Mercuria has announced the launch of its new investment platform Silvania. This platform will exclusively invest in natural climate solutions globally to support the delivery of the Paris Agreement goals and the UN 30×30 initiative, which aims to protect 30 percent of Earth’s land and ocean area by 2030. Silvania will have a capital commitment of $500M from a combination of Mercuria Energy Trading and its founding partners.
By pledging more than 50 percent of investments toward renewables and transitional energy by 2025, Mercuria established itself as a leader in the energy transition. Mercuria has also committed to compensating for its scope 1 and 2 emissions from 2022. Mercuria adopted all 17 sustainable development goals in 2019, making the UN’s Agenda 2030 goals an integral part of its business operations.
By investing capital across the value chain and providing technical and financial support in a variety of initiatives and platforms across several different geographies, the investments will produce real benefits for the environment, biodiversity, and society. The investments are anticipated to produce high-quality carbon credits as well as side benefits from decreasing or sequestering emissions or boosting biodiversity from Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU).
“Launching Silvania is consistent with Mercuria’s purpose to connect markets and advance the energy transition and its ambition to help the world achieve Net Zero,” said Marco Dunand, Mercuria’s chief executive officer. “Silvania will bring local environmental and social benefits through its projects while delivering positive global climate change impacts and biodiversity benefits overall.”
Several governments and public and private businesses have vowed to attain Net Zero by 2050 following the Paris Agreement. When emissions are reduced and the use of low- and zero-carbon energy solutions are scaled up, carbon credits will be necessary to reach net zero. Any credits produced by the silvania’s investments are expected to be used for compliance, voluntary carbon markets, or Mercuria’s demand for offsets.
Nature-based solutions are a crucial element of the efforts to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals on climate change and underpin many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. However, according to a 2021 UN and World Economic Forum report, annual investment in nature-based solutions falls far short of the more than US$500 billion required annually by 2050.
To target avoided emissions, removals, and biodiversity benefits, investments will be across a range of nature-based solution categories, including direct land purchases to manage existing forests, reforestation and restoration projects, and equity investments in project development and operating companies. Additionally, it will use Mercuria’s advanced technology and remote sensing capabilities to enable project identification, monitoring, reporting, and verification.
“This initiative will act as a catalyst to drive large-scale investment in nature by funding a variety of project types. Achieving the large-scale restoration and conservation outcomes we aim to target requires capital and expertise, which we are perfectly positioned to provide,” said Marco Dunand.
Amongst the activities targeted initially, Silvania will invest in
- Innovative carbon sequestration projects with small private landowners and restoration of degraded peatlands in North America,
- Sustainable forest management, restoration of forests and degraded mangrove ecosystems in Latin America,
- Reduction of methane emissions from agriculture avoided deforestation and peatland conservation across Africa and Asia,
- Forest restoration and conservation programs in Australia and New Zealand, and
- Support of large-scale programs to stop deforestation through jurisdictional REDD programs globally.
Image provided by Jeswin Thomas
