Your Newsletter at a Glance
Commentary by C4C
COP28 continues with a parade of new deals and announcements. With almost 100 important news items to cover from last week, we have delayed publication to be fully comprehensive.
The California Public Employees Retirement System pledges to invest $100B in climate solutions by 2030, the largest pension commitment we have ever witnessed. Green Bonds reach a lifetime total of $2.6 Trillion in Q3 of 2023. Masdar partners with Iberdola to invest $16.2B in offshore wind and green hydrogen. Mubadala announces $2.4B investment in producing biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel from Macauba in Bahia. BNDES announces $203.4M in financing for Amazonian restoration, and more.
Policy changes
- The Nordic Countries with US AID launch the Investment Mobilization Collaboration Arrangement to help structure blended finance for developing countries and mobilize $500M.
- The International Sustainability Standards Board absorbs TCFD’s functions
- A global consortium led by the UK, Ecuador, and Gabon launch the 10 Point Plan for Financing Biodiversity
Climate and NbS Finance highlights
- The Inter-American Development Bank agrees to help mitigate Brazil Real exchange rate to derisk green investment
- IFC and IDB bring together 24 institutions from 10 countries for a new Amazon Finance Network seeking to coordinate public and private financing in the Amazon region
- The Asian Development Bank launches a Nature Solutions Finance Hub for the Asia Pacific region with the goal of catalyzing $2B by 2030
Important New Research
- A study in Resources, Conservation, and Recycling finds that China is leading the pack in developing recycling supply chains for Cobalt, Nickel, and Lithium batteries.
- A multi-university study in Nature uses satellite data to demonstrate the effectiveness of protected areas in preserving carbon-rich forests.
- Forests and Finance releases a new report tracking financial institutions' investments in deforestation
Research and Knowledge Sharing
Grow your climate finance expertise
Climate
IDB will provide exchange rate hedging for green investments in Brazil [Reset]
- Is this the currency hedging international investors have been seeking? The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reached an agreement with the Ministry of Finance to provide, as early as 2024, financial products to protect against variations in the Brazilian exchange rate, crucial to reducing investors' cost of capital and making Brazilian projects more investable. Three products were developed, for low, medium and high exchange rate risk and in all of them the principle is the same: the IDB will use its balance sheet and its 'triple A' rating to transfer exchange rate hedging mechanisms to Brazil at a low cost, which the country would not access directly due to the country risk rating.
Singapore and Rwanda Taxonomies launched off the back of COP28 [Climate Bonds Initiative]
- Singapore and Rwanda have stepped up their sustainable finance efforts by announcing the launch of national green finance taxonomies. The welcome news arrived during COP28, as nations convened to mobilize global action on climate change.
Anthropogenic aerosols offsetting ocean warming less efficiently since the 1980s [AGU]
- Researchers from the UK and Australia explore the deceleration of aerosol-driven ocean cooling and find a growing trend toward less efficient ocean cooling due to aerosols.
COP28: Over 100 countries commit to tripling global renewables by 2030 [Renewables Now]
- At COP28, 118 countries adopted a pledge to triple global renewable energy capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030. The Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge also calls for doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements from around 2% to more than 4% every year until 2030.
COP28: Tracking negotiating texts at this year's climate summit- interactive [Carbon Brief]
- Carbon Brief always takes a close interest in the negotiation process at COP, attempting to scrutinize the hundreds of pages of draft negotiating text, as they evolve over the course of each two-week summit. In order to keep track of these Carbon Brief has created the interactive table in the linked text, which will be constantly updated, in close-to-real time.
COP28:Big oil agrees to slash methane emissions [The Economist]
- At COP28, some 50 big hydrocarbon firms pledged to eliminate the methane emissions associated with their exploration and production by 2030. They also pledged to end routine flaring of methane, which is the principal component of natural gas.
COP28: Countries, companies signal support for energy transition accelerator [The Rockefeller Foundation]
- At COP28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, the U.S. Department of State, the Bezos Earth Fund, and The Rockefeller Foundation presented the core framework of the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), an innovative carbon finance platform aimed at catalyzing private capital to support ambitious just energy transition strategies in developing and emerging economies.
COP28: Rwanda launches carbon market framework, announces two international trade agreements [Carbon Pulse]
- Rwanda has launched a 56-page carbon market framework at COP28, which focuses on establishing readiness for crediting and international trade under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, also announcing two bilateral agreements with Asian countries.
The role of VCMI and philanthropic funders in supporting carbon market readiness [Pollination]
- New research from Pollination, commissioned by the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative (VCMI), highlights the pressing need for countries to access tailored support to more effectively operate in the carbon market space.
Colombia joins international alliance as the 10th nation calling for treaty to end use of fossil fuels [Guardian]
- Colombia has formally joined an alliance of nations calling for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to prevent the “omnicide of planet Earth”, the country’s president announced at Cop28. At the climate summit in Dubai, Gustavo Petro has said his country would join a group of nations calling for a new body to manage a global transition away from the primary driver of global heating, akin to previous treaties to reduce nuclear weapon arsenals and landmines.
COP28: TCFD mandate being subsumed under ISSB [LinkedIn]
- The FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)’s responsibilities around climate-related financial reporting will pass to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
Focus on people to boost Africa’s climate resilience [Eureka! Alerts]
- A new report launched at COP28 – produced by the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) and the University of Exeter – calls for an expanded focus within green infrastructure saying financiers and developers should consider how infrastructure can most effectively contribute to the resilience of the communities and economies it serves – especially those most vulnerable to climate extremes.
China is ahead of Europe and US in recycling lithium, cobalt and nickel for batteries [Tech Xplore]
- A research team headed by the University of Münster has concluded that China will be the first country worldwide to become independent of the need to mine the raw materials that are essential for batteries. They have also established that this development could be accelerated in all the regions they looked at—including Europe and the U.S.
Green bonds hit lifetime total of $2.5T [Climate Bonds Initiative]
- By the end of Q3 2023, the Climate Bonds Initiative (Climate Bonds) had recorded cumulative volume of USD4.2tn of green, social, sustainability, and sustainability linked (GSS+) debt in alignment with its screening methodologies (aligned), plus a further USD12.7bn in unscreened bonds bearing the transition label. The news arrives in a new Q3 State of the Market Report sponsored by IFC Green Bond Technical Assistance Program (GB-TAP), which assesses the market outlook for labeled issuance across the globe. The report is accompanied by a spotlight section on the Middle East and Africa as we approach the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai. The green label’s lifetime aligned total has passed the USD2.5 trillion milestone to reach USD2.6 trillion, the social label reached USD762.7 bn, the sustainability label stands at USD764.2bn, sustainability-linked debt has a USD42.5bn total and transition accounts for USD12.7bn. Read the original report here.
U.S. Department of Energy analysis highlights geothermal heat pumps as a pathway to a decarbonized energy future [Clean Technica]
- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced results of an analysis highlighting that, deployed at mass scale, geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) could decarbonize heating and cooling and save energy in U.S. buildings while reducing the need for new grid transmission. When compared to the base scenario of no GHP deployment, the analysis finds that, coupled with building envelope improvements, retrofitting around 70% of U.S. buildings with GHPs could reduce electricity demand by as much as 13% by 2050. This reduction in demand would avoid as much as 24,500 miles of new grid transmission lines by 2050. Read the technical report here.
Al Gore-backed Climate TRACE has a tool to decarbonize supply chains [Bloomberg]
- Climate TRACE, a global coalition co-founded by Al Gore, the former US vice president, has released a granular database tracking global greenhouse gas emissions, down to the individual polluter. And some of the world’s biggest companies are planning to use this data to decarbonize their supply chains. Boeing, Tesla and GM are among the companies that have signed up to use the new database launched at COP28 that shows steel and aluminum supplier emissions in detail. Watch the original unveiling of the tool at COP28.
CFTC issues proposed guidance regarding the listing of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts [CFTC]
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved a proposed guidance and request for public comment regarding the listing for trading of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts. The proposed guidance outlines certain factors an exchange should consider when addressing relevant requirements. The comment period will be open for 75 days, ending on February 16, 2024. Comments may be submitted electronically through the CFTC Comments online process.
The six leading independent crediting programmes announce ground-breaking collaboration to increase the positive impact of carbon markets [Verra]
- The world’s leading independent carbon crediting standards have announced a collaboration to increase the impact of activities under their standards. The six signatory standards are all accredited under the first global compliance regime, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s CORSIA market, and all are seeking assessment under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principles (CCPs).
What investors’ attitudes reveal about the future of climate finance [BCG]
- BCG and The Rockefeller Foundation gained a “practitioner’s perspective” on the latest trends in climate-related finance, based on input from more than 100 climate finance leaders across all asset classes. Key findings: Investors are optimistic about climate-related finance flows being poised to grow in the next two years, especially in Latin America and Asia; Subsidies and incentives are the strongest tailwinds for climate finance, but slow and complex rollout has left open questions for investors; Commercial investors and concessionary investors want to work together more and say that increased de-risking, such as blended finance, can help accelerate the speed and scale of deployment.
Nature-based Solutions
How much can forests fight climate change? A sensor in space has answers. [NY Times]
- A new NASA program is helping researchers more accurately calculate how much planet-warming carbon protected areas are storing.
FDA, USDA, and EPA Propose national strategy to reduce U.S. food loss and waste [FDA]
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a national strategy that will drive progress toward the national goal to reduce food loss and waste in the U.S. by 50% by 2030. The draft strategy features four objectives: Prevent the loss of food where possible; Prevent the waste of food where possible; Increase the recycling rate for all organic waste; Support policies that incentivise and encourage food loss and waste prevention and organics recycling. The public comment will begin on December 5 and will remain open for 30 days.
The United States and Nordic countries launch joint funding initiative to increase climate investments in emerging and developing markets: World Climate Foundation [Cision]
- Nordic countries and the United States launch the Investment Mobilization Collaboration Arrangement (IMCA) , a new blended finance collaboration to mobilize billions of dollars in developing countries and emerging markets. The collaboration will enable private capital for investments in climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and nature-based solutions. IMCA is a unique coordination mechanism that utilizes an innovative public-private partnership approach that will create concrete pipeline collaboration and knowledge sharing, support blended finance vehicles, and catalyze private capital for climate action into emerging markets and developing economies at scale and speed.
Glasgow Leaders' Declaration Dashboard [Forest Declaration]
- Tracking progress toward 2030 goals to protect and restore forests and land: forests received unprecedented attention at COP26 in Glasgow when more than 140 countries pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. This Dashboard monitors collective progress made across the six articles of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use.
Developed by Ecuador, Gabon, Maldives, and the UK, and signed by 40 countries: The 10 Point Plan for financing biodiversity [10PP]
- The GBF identifies a funding gap of $700 billion a year needed to halt and reverse the biodiversity loss. To fill that gap, commitments were made to increase finance from all sources public, private, domestic, international including by aligning existing economic structure with nature. The 10 Point Plan is a trans-continental initiative which aims to raise the political profile of the need to finance nature, as well as build mutual trust and understanding around a common political vision.
COP28: Call for nature-positive cities and regions [ICLEI CBC]
- The COP28 presidential session on Local Ecosystem Restoration for Nature-Positive Cities and Regions was a pivotal gathering for local and subnational governments. It was convened by the COP28 Presidency, High Level Champions, UNEP, ICLEI, the World Bank and Global Commons Alliance to rally cities and regions around advancing a soft call on nature-positive urban development from the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, H.E. Razan al Mubarak.
Wildlife conservation and ecosystem protection [International Fund for Animal Welfare]
- IFAW's report analyzes the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of African countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to understand the extent to which wildlife conservation is being considered in the climate action plans of countries that are host to major wild animal populations. Data reveals that, for countries that have high levels of biodiversity but also face high levels of climate vulnerability, wildlife conservation offers a significant opportunity to increase the scale of climate mitigation while also supporting climate resilience and adaptation for wildlife and people.
Banking on the biodiversity collapse [Forests and Finance]
- Since 2016, banks have pumped $307B into forest-risk sectors driving deforestation. During this time, the world has lost more than 30.6M hectares of primary forest. This report maps commercial financial flows attributable to the forest-risk commodity sectors driving the majority of tropical deforestation. Forests & Finance analyzes 300 of the largest companies operating in the production of beef, palm oil, pulp and paper, rubber, soy, and timber in the world’s three major tropical forest biomes: Southeast Asia, South America, and Central and West Africa. From January 2016 to September 2023, banks provided at least US$ 307 billion in credit to these operations. In addition, they were supported by institutional investors, which held US$ 38 billion in shares and bonds as of September 2023.
COP28: Honduras launches new initiative to rescue the Moskitia Forest [WCS]
- The Honduran government has unveiled an initiative at COP28 in Dubai to rescue and conserve the country’s largest forest, the Moskitia, which is one of Mesoamerica’s Five Great Forests and Central America’s second largest rainforest. The new initiative aims, in part, to put an end to deforestation and illegal cattle ranching in the Moskitia forest.
WEF produces a guide supporting early adoption of biodiversity credits [WEF]
- Biodiversity credits could benefit nature, people and business. When strongly assured for high environmental and social integrity, credits can generate benefits for nature and Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPs and LCs), while simultaneously enabling private sector value creation. Specifically, this report identifies a set of interrelated use cases for biodiversity credits: to enhance carbon credits for better nature outcomes, to access ecosystem services as inputs, to contribute to nature recovery beyond its own impact, and to offer projects bundled with nature recovery. Companies can take early action to improve their practical understanding of how biodiversity credits could operate even while standards and guidance are evolving.
Roadmap to 2030: Reducing U.S. Food Waste [ReFed]
- In 2021, the U.S. let a huge 38% of the 241 million tons in our food supply go unsold or uneaten. The good news? Food waste is a solvable problem – and ReFed can show us the way. ReFED’s new Roadmap to 2030: Reducing U.S. Food Waste outlines seven key action areas where the food system must focus its efforts over the next ten years to achieve our national and international food waste reduction goals.
Major philanthropies urge massive scale up of agroecology and regenerative approaches [Global Alliance for the Future of Food]
- 25 leading philanthropies, such as the Ikea and Rockefeller foundations, issued a joint call for a tenfold increase in funding for regenerative and agroecological transitions to address urgent global agricultural and environmental challenges. Together these philanthropies urge that to align food systems with the 1.5ºC goal of the Paris Agreement there is a need to phase out fossil fuel use, especially fossil fuel–based agrochemicals in industrial agriculture, and transition toward agroecology and regenerative approaches. Commissioned by philanthropic foundations active in food systems transformation, the newly released report, Cultivating Change: Accelerating and Scaling Agroecology and Regenerative Approaches, shows that a tenfold increase in investment is required to transition to more resilient, diverse, equitable, and healthy food systems
COP28: LEAF Coalition announces first emissions reduction agreement with Brazilian state for 10M tonnes [Carbon Pulse]
- A Brazilian state has become the first jurisdiction in the country to commit to sign an Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA) with the LEAF Coalition, which will pave the way for up to 10 mln forest carbon credits to be sold to corporate buyers once a binding agreement is inked next year.
IDB Invest and IFC launch the Amazon Finance Network [IFC]
- IDB Invest, member of the IDB Group, and IFC, member of the World Bank Group, announced the launch of the Amazon Finance Network, an alliance that brings together financial institutions with the aim of increasing investment flows, mobilizing capital, sharing knowledge on innovative financial solutions, and generating synergies with the public sector. The initiative aims to generate sustainable impact across the Amazon region. This network is composed of 24 founding signatories from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Spain, Switzerland, and USA which have the determination and capacity to play a major role in the economic development of the region and reduce poverty and inequality by supporting projects that can broaden access to finance.
Terrestrial carbon dynamics in an era of increasing wildfire [Nature]
- In an increasingly flammable world, wildfire is altering the terrestrial carbon balance. However, the degree to which novel wildfire regimes disrupt biological function remains unclear. Researchers from a consortium of institutions, led by University of Idaho, synthesize the current understanding of above- and belowground processes that govern carbon loss and recovery across diverse ecosystems, and find that intensifying wildfire regimes are increasingly exceeding biological thresholds of resilience, causing ecosystems to convert to a lower carbon-carrying capacity.
Six countries and UN agency join vital global partnership to advance Nature-based Solutions [IUCN]
- Six new countries and a United Nations agency are joining the ENACT Partnership, an ambitious global initiative that seeks to coordinate global efforts to address climate change, land and ecosystem degradation, and biodiversity loss through Nature-based Solutions. The new partners include France, the United States of America, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Pakistan, and the UN Environment Programme, including its World Conservation Monitoring Centre. The ENACT Partnership aims to enhance the protection from and resilience to climate impacts of at least 1 billion vulnerable people, secure up to 2.4 billion hectares of healthy natural and sustainable ecosystems, and significantly increase global mitigation efforts through protecting and restoring carbon-rich ecosystems.
COP28: FAO produces global roadmap process to eradicate hunger within 1.5°C limits [FAO]
- Unveiled at the United Nations Climate Conference COP28, the Global Roadmap for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) without Breaching the 1.5°C Threshold outlines a comprehensive strategy spanning the next three years that encompasses a diverse portfolio of solutions across ten distinct domains of action. The roadmap identifies 120 actions and key milestones within ten domains, supported by evidence gathered by FAO over several years. These domains include clean energy, crops, fisheries and aquaculture, food loss and waste, forests and wetlands, healthy diets, livestock, soil and water, and data and inclusive policies — the latter two identified as overall systemic enablers.
COP28: Alliance of Champions launched to supercharge global food systems transformation efforts [ACF]
- New alliance - Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF) – of five trailblazing countries will transform national food systems to deliver universal access to affordable, nutritious and sustainable diets, aiming to accelerate major progress this decade. Joint co-chairs Brazil, Norway and Sierra Leone, alongside founding member countries Cambodia and Rwanda, plan to lead the way– reorienting policies, practices and investment priorities to deliver better food systems outcomes for people, nature and climate.
COP28: Agriculture, food and climate national action toolkit [FAO]
- The COP28 Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda calls for accelerated food systems, agriculture and climate action and urges governments to align and integrate those actions within national strategies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) amongst others. The “COP 28 Agriculture, Food and Climate Action Toolkit” developed serves as a key resource for national policymakers and decision-makers aiming to accelerate and align national efforts on climate action and food and agriculture system transformation by (1) providing a summary of priority actions, (2) giving an overview of good examples of NDCs and NAPs in how they integrate agriculture and food system measures, and (3) providing overview of existing initiatives, platforms, and tools that can help governments in developing and implementing agriculture and food system policy measures as part of their NDCs and NAPs.
TURFS Consortium launched to transform urban-rural food systems with cities as entry points [WWF]
- The Transforming Urban Rural Food Systems (TURFS) Consortium launched its Strategy for Food Systems Transformation at COP28 on ‘Food, Agriculture and Water’ day. TURFS has a carefully developed strategy to empower and support cities to improve the way we produce and consume food in urban and rural areas. Prioritizing health, sustainability, resilience, and equity, the Consortium seeks to help cities lead a global shift in our food systems. By collaborating with cities and their surrounding rural areas, the consortium will share and implement best practices and innovative solutions to change food systems at local, national, and international scales.
COP28: Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate more than doubles investments to $17B
[AIM for Climate]
- The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) announced more than doubling of investments, partners, and Innovation Sprints in transformative climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation. With the support of over 600 government and non-government partners, AIM for Climate announced an increased investment of more than $17 billion, up from $8 billion at COP27, representing a more than doubling of investments. The increased investment comprises over $12 billion from Government Partners, with global contributions from 33 countries, the European Commission, and over $5 billion investment from Innovation Sprints.
Regen10 publishes first draft of inclusive, outcomes-based regenerative food systems framework [Regen10]
- Regen10 publishes its “Zero Draft Outcomes-Based Framework.” The document is the first iteration of Regen10’s work and will form the basis of extensive consultation and testing over the next 12 months, before the launch of its Outcomes Framework, at the end of 2024. The zero draft represents a holistic and inclusive approach to measuring progress towards regenerative food systems, while improving farmers’ livelihoods, benefiting nature, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Finance ≥ $100M
Commitments
Largest U.S. pension fund to invest $100B in climate solutions by 2030 [Forbes]
- In a bold step tailored to meet the existential challenges and colossal financial risks of a warming climate and harness the massive opportunities of the shift to a new clean economy, California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest public pension fund in the U.S. managing $446 billion, announced plans to invest $100 billion in climate solutions by 2030. This step, which doubles down on the pension fund’s climate investing plans for the next seven years, underpins the comprehensive strategy that CalPERS laid out for achieving its goal of cutting emissions from its portfolio investments to net zero by 2050 while assuring long-term financial results for its pensioners.
Iberdrola and Masdar to invest $16.2B in green energy [Reuters]
- Spanish renewable energy giant Iberdrola (IBE.MC) and UAE clean energy developer Masdar have formed a 15 billion euro ($16.2 billion) alliance to invest in offshore wind and green hydrogen in countries including Germany, Britain and the United States. The agreement follows a pledge by 118 countries at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai to triple the world's renewable energy capacity by the end of the decade as they seek to wean themselves off fossil fuels.
PH to get $10B in climate funds [The Manila Times]
- The Philippines will receive $10 billion in climate financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) between 2024 and 2029 to help the country meet commitments under a 2015 climate change treaty. ADB said it would support low-carbon transport, renewable energy, the development of carbon markets, flood management, resilient coastal development, food security, and adaptive health and social protection.
COP28: KKR seeks to raise up to $7B for first global climate fund - source [Reuters]
- U.S. investment firm KKR & Co is looking to raise up to $7 billion for its first global climate fund that seeks to invest in energy transition opportunities, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The New York-headquartered firm is looking to hit first-close of the fund in the first half of next year, the Reuters source added, declining to be named as the matter was confidential.
US announcement of pledge to second replenishment of the Green Climate Fund ($3B) [US Department of the Treasury]
- the Biden-Harris Administration announced the United States’ multi-year pledge of $3 billion for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for its Second Replenishment (GCF-2), 2024-2027.
São Paulo to invest US$3B in sustainability projects next year [BNAmericas]
- São Paulo city plans to invest 15bn reais (US$3bn) next year in projects and initiatives for sustainable urban development. The plan was unveiled by city hall during a presentation at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. One of the key features of the plan is a 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and among the measures are investing US$1bn in the electrification of the city’s bus fleet. The electrification will be supported by financing from development bank BNDES, state-run lenders Banco do Brasil and Caixa Econômica Federal, along with multilaterals such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.
CIP launches $3B Clean Energy Emerging Markets Fund [ESG Today]
- Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) announced the launch of Growth Markets Fund II (GMF II), focused on the development of clean energy projects in high growth middle-income markets across Asia, Latin America and EMEA. CIP said that the fund has a target size of $3 billion, and is anticipated to enable more than 10 GW of new renewable energy capacity.
CAF pledges $2B investment annually to fight climate change in Latin America [Reuters]
- The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) will invest more than $2 billion annually totaling $15 billion until 2030 in Latin America to fight climate change, the bank announced at the U.N. COP28 climate summit in Dubai. The funds will be used to improve infrastructure, water supply, food security, emergency response, disaster mitigation through monitoring and prevention systems. It will also finance other projects including erosion control and coastal protection.
Cepsa and C2X set up joint project to develop the largest green methanol plant in Europe ($1.1B) [Cepsa]
- At COP28 and in the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the two companies announced a joint project to provide green methanol for multiple industries, including chemicals and shipping. The project is to develop a plant in Huelva, Spain, entailing an investment of up to €1 billion, that would become one of the five largest green methanol plants in the world with an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons, preventing the emission of up to 1 million tons of fossil CO2.
Abu Dhabi’s Neovision sets up $250M carbon credit fund [Bloomberg]
- Abu Dhabi-based Neovision Wealth Management is setting up a $250 million fund to invest in the development of carbon credits in frontier markets. The Global Carbon Credit Development Fund will focus on projects managed by investment firm Global Frontier Capital and will generate carbon credits, which are tradeable units of greenhouse gas emissions. The fund will be the first of its kind in the Middle East.
COP28: First Zambian green bond will benefit biodiversity ($54M) [Carbon Pulse]
- A Zambian energy company will issue a $54 million tranche of a green bond programme, the first from a firm in the country, by the end of the year with indirect benefits for forests. The Copperbelt Energy Corporation’s $200 mln programme will look to generate at least 200 megawatts of solar energy – meaning the country will rely less on wood fuel sourced from deforestation, Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) Zambia announced at COP28.
Deals
KKR takes Glasgow's Smart Metering Systems private in £1.4B ($1.8B) deal [Tech EU]
- Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems (SMS) is to be delisted and acquired by KKR in an all-cash deal valued at £1.4 billion. While the buyout comes at a 40 percent premium, KKR believes that Smart Metering Systems’ established smart meter technology, burgeoning capabilities in grid-scale battery storage (BESS), and additional carbon reduction activities (CaRe) have the potential to play a substantial role in the UK Government’s 2050 net-zero goals.
India's Adani Green secures additional $1.4B loan [Reuters]
- India's Adani Green Energy said it has received a follow-on funding of $1.36 billion via a green loan from an international bank consortium to help the company expand its renewable power capacity.
Octopus EV silently speeds past £1B ($1.3B) electric car funding [AZO CleanTech]
- Octopus Electric Vehicles (Octopus EV) has agreed a £550 million debt securitisation facility from Lloyds Bank to fund electric vehicles, accelerating total EV funding to £1.2 billion.
energyRe announces $1.2B capital raise to accelerate U.S. clean energy transition [Cision]
- energyRe, an independent U.S. clean energy developer, announced that it has raised a $1.2 billion capital package to support the expansion of its large-scale renewable energy portfolio comprising utility-scale transmission and storage, onshore wind and solar generation, and offshore wind. The raise comprises committed capital investments in energyRe LLC from Glentra Capital alongside co-investors Novo Holdings and Denmark-based pension fund PKA.
ACWA Power signs deal for $1B green H2 project in Indonesia [Renewables Now]
- ACWA Power Co has teamed up with two Indonesian state-owned companies to execute a USD-1-billion-plus (EUR 926m) green hydrogen project in the Southeast Asian country.
EIB lends €400M ($433.0M) to Ørsted for offshore wind construction [Renewables Now]
- The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a EUR-400-million (USD 433m) framework loan agreement with Danish clean energy company Ørsted A/S to support the construction of offshore wind farms.
Climate fundraising boom continues as Congruent collects $275M [Venture Capital Journal]
- Congruent Ventures, a San Francisco-based climate and sustainability venture firm, has closed its third flagship fund at $275 million, beating its $200 million target. Fund III’s investors include the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the Grantham Foundation, the University of California, Sobrato Capital, Strategic Investment Group, Northwestern University, Vintage Investment Partners and clients advised by Cambridge Associates. Congruent said it has backed 53 climate tech companies to date. Its portfolio includes companies such as Meati Foods, AMP Robotics, Fervo Energy, Span.IO and Hippo Harvest.
X-energy finalizes $235M Series C financing [Businesswire]
- X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC , a developer of advanced small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation, announced that it has completed its Series C financing round with an additional $80 million from Ares Management Corporation and X-energy Founder, Kam Ghaffarian, bringing the total capital raised in the Series C financing round to $235 million. Previous investors in the Series C financing round include Ontario Power Generation, Curtiss-Wright Corporation, DL E&C, and Doosan Enerbility.
Spain awards €150M ($161.5M) in subsidies in green H2 tender [Renewables Now]
- The Spanish ministry for the ecological transition announced that it has awarded EUR 150 million (USD 163.4m) in state aid to incentivise green hydrogen production and consumption in industrial settings in Spain.
Enfinity Global closes €118 ($127.1M) million financing for 101 MW in four solar power plants in Italy [Cision]
- Enfinity Global Inc announced that it has closed €118 million in financing for the construction of 101 MW in four utility-scale solar power plants located in the region of Lazio (Italy), which are expected to become operational in 2024. UniCredit, BayernLB, and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank have acted as mandated lead arrangers for each project financing through a club deal structure. The positive environmental impact of these four plants will translate into the production of 172 GWh of clean electricity per year, enough to power 64,000 Italian homes and offset 69,000 tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the amount sequestered by 3,100 mature trees.
Dutch renewable energy investor Return secures a second €100M ($107.7M) growth equity investment [Tech EU]
- Dutch renewable energy investor Return announced that it has recently closed a second €100 million growth equity investment. Hartenlust Group assumes the lead investor role with a minority share, reaffirming its confidence in Return. The company focuses on advancing several gigawatts of solar and energy storage capacity development in Europe, through both existing portfolio companies and new investments.
Nature-based Solutions ≥ $1M
Commitments
UK government backs cultivated meat and fermentation in landmark £2B ($2.5B) Plan [Vegconomist]
- The UK Government has unveiled its National Vision for Engineering Biology, a £2 billion plan to seize the potential of biotechnology to revolutionize food production, medical advancements, and sustainable fuel production. Over the next ten years, the government will fund the necessary activities and reforms to propel the country’s biotech ecosystem, which includes the cultivated meat and fermentation industry. The new strategy highlights these technologies as climate and food security solutions capable of “reducing pressure on land use for pasture.” Read the original proposal here.
Mubadala's R$12B ($2.4B) project for macaúba biofuel [Reset]
- Acelen, a company controlled by the Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala Capital, plans to produce 1 billion liters of green diesel and sustainable aviation fuel per year in Bahia, using the fruit of the macaúba, a palm tree native to Brazil, as raw material . The investment is estimated at R$12 billion.
Launch of the Nature Solutions Finance Hub (NSFH) for Asia and the Pacific Region ($2B) [ADB]
- At COP28, ADB together with partners will announce the Nature Solutions Finance Hub (NSFH) to proactively scale up the flow of public and private finance into conserving nature and biodiversity loss in Asia and the Pacific. The launch of the NSFH aims to introduce the collaboration between ADB and partners. ADB aims to catalyze at least $2 billion by 2030 from public and private sources. The Hub aims to focus on a) designing nature-based solutions or nature positive approaches in projects, b) prioritizing projects for maximum nature impact and replicability, and c) structuring innovative finance approaches aimed at de-risking projects.
COP28: GEF, Bezos Earth Fund announce $225M funding for massive Pacific Ocean conservation initiative [Carbon Pulse]
- The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Bezos Earth Fund have become the first to pledge financial support for a Pacific Island initiative to conserve or implement sustainable activities across more than 1 billion hectares of ocean. GEF has announced it will support the initiative by $125 mln in funds through its Star GEF 8 programme, while the Earth Fund will add up to $100 mln to that.
COP28: BNDES announces R$1B ($203.4M) to finance restoration in the Amazon [Reset]
- BNDES launched two financing programs for forest restoration totaling R$1 billion. The project, called the Amazon Restoration Arc, was presented at COP28, in Dubai. The absence of credit lines so far is pointed out by experts as an obstacle to scaling up the economic activity of reforestation. The first part of the resources, R$450 million, comes from the Amazon Fund. Three entities will be selected to coordinate ecological restoration initiatives carried out by family farmers, indigenous and quilombola communities and agrarian reform settlements. The remaining R$550 million will be allocated via the Climate Fund in the form of credit to support private initiatives, both in private properties and in public areas, via federal and state concessions that should be launched in early 2024.
University of York partners with Greensphere Capital on £150M ($188.1M) fund [The Press]
- The University of York is partnering with sustainability investor Greensphere Capital to launch a £150 million fund designed to invest in market-leading businesses that successfully commercialize solutions to the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Gaia Sciences Innovation will harness the expertise of 12 leading research institutions - including the University of York - to invest in start-up, spin-out and scale-up businesses that can help tackle biodiversity loss and climate change.
Biden-Harris administration announces $72M from investing in america agenda to restore the Salton Sea [US DOI]
- The Biden-Harris administration announced $72 million from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to accelerate restoration of the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake. The funding will expedite implementation of the state’s 10-year Salton Sea Management Plan by accelerating dust suppression, aquatic-restoration, and water conservation efforts needed to protect the important wildlife habitats and the surrounding communities.
COP28: European Commission commits €1M ($1.1M) to Blue Mediterranean Partnership [European Commission]
- The European Commission committed to pledge €1 million to the recently established Blue Mediterranean Partnership. This collaborative initiative is designed to catalyze sustainable blue economy investments in the non-EU countries of the Mediterranean region, with a focus on the Southern Neighbourhood. It is spearheaded by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the EU, through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The partnership’s priority areas include plastic waste reduction, coastal resilience investments, sustainable tourism, wastewater treatment, circular economy, and marine biodiversity.
Deals
Spanish government and private sector invest in irrigation ($802.6M) [New Ag International]
- The Spanish ministry of agriculture and the State Commercial Society for Agrarian Infrastructure (Seiasa) have signed three collaboration agreements on irrigation that will involve mobilizing a public-private investment of 745.40 million euros in 11 autonomous communities. In total, the irrigation of 700,000 hectares of crops will be modernized and will benefit about 20,000 farmers. These investments are completed with the projected works launched by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge worth 5,000 million euros.
Mirova launches €350M ($376.9M) Sustainable Land Fund II [AgriInvestor]
- Natural capital investment manager Mirova has launched its latest land restoration strategy and confirmed its €208 million Land Degradation Neutrality Fund has completed deployment. Mirova Sustainable Land Fund II will invest in agroforestry, sustainable forestry and regenerative agriculture projects in developing countries. The blended finance vehicle will deploy capital mainly through debt financing as it emulates the approach of the LDN Fund.
Pachama increases Series B to $64M with $9M extension led by Lowercarbon Capital, T.Capital, and Positive Ventures [Businesswire]
- Pachama, the technology company on a mission to solve climate change by restoring nature, announced it extended its Series B round to include an additional $9 million in new equity capital. The extension brings Pachama’s Series B total to $64 million and was participated in by new investor T.Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom (majority owners of T-Mobile US), alongside existing investors Lowercarbon Capital and Positive Ventures.
Amsterdam’s Rockstart launches its second AgriFood fund; plans to invest in 50 startups in five years ($53.8M) [Silicon Canals]
- Amsterdam-based Rockstart, the global early-stage accelerator-VC, announced that it has launched its second AgriFood fund. The fund targets a final close at €50M and plans to invest in up to 50 startups within the coming five years. The Rockstart AgriFood Fund II is backed by The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), De Hoge Dennen, and Danish Agro (amongst others), and marks the fourth fund from the VC.
COP28: DRC receives $40M to appraise natural capital for biodiversity and carbon crediting [Carbon Pulse]
- Tech company Okala inked a deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to invest $40 million in the measurement and valuation of the country's natural assets for potential carbon and biodiversity crediting.
John Deere invests R$180M ($36.6M) in technology development center focused on tropical agriculture [AgTech Garage]
- John Deere, a global technology company that provides software and equipment for the agricultural, construction and forestry sectors, announces the construction of the Brazilian Technology Development Center, its first development and testing center for tropical agriculture in the world. The company will invest around R$180 million in the project, with the aim of promoting synergy between multiple R&D teams dedicated to the design and validation of new products and technologies for the main production systems – grains, sugarcane and special crops.
With a fresh $25M in hand, AgroSpheres aims to build unprecedented stability in crop biologicals [AgFunder News]
- US-based AgroSpheres completed a $25 million Series B round after an investment from agricultural sciences company FMC Corporation. Lewis and Clark AgriFood, Ospraie Ag Science, BIDRA Ventures, and Cavallo Ventures also participated in the round.The startup is addressing the issues around biopesticide effectiveness with a novel delivery system that encapsulates and delivers pesticides to plants in a more targeted approach than traditional methods. This has the potential to reduce pesticide use and avoid the damage to biodiversity that often happens with conventional crop protection.
DFC to invest $24M in Miro to expand sustainable forestry and create new jobs in West Africa [DFC]
- The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed a $24 million equity investment in Miro Forestry Developments Limited (Miro) to expand the company’s sustainable forestry and timber processing on degraded land in West Africa. This is the latest investment in DFC’s growing portfolio of nature-based solutions. The investment for Ghana and Sierra Leone will create jobs, increase atmospheric carbon sequestration, and contribute to economic growth in both countries.
$16.4M grant increases crop yields, improves sustainability & profitability [FFAR]
- The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) is awarding a $7.7M grant to Kansas State University (K-State). Funding will support an expansive study across the U.S. Corn Belt and Great Plains exploring how crop, soil and water management affect the soil microbial communities that drive agroecosystem functions. Bayer Crop Science provided $4.6M in matching funds, and Iowa State University, K-State, LandScan, LI-COR Environmental, Mississippi State University, The Ohio State University and The University of Kansas also provided funds for a total investment of $16.4M.
Koa nets US$15M to scale cocoa upcycling strategies and cut carbon footprint [Food Ingredients First]
- Swiss-Ghanaian start-up Koa has raised US$15 million in equity from both existing and new investors in a Series B round to finance and scale up its cocoa upcycling strategy. The closing comes just a few months after the inauguration of its new cocoa fruit factory in Ghana. It allows Koa to finance its ongoing scale-up while expanding the cocoa fruit upcycling and spearheading a shift to regenerative and climate-smart agriculture. This recent round is led by the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Fund from global asset manager Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers dedicated to sustainable finance, with a US$9 million investment.
Industry leaders back leading soil carbon removals solution: Agricarbon raises £9M ($11.3M) of funding from climate, agri-tech and financial investors [Agricarbon]
- Agricarbon raises £9m Series A funding to unlock global soil carbon removal opportunity. Funding will be used to accelerate international expansion and meet demand from global clients Shell Ventures led the round with participation from Barclays’ Sustainable Impact Capital, specialist food system funds The Nest Family Office and Ananke, carbon removal investor Counteract VC, and global investment manager MFS
Feds dish out $12M ($8.8M) for salmon habitat restoration work [BIV]
- The Nature Trust of B.C. is getting $5 million over five years from the federal government to restore critical salmon habitat and diminishing stocks on Vancouver Island. The North Island project was part of a $12-million announcement for six projects on the B.C. coast under the Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund, which pays for conservation projects in aquatic ecosystems damaged or under threat by climate change.
Madagascar receives $8.8M for forest carbon credits that will further protect the remaining forests and communities [World Bank]
- Madagascar received $8.8 million for carbon credits from reducing 1.76 million tons of carbon emissions in 2020, becoming the third country in Africa (after Mozambique and Ghana) to be paid by the World Bank for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation—commonly known as REDD+. The payment is the first of three under the country’s Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which is set to unlock up to $50 million for reducing up to 10 million tons of CO2e emissions along the country’s rainforest-rich eastern coast by the end of 2024.
Clever Carnivore raises $7M to expand operations and scale up production of cultivated meat [Businesswire]
- US-based Clever Carnivore, a biotech startup producing low-cost cultivated meat, announced the successful closing of its $7 million seed round funding. Theoversubscribed round was led by Lever VC, a globally renowned investor in the alternative protein industry. Clever Carnivore received substantial backing from national and international investors, including McWin Capital Partners from Spain; Thia Ventures headquartered in Belgium and Switzerland; Valo Ventures from Palo Alto, California; Newfund Capital from France; and Stray Dog Capital, a Midwest-based fund with roots in Kansas.
Fermentation startup Farmless secures €4.8M ($5.2M) Seed round for sustainable protein [Tech EU]
- Farmless, the Amsterdam-based fermentation startup, has raised a €4.8 million Seed round, bringing the company's funding to €6 million. The funding is co-led by World Fund and Vorwerk Ventures, with participation from Revent. Farmless harvests natural microorganisms after controlled fermentation, using a feedstock made from CO2, water, nitrogen and renewable energy – completely bypassing the need for agricultural land.
Meatiply rakes in $3.75M in initial seed funding for expansion and new facility in 2024 [Green Queen]
- Singaporean cultivated meat company Meatiply has closed the first round of its seed funding, securing $3.75M in financing to scale up production of its hybrid products and facilitate its new R&D facility, set to open next year. The round was co-led by existing investor Wavemaker Partners and AgFunder, with participation from Seeds Capital, the VC arm of Enterprise Singapore.
The Russell Family Foundation announces $3.5M in climate grants & investments [Cision]
- The Russell Family Foundation (TRFF) announced $3.5 million dollars in grants and investments supporting organizations fighting climate change. Fifteen grants totaling $731,000 were awarded within its Food for Climate Solutions and Catalytic Climate Finance programs, and $2.8 million in investments were given to two organizations focused on conservation and renewable energy infrastructure.
Carbon Maps secures additional €3M ($3.2M) in Pre-Seed funding for food industry climate tech [Tech EU]
- Paris-based climate tech startup, Carbon Maps, secures an additional €3 million for its Pre-Seed funding round, bringing Back Market and HCVC backer Daphni to the table. Carbon Maps collects and analyzes data across the entire food chain, from farm to fork, and calculates several impact indicators, including the de facto carbon footprint, but goes a few steps further to include biodiversity impact, water use, and animal welfare.