Insider Briefs
- Just Climate has secured $175 million to accelerate investments in natural climate solutions, with anchor support from CalSTRS and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund.
- The funding aims to transform land use for global net-zero and biodiversity goals by scaling businesses that develop biological fertilizers, land restoration models, and verification technologies for carbon and biodiversity outcomes.
- The initiative’s first investment led the Series B round for UK-based NatureMetrics, a biodiversity monitoring firm using environmental DNA (eDNA) technology to improve nature impact assessments and reporting.
Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund is anchoring $175 million in funding for Al Gore’s Just Climate to accelerate investment in natural climate solutions by focusing on scaling climate solutions in high-emission sectors. It’s global investment strategy is to target innovations that transform agricultural practices, restore degraded landscapes, and develop technologies to monitor and verify carbon and biodiversity impacts, according to Just Climate.
Just Climate’s Natural Climate Solutions strategy focuses on scaling businesses that align financial returns with climate impact, supporting entrepreneurs with growth capital and operational expertise. The California State Teachers’ Retirement Systems (CalSTRS) is also partnering with Just Climate as the institutional anchor for the investments.
“The climate crisis is accelerating and forcing an energy and land transition, which will succeed if it is a just transition,” Clara Barby CBE, Senior Partner of Just Climate, said in a statement. “Climate-led investing is the practice of scaling solutions that can best enable this transition and is fast becoming a capital allocation imperative for investors around the world — as exemplified by our anchor partners.
Barby went on to add that the firm, established by Gore’s Generation Investment Management, with the proper growth capital and business-building support, “the picks and shovels that will enable the land transition have the potential to scale rapidly and generate attractive financial returns through highest positive climate impact.”
“Achieving our ambition of being carbon negative by 2030 requires both reducing emissions and scaling high-quality carbon removals,” said Erika Basham, Director at Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. “Our work with Just Climate and participation in the Just Climate Nature Alliance reflect our commitment to advancing nature-based solutions that drive high-integrity carbon removals, build resilient supply chains and protect biodiversity.”
A major part of this strategy includes its first investment in January in NatureMetrics, a UK-based biodiversity monitoring company that uses environmental DNA (eDNA) technology. NatureMetrics has worked with over 600 clients in 110 countries, and the investment will help scale its nature intelligence platform and expand its AI capabilities to enhance biodiversity reporting.
Eduardo Mufarej, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Just Climate, emphasized the urgency of transforming food systems and ecosystem restoration, predicting that the land transition will be as significant as the energy transition in the coming years. CalSTRS’ Investment Director Kirsty Jenkinson highlighted that the partnership aligns with their mission to support sustainable economic growth while ensuring strong financial returns for members.
