Carbon

A third of the fund’s returns will be derived from carbon credit sales marketed in New Zealand’s internal marketplace which is not open to foreign purchasers or credits.

As ag’s nascent carbon credit markets find their feet and the true quality of their respective offerings become clearer, a divergence in price points that impacts farmland values could emerge.

The start-up sold its first ag-derived carbon credits through Nori in October 2020 and has now partnered with a retailer that has sold over $500m worth of carbon offsets since 2001.

The Nuveen subsidiary is looking at ways water quality and biodiversity offset markets could be developed, as it also sizes up carbon offsets.

Direction of travel signaled by the bloc over the past few years is creating a fundraising environment beneficial to start-ups and is now backed by a sustainability conscious subsidy package.

Universally recognized authenticity checks, price points created by non-arbitrary forces and a way to reward those already farming sustainably are needed – this is a market with a lot left to prove.

Sustainability manager Nick Reinke says ag carbon credits are ‘a long way away from a free-flowing market’ and prices are ‘a bit arbitrary at this point.’

Climate change minister James Shaw says the annual reporting requirements will apply to all institutions with more than NZ$1bn in AUM.

HSBC Pollination will launch a $1bn fund that will invest in forestry and agriculture as well as a $2bn carbon credit fund that will invest in carbon abatement assets such as rain forests.

Partner Josh Katz says companies across the supply chain are increasingly focused on how agriculture will fit into future emissions regulation.