May 20 to May 24, 2024
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In this week's issue: $8.7 billion across 23 deals in climate ($7.7 billion), nature-based solutions ($259 million), hard to abate industries ($633 million), and blue economy ($65 million).
10 Essential Deals and Commitments:
Climate
- National Grid plans $35 billion in northeast grid decarbonization
- Eurazeo announces $750 million impact fund aligned with Planetary Boundaries
- Orsted wins $680 million in IRA tax equity through JP Morgan
- Verbund raises €500 million in green bonds
- ETF Partners raises $310 million sustainability solutions venture fund
Nature-based Solutions
- Google, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce launch Symbiosis Coalition targeting 20 million tons of carbon removal
- Danish pension funds invest $160 million in Ecosystem Investment Partners V
Hard to Abate Emissions
- Air Liquide issues a €500 million green bond to support transition projects
- 280 Earth closes $50 million round for DAC technology
Blue Economy
News Highlights:
Policy & Regulation
- US CFTC targets carbon market malpractice with new initiatives
- Small island states win case at Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
- DOE hydrogen hubs have major financial impact according to the Rhodium Group
Climate & NbS Finance
- Abatable finds CORSIA carbon credit demand is likely to exceed supply
- Voluntary Carbon Market draws increased insurer presence
- Japanese companies lead the pack in TNFD adoption
Emerging Science
- A new meta study finds carbon pricing effective to reduce emissions
- New working paper explores NbS for disaster applications
- Rates of Amazon drought recovery are falling with climate change
C4C News and Events
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Nature-based Solutions ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Commitments
GO.FARM initiates A$600 million target Responsible Agriculture Fund [freshplaza]
- GO.FARM, an Australian agricultural company, is initiating a A$600 million ($398 million) agriculture fund, comprising A$300 million ($199 million) in capital and A$300 million ($199 million) in debt financing. The Responsible Agriculture Fund will be focused on a diversified portfolio invested in agriculture across the country.
Philippines commits $17 million to people's survival fund for climate adaptation [mb]
- The Philippine Department of Finance has allocated Philippine Peso 1 billion ($17 million) to support climate adaptation projects throughout the country. The investment will be distributed to local communities throughout the country to improve resilience to climate change.
Google, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce launch Symbiosis Coalition [businesswire] [esgtoday]
- Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Salesforce have announced the formation of the Symbiosis Coalition, and advance market commitment aimed at supporting the development of the nature-based carbon removal market, with a total commitment to contract 20 million tons of nature-based carbon removal. The companies have argued that their collaboration could represent a major stabilizing force in the nature-based offset market after years of instability.
Deals
3 Danish pension funds invest $160 m in US restoration fund [ipe]
- Sampension, Ap Pension and Laerernes Pension, 3 major Danish pension funds, will invest $160 million in Ecosystem Investment Partners V, a fund focused on environmental restoration and conservation of nature and biodiversity. The 3 funds have pledged $52 million, $60 million, and $50 million respectively. The fund will invest in projects focusing on ecological restoration requirements for new development in the United states.
Biden Admin invests $81 million in San Joaquin valley habitat restoration [doi]
- The Biden Administration will invest $81 million in drought resilience in the San Joaquin Valley, with a focus on restoring wildlife habitat and river functionality in areas that are a part of the Central Valley Project. The investment was made possible with Inflation Reduction Act funding.
USAID launches $17.8 million nature program for Brazilian Amazon [usaid]
- USAID and CIFOR-ICRAF, alongside other partners, have announced the Regenerative Agriculture for Conservation of the Amazon (ARCA) program, which will invest $17.8 million to support actions at all levels. The program will provide training and resources to local communities to adopt and share regenerative practices throughout the Brazilian Amazon.
Philippines commits $17 million to People's Survival Fund for climate adaptation [mb]
- The Philippine Department of Finance has allocated Philippine Peso 1 billion ($17 million) to support climate adaptation projects throughout the country. The investment will be distributed through local communities throughout the country to improve resilience to climate change.
Scottish nature fund raises £ 1 million to reach £4.8 million raised total [nature scot]
- NatureScot and The Scottish National Lottery Heritage Fund will provide £1 million to the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland program (FIRNS), which will invest in nature projects that create benefits for both habitats and people. Eight projects will receive funding, including soil governance, river restoration, and urban nature restoration.
Carbon Streaming launches Panama project [carbon streaming corporation]
- Carbon Streaming has announced a new project to restore 10,000 hectares of degraded land in Panama, with Microsoft expected to support the project with a 100% purchase offtake agreement. The project is expected to remove 3.24 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Climate Finance ≥ $100M
Commitments and deals
Commitments
National Grid to invest $35 billion in New York and Massachusetts grid decarbonization [morningstar]
- National Grid has promised to invest $35 billion in grid improvements in the US Northeast, as part of a $75 billion investment across service territories in the US and UK. The investments are focused on upgrading energy infrastructure to improve climate resilience and ensure green energy access.
Eurazeo announces $750 million Planetary Boundaries impact fund [new primate markets]
- Eurazeo has announced it will launch an environmental impact fund targeting €750 million in investments, with the goal of potentially raising up to €1 billion. The fund will be aligned with a planetary boundaries respecting investment framework. The fund will target small to mid-market companies primarily in Europe, and will focus on two themes: regenerative and circular economy and climate transition and adaptation solutions.
Vibra Energia aims to launch $295 million in green bonds [latin lawyer]
- Vibra Energia, a Brazilian petrol company, has developed a plan to raise $295 million in green bonds. The issuance comes as part of a larger effort to diversify into the sustainable sectors out of oil and gas.
Deals
HG to acquire AuditBoard for more than $3 billion [new private markets] [audit board]
- Hg has announced it will purchase AuditBoard, a risk auditing platform and ESG software company, for around $3 billion, as part of a play to increase the company's exposure to the audit sector as risk auditing increases in importance, especially for ESG and climate factors.
Singapore sells S$2.5 billion green bond [yahoo finance]
- Singapore has raised S$2.5 billion in green bonds ($1.84 billion) to help support the country's green spending initiatives. The bonds are earmarked to green expenditures in line with the country’s goal of raising $26 billion in environmental focused financing by 2030.
Kommuninvest raises € 1 billion green bond [kommuninvest]
- Kommuninvest has issued a €1 billion green bond, with total interest over €2.5 billion across 70 investors. The company sees this as an encouraging sign for the municipal green bond sector in Sweden.
Orsted wins $680 million JPMorgan backing for battery projects [nbc chicago]
- Ortsted has won $680 million in investment form JPMorgan, provided in the form of tax equity delivered through the Inflation Reduction Act. The projects include a 600 megawatt storage and solar project in Arizona and a 250 megawatt project in Texas. These types of deals are increasing in size and frequency, as the tax equity market has almost doubled since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, to an expected $47 billion in 2024, and potentially $100 billion in 2030.
Verbund raises EUR 500 Million in green bonds [renewables now]
- Verbund has raised € 500 million ($543.5 million) from an oversubscribed green bond to support the construction of a new high voltage line in Austria. The remaining proceeds after construction will support biodiversity projects around hydropower plants.
ETF partners raises $310 million for sustainability solutions venture fund [esg today]
- ETF Partners has raised $310 million for the completion of its fourth fund. The fund invests in companies focused on the climate transition, and has already made investments in AIPERIA, a fresh food demand planning software company, a grid AI company, and Fairly Made, a fashion sustainability Saas company.
AIIB signs $200 million loan guarantee to finance Turk Eximbank green projects [aiib]
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has signed a $200 million guarantee to support 70% of Turk Eximbank's inaugural green loan, with a counter-guarantee from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of Turkey. The deal is meant to support Turk Eximbank's long term financing to support Turkish exporters involved in renewable energy.
- The state of California will provide $107 million to tribal nature-based solutions grant programs to enable the buyback of 38,000 acres of private lands that had been previously occupied by Indigenous tribes before their displacement. The investment represents a major step towards the state's goal of protecting 30% of the states' land and water by 2030.
Hard to Abate Sectors ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Deals
Air Liquide issues a €500 million green bond [marketwatch]
- Air Liquide has issued a €500 million green bond. The company plans to use the proceeds to finance and refinance flagship energy transition projects, including low-carbon hydrogen, carbon capture, and low-carbon air gasses.
280 Earth closes 50M round for DAC technology [businesswire]
- 280 Earth inc, a CO2 removal company, has completed its Series B funding and constructed its first Direct Air Capture plant, located in The Dalles, Oregon. The company received support from Google's Moonshot Factory.
XGS Energy completes $20M capital raise [morningstar]
- XGS Energy, a geothermal energy technology company has announced $20 million in additional Series A financing for its commercial-scale, water-independent geothermal technology.
Tencent invests in Chinese CCR startups with $13.9 million [scmp]
- Tencent is extending 100 million yuan to support carbon capture and removal technologies to enable decarbonization beyond the renewable sector in China. The company's CarbonX program, ws launched in March and evaluated 300 applications before announcing its winners on Thursday, May 23. Recipients included universities, labs, and early stage startups, across projects inducing carbon capture using steel slag, and blast furnace carbon dioxide storage.
Relocalize raises $5.8 million for decarbonizing food supply chains [food engineering]
- Relocalize has closed its seed funding round with $5.8 million raised to scale an autonomous microfactory platform to produce food locally and reduce middle-mile transportation emissions. The investment, which was spearheaded by Desjardins Capital will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of the company's technology across Canada and the U.S.
TerraFixing signs $7.3 million commercial DAC agreement [carbon herald]
- TerraFixing Inc, which develops very cold climate direct air carbon capture technology, has announced a commercial agreement for 10 million Canadian dollars ($7.34 million) to develop two carbon capture units for deployment in the Canadian Far North. The company plans to deploy a 1,000 tonne a year model in Fermont Quebec, and use the funding to deploy 4,000 tonne models in the future.
DOE will fund R&D for carbon capture removal and conversion technologies. [carbon herald]
- The DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has announced the intent to issue funding to support R&D for carbon management technologies. The funding will be available to facilities that are testing new methods of capturing carbon dioxide from point sources, or removing and converting CO2 from the atmosphere.
Blue Economy ≥ $1M
Commitments and deals
Commitments
$97 million aquaculture project planned [intrafish]
- Pan Ocean Aquaculture, a Dutch firm, is developing plans for a €90 million ($97 million) offshore aquaculture project off Malta. The project plans to produce 4,000 metric tons of seriola 30 kilometers off the southeast coast.
OTAQ plans €2 million convertible loan [uk investor magazine]
- OTAQ, an aquaculture technology developer, has announced plans to raise € 2 million from a convertible loan issue. The company develops a live plankton analysis system for monitoring population and preventing toxic blooms.
Deals
Benin and AFDB launch sustainable aquaculture project with $41 million [devdiscourse]
- Benin and African Development Bank have launched the Project to Promote Sustainable Aquaculture and the Competitiveness of Fisheries Value Chains with an initial investment of $24.6 billion West CFA Francs ($41 million). The initiative focuses on promoting competitive and resilient fish farming, and sustaining commercial value chains through the modernization and support of aquaculture businesses.
Denmark allocates $16.4 million for blue economy projects [seafoodsource]
- Denmark has invested DKK 112.8 million ($16.4 million) to a fund supporting fishing and aquaculture industries, with applications open to receive funding, co-financed by funds from the European Marine, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund. Applicants for the funding must prove they can help Denmark reach its 70% CO2 reduction goal by 2030.
Kenya invests $7.6 million in coastal, Lake Victoria blue economy [the star]
- Kenya is investing 1 billion shillings in Blue economy projects in the coastal and Lake Victoria regions. The investments were accompanied by regulations across marine and fisheries sectors to help support the disbursement of the funds and the sustainable development of the sector. 60% of the initial disbursements have been given to women-led projects.
Research and Knowledge Sharing
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Policy and Regulations
CFTC targets carbon market malpractice with new rules [reuters]
- The U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission will investigate greenwashing and misrepresentation of carbon offsets, along with new voluntary carbon credit derivative guidelines. This stepped up enforcement comes as the Biden Administration prepares new principles for high integrity voluntary carbon markets.
Philippines passes natural capital inventory law [rappler]
- The Philippines has passed the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act to establish a comprehensive system for natural capital accounting within the country. The measure will task the Philippine Statistics Authority with reviewing data generated by other agencies on the country's natural capital resources.
Small island states get favorable ruling from UN court [semafor]
- A coalition of nine small island states across the Caribbean and Pacific has received a favorable ruling from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which has ruled that carbon emissions are a form of maritime pollution, and required signatory countries to legally reduce greenhouse pollution. The judgment is not legally binding but represents another win for climate litigants.
Egypt explores $1.2 billion climate agreement with IMF [egyptian streets]
- Egypt's Ministry of Environment and the International Monetary Fund met on May 18th to create a 1.2 billion ton long term package to support the country's climate policies and projects. The financing follows a previous expanded facility from March 2024 of $8 billion.
- Brazil’s Central Bank and Bank for International Settlements have announced the fifth edition of the G20 TechSprint, which focuses on innovating new financial technologies for attracting investment to nature-based solutions, improving ESG data collection, and building open source solutions to support the SDGs. The competition is open until May 31st and will select 15 initiatives, announced in August, who will receive $5,000 to design prototypes, with winners receiving an additional $25,000.
Rhodium releases economic benefits of hydrogen hubs report [rhg]
- The Rhodium Group has released a new analysis of the economic benefits of the DOE's Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program. The analysis finds that the hubs were associated with a total of 32,9000 to 47,700 average annual jobs over the 3 year construction period, and 2,800 to 4,600 ongoing jobs to operate the hubs.
Quebec and California auction 51 million carbon units [cnw group]
- Quebec and California have held their 39th joint auction of greenhouse gas emissions units under their shared protocol. The auction was for 51,589,488 total emission units, at a minimum price of $24.04.
Finance Research and Updates
Carbon Direct Releases VCM ecological restoration report [business wire]
- Carbon Direct has released a new report on opportunities for ecological restoration in the voluntary carbon market, which provides an overview of the current role the VCM plays in climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. The report contains data on the historical makeup of the VCM, and recommendations for improving integrity and project outcome.
Over $30 billion invested in Midwest clean energy since the IRA [fastcompany]
- An analysis by E2 finds that Michigan, Indiana and Ohio have received $11.6 billion, $7.8 billion, and $7 billion, respectively, in clean energy manufacturing funding since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, placing them among the top 10 states nationwide for clean energy investment. The investments represent a potential major future industry for the rust belt, and a revival of manufacturing in an area with traditional heavy industry.
Japanese companies lead the way in TNFD adoption [responsible investor]
- Eighty-one Japanese organizations, including 25 financial institutions, have committed to adopt the recommendations of the TNFD and to publish aligned disclosures as part of their annual corporate reporting by the end of 2025,, according to the responsible investor. This greatly outstrips 18 complying FIs in Europe and 3 in North America, and comes off the work of the Japanese Business Initiative for Biodiversity, which has organized investment on biodiversity since 2008.
Sarawak carbon projects face local pushback [eco business]
- NGOs associated with indigenous organizations in Sarawak have raised concerns about a proposed carbon project by Shin Yang. The organizations raised concerns about the lack of transparency in the project and potential for uneven distribution of payments.
Insurers increase presence in voluntary carbon market [bloomberg]
- Insurers are increasingly playing a role in stabilizing the voluntary carbon offset market according to research by Bloomberg, with insurers such as Oka working with trading platforms like Cloverly to offer insured credits. This practice may eventually replace the existing "buffer pool" system of putting aside credits to cover unexpected losses.
- Research and Markets has released a new report entitled "Carbon Credit Market for Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use - A Global and Regional Analysis: Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2033". The report covers the potential expansion of the carbon credit market for nature-based solutions from $6.28 billion to $97.1 billion under the right conditions, as well as the potential hotspot areas for the implementation of projects and market architecture.
New analysis suggests CORSIA carbon credit demand could exceed supply [abatable]
- Abatable's analysis suggests that CORSIA carbon credit demand will outstrip supply by 2030, due to growing emissions within the aviation industry. The first phase of CORSIA commenced in 2024 and will continue until 2026, involving only nations, but will add in companies after 2027.
Emerging Science
More than a 3rd of the Amazon rainforest is struggling to recover from drought [the guardian]
- More than 1/3 of the Amazon is having difficulty recovering from drought according to a new study, which suggests that the ecosystem is beginning to slow down in its ability to sequester carbon. The new paper found that 37% of mature vegetation in a drought stricken area exhibited symptoms of slowing down in their recovery, a potential sign of early stages of ecosystem collapse.
Working paper released on NbS for disaster applications [reliefweb]
- The UNDRR has released a new working paper: Increasing the Application of Ecosystem-based Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction. The 16 cases were collected from submitted good practice cases in G20 countries, and cover themes including resilience building, hydrometeorological hazards, biodiversity loss, climate change, land degradation and food security.
Meta study finds carbon pricing efficacious [phys]
- A new meta study by the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change published in Nature Communications finds that pricing systems for carbon emissions reduce emissions by 5-21% during the first few years of operation. The study was based on 80 relevant studies on systems in China, the EU, Canada, the US and elsewhere, and found that carbon pricing using both taxes and trade emissions was effective at reducing emissions overall.
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