CO2 were 4x those of global aviation in 2023

C4C News and Events

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Nature-based Solutions ≥ $1M

Commitments and deals

Commitments

Oregon invests $10 million in ecological restoration across state [TCD]

• The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has awarded $10 million to fund habitat restoration projects throughout the state. The funding is the first of its kind in Oregon, and prioritized stream and fish habitat projects.

AXA Climate and Treemetrics launch forest insurance product [carbon pulse]

• AXA Climate has announced a partnership with the Irish forestry management software provider Treemetrics to produce insurance for forest fires and storms. The collaboration marks further action from AXA, one of the most active investors in NbS and an early adopter of the TNFD recommendations.

Deals

Compagas invests $93 million in Brazilian biomethane [bioenergy]

• Compagas will invest €86.6 million ($93 million) in Brazilian biomethane infrastructure, as part of a concession contract in Parana. The investment will support the expansion of company operations and the insertion of biomethane in the state's piped gas network to help develop sustainable corridors.

NYSERDA invests $21.5 million in NbS [nyserda]

• NYSERDA has announced a $21.5 million investment in natural climate solutions through its Natural Carbon Solutions Innovation Challenge. $8.5 million has been awarded through round 1 of the challenge to 7 projects, while an additional $13 million has been made available for projects that focus on extreme heat and reducing building emissions through NCS. The 7 projects include bio-based low-embodied carbon construction materials, industrial hemp fiber production, and carbon sequestering architectural tile, among others.

Reforest’ Action secures $21.5 million from Blisce and Eiffel Essential [ipe real assets]

• Reforest Action has received €20 million ($21.5 million) in investment from Blisce and Eiffel Essentiel. The funding will support the expansion and development of the company's forest and agroforestry data products.

EU signs $17 million investment in Honduran forestry sector [eeas europa]

• The EU and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) have announced a €16 million ($17 million) investment over 6 years to support Honduras's forest restoration and sustainable development. The funding will support forest law enforcement, the reforestation and restoration of at least 20,000 hectares and forest fire prevention in an additional 10,000 hectares, development of ecotourism projects, and forest sector innovation.

Foray Bioscience raises $3m for biomanufacturing development. [businesswire]

• Foray Bioscience, a cell-cultured plant project platform, has raised $3 million in seed funding. The company aims to use its technology to cultivate plant products from threatened plants without harming their wild populations.

Fund Formation

Stafford and JPMAM to manage $375 million of timber assets for pension funds [environmental finance]

• Stafford Capital Partners and J.P. Morgan Asset Management have been entrusted to manage £300 million ($375 million) worth of timberland investments from The ACCESS Pool, a £40 billion pension fund pool. The mandate spans a core equity and impact timber fund, and came from authorities not already invested in the asset classes. The allocations will be used to establish new timberland estates to generate high-quality carbon offsets.

Forbion closes its first Bioeconomy Fund with $75 million for biotechnology investment [european biotechnology]

• Forbion BioEconomy has held the first close of its Forbion Bioeconomy Fund I with $75 million, half of a $150 million target. The fund received backing from KfW Capital and RentenBank, as well as Novo Holdings and other institutional investors and family offices. The fund targets investments in companies leveraging biotechnology to create sustainable solutions across Food, Agriculture, Materials, and Environmental Technologies. The fund will build a portfolio composed of 10-12 companies.

Mass Audubon launches $75 million land protection fund [morning ag clips]

• Mass Audubon, a New England conservation organization, has created the 30x30 Catalyst Fund with a $75 million target. The fund is dedicated to accelerating the pace of land conservation in the battle to protect biodiversity and capture and store carbon, and will leverage public capital to protect 100,000 acres of land. MathWorks has provided a $25 million anchor commitment, which has been invested in protecting 1,300 acres of forest.

Tenacious Ventures raises $12 million for second fund in first close [agri investor]

• Tenacious Ventures, an Australian venture capital firm, has held an AUD18 million ($12 million) first close for its Fund II. The Fund focuses on early-stage sustainable agri-food investments.

Transition Finance ≥ $100M

Commitments and deals

Commitments

Brookfield targets $10 billion in climate investments in India [economic times] [pv-magazine]

• Brookfield Asset Management has announced plans to expand its portfolio of renewable energy assets in India to more than $10 billion by 2028. The company has announced it currently holds $3 billion of renewable assets under management in India. The announcement comes after a 2023 investment in Avaada, a leading Indian renewable platform.

Adani Green plans $3 billion pumped hydropower storage push [live mint]

• The Adani group plans to invest ₹250 billion ($3 billion) to set up pumped hydropower storage projects in India. The group has set a target of 5 GW of capacity in 5 years, and an eventual increase to 25 GW.

Deals

EU invests $3.2 billion in clean energy and industrial decarbonization projects funded from EU ETS revenues [esg today]

• The European Commission will invest $3.2 billion in projects in lower-income member states, distributed from the EU Emissions Trading System. The disbursements will support energy system modernization and improvements across Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Portugal, and Slovenia.

Washington State delivers $72.6 million in carbon market revenues to 71 clean energy projects [seattle times]

• Washington State will invest $72.6 million in 71 clean energy projects from the state's carbon-pricing program, which will be voted on in a referendum in November. The trading program and investments are a major component of meeting the state's goal of becoming carbon-free by 2050 and have raised and distributed $2 billion in total so far.

Invesco launches Finnish funded $1.6 billion climate etf [reuters]

• Invesco has launched a new climate-focused ETF with $1.6 billion in assets from Finland's Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company. The Invesco MSCI Global Climate 500 ETF will be focused on companies taking action on reducing their climate impact.

Volkswagen invests $1 billion in Rivian with plans for additional $4 billion [businesswire]

• Rivian and Volkswagen have launched a long-term joint venture focusing on software-defined vehicle platforms that will be used in electric vehicles manufactured by both companies. Volkswagen has already invested $1 billion with $4 billion planned additional investment. The initial investment takes the form of an unsecured note that will be convertible into Rivian's common upon regulatory approval.

Alcazar Energy Partners invests $500 million in onshore wind project [energy connects]

• Alcazar Energy Partners will invest $500 million for a 400 MW capacity wind farm project in North Macedonia, which will increase the country's installed wind capacity by fivefold. The close is expected in Q4 of 2025 with construction in 2026.The company plans to further invest in the Western Balkans with an eventual total of $1 billion, and a $360 million investment in Clean Max.

Sila raises $375 million for EV battery production [business wire] [Sila]

• Sila, a four-year-old silicon anode maker, has raised $375 million to close its Series G round, with participation from T. Rowe Price.  The funding secures the completion of the company's Moses Lake plant in Q1 of 2025. The plant will develop silicone anode components for car batteries, with the aim of producing enough material to power 1 million cars a year.

Blackhorn raises $150 million for low carbon digital infrastructure [impact alpha]

• Blackhorn has raised $150 million for its second Industrial Impact Fund, which focuses on funding  cleantech companies specialized on industrial resource efficiency.

World Bank approves $145 million water security and climate resilience investment in Cambodia [smart water magazine]

• The World Bank will invest $145 million to support Cambodia's Water Security Improvement Project. The project will expand the country's capacity to make climate-informed water resource management decisions and improve climate-resilient clean water access for 113,000 people.

Africa50 commits $100 million to accelerate renewable energy across Africa [nairametrics]

• Africa50, a pan-African infrastructure and asset management group, has pledged $100 million in funding and co-financing for renewable energy infrastructure across the continent. The Investment would be channeled through the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform. The agreement brings the ETAF platform to a total pledge of $4.15 billion and 14 partners.

IBISA raises $3 million for climate insurance projects [pr newswire]

• IBISA, a company focused on parametric climate insurance, has closed a $3 million round to scale its products in Asia and Africa. The company focuses on promoting financial resilience in climate-vulnerable regions. The round was led by ARAF, Equator, and Asian Development Bank Ventures, as well as Ankur Capital.

Fund Formation

EIB invests $2.14 billion for The Climate City Capital Hub to support 112 EU cities’ to develop net-zero transitions and attract capital [environmental finance]

• The Climate City Capital Hub has been launched by the EU as part of the bloc's "100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission”,  a program to help 112 cities develop net-zero transition plans. EIB has invested €2 billion ($2.14 billion) in The Hub with the goal of mobilizing €650 billion ($698 billion) in investments. Thirty-three cities have already been selected, and participant cities will receive funding, logistical support, and assistance accessing private capital.

Green Bonds ≥ $100M

Commitments and deals

New Issuances

The Dominican Republic launches $750 million green bond [environmental finance]

• The Dominican Republic has announced plans to raise $750 million in its debut green bond, which was launched on June 24, 2024, and is expected to settle on July 1, 2024. 56-80% of proceeds will be targeted to low-carbon transport, 10-24% to efficient and resilient water and waste management, and 10-16% to renewable energy projects. 4% will be used for natural capital and sustainable marine projects.

Completed Issuances

IFC provides $150 million for Vietnam Blue bond [technode]

• The IFC will provide a financing package of $150 million to the SeABank to help catalyze blue finance and green bonds. The investment will include the first blue bond in Vietnam as well as the first green bond by a private commercial bank in the country.

BII launches second green basket bond with $75 million [impact investor]

• British International Investment (BII) will fund a second $75 million green basket bond which will provide loans to micro, small & medium enterprise lenders, who loan to borrowers focused on supporting the Indian energy transition. The bond structure is specifically designed to support green rural projects.

Carbon Removal ≥ $5M

Commitments and deals

Deals

Heirloom Carbon Technologies invests $475 million in DAC facility in Louisiana [opportunity louisiana]

• Heirloom Carbon Technologies has announced a $475 million investment in 2 direct air capture (DAC) facilities at the port of Caddo-Bossier in Louisiana. The first facility will be the second DAC facility in North America and will be followed by a second build with the help of $550 million in U.S DOE funding as part of Project Cypress.

Temasek and Blackrock raise $69 million to expand carbon removal strategy for Neustark [netzero investor]

• Temasek and Blackrock have announced plans to raise $69 million in capital to expand the Swiss carbon-removal provider Neustarks global footprint. The investment also included funding from UBS, Blume Equity Holcim, Siemens Financial Services, Verve Ventures, and ACE Ventures. The funding round will help support Neustark’s permanent removal of 1 million tons of CO2 in the year 2030 through the company’s new strategy.

Hard to Abate Sectors ≥ $1M

Commitments and deals

Commitments

KKR and Ignis launch industrial decarbonization platform [esg today]

• KKR and IGNIS have announced the launch of Power-to-X (P2X), a platform developing green hydrogen and ammonia projects for industrial application in hard-to-abate sectors. The platform will develop traditional renewables, largely wind and solar, associated with hydrogen and ammonia projects. It will also produce green hydrogen, ammonia, e-methanol, e-fuels, and SAF production plants to serve blue chip corporates in refining, steel, chemicals, fertilizer, and other sectors. The platform currently contains a pipeline of around 20 GW of P2X projects and 10 GW of advanced and early-stage renewables.

Deals

Rondo Energy secures $80 million for industrial decarbonization [ESG Today]

• Rondo Energy, a California-based zero-carbon industrial heat solutions provider, has secured $80 million in funding to expand its European presence. The company's heat battery turns intermittent renewable sources into high-temperature heat to replace fossil fuel boilers.

Molten Industries raises $25 million [esg today]

• Molten, an industrial decarbonization startup, has announced a raise of $25 million to close a Series A financing round, with proceeds aimed at scaling capacity to produce graphite for lithium-ion batteries and clean hydrogen. The company is aiming to produce its first commercial plant to produce 5,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 15,000 tonnes of graphite per year.

Antora Energy receives a $14.5 million award from ARPA-E to develop Heat & Power products [businesswire]

• The DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has entered into award negotiations to help Antora Energy launch a combined heat and power thermal battery product. The capital will be provided through the Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy Technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) program.

NYSERDA announces $10 million in thermal decarbonization projects [nyserda]

• NYSERDA has announced that $10 million is available to support large-scale thermal projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heating, cooling, and hot water in buildings. The new Large-Scale Thermal Program will award funding to institutions to install heat pumps and other lower-carbon thermal resources.

Blue Economy ≥ $1M

Commitments and deals

Deals

HUON aquaculture launches new $73 million land-based farm [pulse tasmania]

• Huon Aquaculture will invest AUD110 million ($73 million) in land-based aquaculture in Tasmania. The company's aquaculture projects aim to grow farmed salons entirely on land, in order to reduce their dependence and impact on ocean ecosystems.

Hawaiian project launches mass coral restoration initiative with $25 million pledge s[mongabay]

• Ākoʻakoʻa, a coral reef restoration project in Hawai'i, has launched with pledges to invest $25 million over five years from private, public, and philanthropic funders. The project will be one of the largest large-scale coral restoration projects to date and will focus on supporting restoration methods that are resilient to heat waves and mass bleaching events. The team anticipates starting in 2025 after trailing the project in 2024.

EPA invests $22.4 million in Chesapeake Bay restoration [epa]

• The Biden Administration will invest $22.4 million to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, with grants to 13 selectees. The grants are provided through the Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction program, which helps improve the quality of water bodies and reduce marine dead zones.

NOAA provides $16.7 million for marine technology innovation [clean technica]

• The Department of Commerce and NOAA have announced $16.7 million across 12 awards to support the development of technologies and public-private partnerships around sustainability, equity, biodiversity, and climate adaptation, as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing Systems Marine Life and Ocean Technology Transition programs. The 12 awards include research on marine animal tracking, and real-time monitoring of algal blooms.

Port of San Diego leverages over $5.4 million in investments to incubator companies [cruise industry news]

• The Port of San Diego has released the 5th edition of its Blue Economy Incubator Highlights Report, and has completed investments totaling $5.4 million in Blue Economy companies, focused on San Diego Bay.

Research and Knowledge Sharing

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Policy and Regulations

Denmark imposes tax on livestock emissions [sustainable views]

• Denmark will become the first country to impose a carbon tax on livestock emissions under a new law passed on June 25, 2024. The new tax will levy $43 dollars from 2030 onward for every tonne of CO2e produced by livestock, rising to $108 by 2035. Farmers will be able to claim a 60% tax deduction on the tax. The law was also accompanied by the government pledging to invest $1.44 billion in biochar.

ERM, WBCSD, and FSC launches new NCS guide [ERM] [WBCSD]

• The ERM Sustainability Institute, Natural Climate Solutions Alliance (NCSA), Forest Investor Club (FIC), and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have launched a new guide to help corporate investors and financial institutions understand the investment landscape for high-integrity Natural Climate Solutions. The guide provides a business case for NSC investment, as well as guidelines for the evaluation and integration of potential projects.

US urges EU to delay deforestation law [financial times]

• The US has asked the EU to delay the implementation of the EU deforestation regulation for cocoa, timber, and sanitary products, arguing it would harm American producers. The US becomes the largest economy to date to ask for a delay, joining Indonesia and Malaysia.

Brazilian environmental agents escalate work slowdown and stoppage with widening consequences [mongabay]

• Agents of various Brazilian environmental agencies, Including IBAMA, ICMBIO, and the Brazilian Forestry Service, have continued a partial strike that began in January after negotiations stalled with the federal government. The continued strikes have meant that raids on illegal cattle, mining, and logging operations have been put on hold, along with wildfire prevention in the Pantanal and Cerrado.

Finance Research and Updates

IIGCC updates NZIF framework [ipe]

• The IIGCC has published an updated Net Zero Investment Framework, providing new guidance on portfolio alignment for investors targeting lower emission portfolios.The NZIF 2.0 contains guidance for asset classes including sovereign bonds.

PRI launches Spring Initiative [esg news]

• The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has launched the Spring stewardship initiative, with the backing of over 200 investors managing $15 trillion in assets. The initiative focuses on reducing financial risk associated with biodiversity loss and engaging 60 key companies across various sectors, while also emphasizing political engagement and alignment with global biodiversity targets.

PRI, UNEP, and CBI combine efforts on taxonomy [CBI]

• The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) have announced a collaboration to build global interoperability and implementation of sustainable finance taxonomies. The collaboration will work to find consensus between existing taxonomies, provide tools for taxonomy developers and facilitate the integration of taxonomies with regulatory frameworks.

400+ firms adopt TNFD [Edie]

• More than 400 organizations representing over50 jurisdictions and 62 sectors have adopted the recommendations of the Task Force on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures. The companies represent more than $6 billion in market capitalization and $15.9 trillion in AUM.

BeZero Carbon study calculates a $100 billion Carbon market could protect 150 million hectares of land [carbon herald]

• Research by BeZero Carbon, a global carbon rating agency, projects the potential effects of a $100 billion global carbon market. The report finds that the market could protect 150 million hectares of land and contribute 20% of the carbon removals needed to meet the Paris Agreement target. The system would produce around 12.4 million jobs in the forestry sector, 3 million in agriculture, and 310,000 in renewables.

Nature Climate highlights successful nature positive portfolio transitions [nature 4 climate]

• Our partners at Nature Climate highlight several examples of the successful transformation of portfolios in a nature-positive direction, including Storebrand’s use of deforestation data sets to map impact, JGP’s efforts to reduce commodity-driven deforestation, and Vaviva's use of the deforestation-free finance roadmap.

Emerging Science

Study confirms the importance of indigenous land in mitigating climate change in Brazil [mongabay]

• A new study in Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation finds that indigenous lands and conservation units in the Amazon help to balance ecosystems and slow down climatic changes. The indigenous lands and conservation units were found to contribute more than converted areas to transpiration and climate regulation, and their clearance caused localized climate and ecosystem disruption.

Study examines roles of FDI and industrialization in decarbonization in China [frontiers]

• A new study, to be published soon in Frontiers, examines the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in improving ecological sustainability and limiting CO2 emissions in China. The study found that economic growth and urbanization were drivers of carbon intensity, and that the interaction between financial development and FDI, and between financial development and industrialization have promoted pollution in the country.

Study suggests conserving strategic .74% of tropical land could effectively protect the most endangered species [frontiers] [mongabay]

• A new study in Frontiers finds that strategic conservation of .74% of land found in the tropics would prevent the majority of expected extinctions. The study estimates the cost would be from $29 billion to $46 billion in the next 5 years, and could be met by providing rights and titles to IPLCs, conserving traditional lands, designating new protected areas, and purchasing or leasing privately held lands.

Canada's Wildfire emissions outpaced global aviation in 2023 but were not counted in national totals [mongabay]

• The Global Forest Watch Initiative at the World Resources Institute finds that the 2023 Canadian wildfires burned approximately 7.8 million hectares of forests in Canada in 2023, producing 3 billion metric tons of carbon emissions, four times more than the global aviation sector. Emissions were six times the average of the last 20 years but were not counted into the country's national carbon emissions.

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