Happy Tuesday!

In today’s edition:
🌳 20Mn Tons for Nature-Based CDR

🐦 Funding to prevent birds colliding with wind turbines

💼 A whole new suite of NatureTech jobs

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🐘 Long Read (1-Min Read)

Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce Pledge 20M Tons for Nature-Based CDR Credits

What happened: Google, Microsoft, Meta and Salesforce announced the Symbiosis Coalition, with a commitment to contract 20M tons of high-quality nature-based carbon removal credits by 2030 (which should surpass $1B!). This represents the world’s largest advance market commitment (AMC) for nature-based carbon removal credits ever.

A tough few years: Public and investor trust in nature-based projects is at an all time low following multiple high-profile studies challenging the quality of nature-based projects. 

Some recent examples: A study of 26 carbon offset projects across six countries published in Science last year found few of them succeeded in stopping deforestation. A similar investigation into a leading carbon registry found that 90% of rainforest offsets turned out to be “phantom credits” that didn’t represent real-world reductions in emissions.

Part of the problem: The reason for these challenges are numerous (Take a deep dive here). One of them - Nature is incredibly complex. It’s full of interdependent ecological and economic systems. This means the climate impact of these projects can be hard to measure and verify, which in turn makes it difficult to scale these projects to their full potential.

Benefits of the Coalition:

• Signal to demand side: Create a clear market signal that quality is a top priority, and buyers are willing to pay the real cost for higher quality projects. Also, to pool demand from other large corporates.

• Enhance quality of supply: Partner with like-minded investors, NGOs and market standard setters to clarify the bar for what “good” looks like and open-source findings. This will include ensuring additionality and permanence whilst also preventing leakage.

• Increase volume of quality supply : Use tech-expertise to arm project developers with the tools to develop high-quality and transparent projects at scale and increase confidence of investors and corporates in these projects. 

• Enable co-benefits: Bring focus to projects that also demonstrate financial transparency, biodiversity benefits, and equitable remuneration for local communities

What it means for NatureTech: Tech leaders doubling down on volume and quality will see them paying increased focus on early-stage NatureTech companies that are able to support transparency and scale, particularly in biodiversity co-benefits. (Full story here)

💬 Snippets for your lift conversations

• Finance: French private equity investor Eurazeo plans to raise at least 750 million euros ($813.08 million) for an impact-focused buyout fund targeting companies helping the world operate within its ecological limits

• Finance: Seven new organisations have signed the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation to protect and restore biodiversity through finance activities. This brings 177 signatories from 27 countries, representing €22,1 trillion of assets under management.

• Finance: Australian official confirms the launch of the Australian Repair Market in 2025. A framework for the worlds first government-regulated voluntary biodiversity credit market.

• Big Business: Biopharma giant GSK and luxury fashion group Kering are among the first five companies whose nature strategies have been reviewed and accepted as part of Business for Nature’s “It’s Now for Nature” campaign

• Big business: VERBUND AG, Austria’s leading utility company, has issued a 500Mn green bond of which 10% will be dedicated to financing biodiversity projects around hydropower plants

• Funding: The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) has approved a new round of project preparation grants and set aside more than $70 million for 18 new biodiversity-focussed projects in 21 countries

• Funding: The Bezos Earth Fund announced a challenge to grant up to $100 million to advance AI-based solutions aimed at addressing nature loss.

• Research: A quarter of the world's total mangrove areas could be completely submerged within 50 years, with critically endangered ecosystems in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives expected to bear the brunt, according to new research from  the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN.

• A bit of fun: How to rewild your teenagers: a parents’ guide to reconnecting them with nature

 🎣 Deals

• Norway based, Spoor, raised $4Mn in Seed for its AI solution to help wind farms reduce collisions with birds 

• Sweden based, Nordluft Automation, raised $70k in early VC for its drone solutions for reforestation

💭 Little Bytes

📊 Stat: Over 70% of the global poor live in rural areas and depend on biodiversity for their livelihoods

📺️ Watch: Using AI in Costa Rica to protect endangered species

💬 Listen: The Relationship Between Human Civilization and the Biosphere

📆 Events

• 12 & 13 June -  Forestry & Agriculture Investment Summit - London, UK

• 25 & 26 June - Nature Tech Expo 2024 - Leeds, UK

• 26 June - The Nature Positive Hub at London Climate Action Week 2024 - London, UK

• 26 June - World Bio Markets - London, UK

• 16 July - Using Green Finance to Drive Nature’s Recovery - Online

💼 Jobs

• Lead Biodiversity Scientist @EarthAcre

• Marketing and Research roles @ Colossal Biosciences

• Engineering and Product roles @ Sylvera

• Product Manager @ Perennial

• Multiple Roles @ NatureMetrics

• Software Engineer @ Gaia