Carbon

The Canadian Pension has entered the voluntary market at an important stage in its development and wants to invest in decades long carbon-capture projects.

Chief executive of Nuveen’s new business unit says the firm does not want to be ‘one trick carbon-only pony’ as the global need for sustainable natural asset stewardship increases.

Myriad concerns mean ‘uncomfortable’ players are offering carbon markets while harboring doubts because they don’t want to lose ground to competitors or miss out on business.

With over $1bn to the asset class confirmed between July and August and roughly $1bn spent in acquisitions, GPs are converting interest into commitments.

The British fund manager was recently confirmed as the manager for AXA IM’s $700m Australian timber property and plans to launch a further three funds this year.

The asset will be managed to pursue an impact-first approach and should be able to deliver competitive returns, says chief sustainability officer Brian Kernohan.

Choosing to participate in a project that will increase productivity, fight climate change and deliver a return to investors is ‘a no-brainer’, says FarmTogether CEO Artem Milinchuk.

Goldman Sachs MD John Goldstein says pension funds, asset managers and sovereign wealth funds have expressed interest in The Restore Fund, a vehicle exploring the carbon sequestration potential of forest restoration.

The C$204.5bn pension’s facility is secured by Flagship Pioneering-backed Indigo’s intellectual property and could be a first of its kind.

Several of the most talked-about topics feature in the five most popular stories from the first quarter of 2021.