$300M for Trees: New Forests and Oji Bet Big on Plantation Forestry with Global Fund

New Forests and Oji Holdings are putting nearly $300 million on the table with the launch of the Future Forest Innovations Fund, aiming to plant—or manage—70,000 hectares of plantation forests across Southeast Asia, North America, Latin America, and Africa. The target? 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ sequestered per year by 2030, while still keeping investors happy. With Oji already overseeing 635,000 hectares globally and New Forests bringing two decades of forest finance and sustainability chops, this is plantation forestry on an international stage. The fund promises climate impact, financial returns, and a high-tech touch, using everything from advanced genetics to geo-spatial analytics.

As these kinds of projects scale up, how are plantation forests actually seen—climate solution, economic engine, or something more complicated? What makes a plantation project feel truly restorative, rather than just efficient?

👉👉 Read more in New Forests

NatureTech’s 1,000+ Startups: A Growing Infrastructure for Reforestation and Carbon Tracking

After 18 months of research, the NatureTech crowd has dropped an open-source database of 1,000+ startups—plus the investors backing them—all working at the messy, fascinating intersection of nature, tech, and finance. The database breaks things down into four categories: Measure, Aggregate, Act, and Project Developers (yes, complete with wildlife mascots), covering everything from drone-enabled biodiversity scans to on-the-ground reforestation projects. And while the framing is playful, the implications are serious: this is the growing tech stack behind MRV, carbon credit integrity, and reforestation accountability. If you're building or funding carbon projects, this is fast becoming the map you’ll want to keep nearby.

As carbon markets and reforestation efforts expand, will this new wave of NatureTech provide the clarity and consistency needed to track real progress—or just create another fragmented layer in an already crowded space?

👉👉 Check out the Nature Tech Database

Disaster Reforestation Act Returns: A Tax Fix for Timber Lost to Natural Disasters

Senators Cassidy (R-LA) and Warnock (D-GA) have reintroduced the Disaster Reforestation Act, a bipartisan effort to support private forest landowners hit by natural disasters. The bill would amend the tax code to let landowners deduct the full pre-disaster value of timber lost to storms, fires, or other events, giving forest owners the same treatment other crop producers receive. With disasters becoming more frequent—and forests increasingly viewed as climate assets tied to carbon credits and reforestation goals—this legislation could be a key piece of financial resilience for rural economies and carbon markets alike. The bill has broad support from forestry groups nationwide and seeks to help landowners get trees back in the ground without taking a financial hit that keeps forests idle for years.

If forests are central to climate goals and carbon credit markets, should disaster recovery for landowners be built into reforestation finance? What role should public policy play in helping carbon-linked land uses bounce back after catastrophe?

👉👉 Read more from Senator Cassidy's website

Brazil Wants 12 Million Hectares Reforested—This Accelerator Is Betting Startups Can Get It Done

Brazil has committed to restoring 12 million hectares of forest by 2030, but here’s the catch: less than 1% of that has been checked off. Now, a new initiative—the Restoration ClimAccelerator, led by Quintessa with backing from Fundo Vale, Climate KIC, and a squad of other climate-savvy partners—is looking to flip the script. The program is scouting startups with tech-driven solutions to crack open bottlenecks in the productive forest restoration chain: think MRV, land tenure, carbon tracking, and even how to plant at scale without breaking the bank (or the biome). Selected teams get support, exposure to investors, and a shot at shaping the future of Brazil’s climate and restoration strategy—because reforesting 12 million hectares isn’t going to happen with vibes alone.

Can startup innovation really scale forest restoration in time for 2030? Or do we still need bigger changes—policy, finance, or something deeper in the restoration ecosystem?

👉👉 Read more in Fundo Vale

What 10+ Years of Forest Investment in the DRC Can Teach Us About Restoration, Carbon, and Community

The Forest Investment Program (FIP) in the Democratic Republic of Congo is winding down after more than a decade of work—and it’s left behind a complex legacy of reforestation, carbon finance, and community-driven land management. Backed by $60 million in early funding, FIP supported projects in agroforestry, clean energy, and sustainable charcoal, reaching over 421,000 people and unlocking up to $55 million in carbon credits tied to REDD+ performance. Alongside planting over 4,000 hectares of trees, the program introduced cookstoves, tenure reforms, and local forest concessions, aiming to balance emissions cuts with rural development.

With over 31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent reduced or avoided, the program hit more than 200% of its original mitigation targets. But as the World Bank lines up a new $300 million expansion, FIP’s biggest lesson might be this: even the most ambitious restoration strategies only stick if they’re grounded in local realities, built for scale, and backed by long-term support.

As large-scale forest finance evolves, what’s the best way to connect carbon targets with meaningful outcomes on the ground? Is it time to rethink how success is measured in reforestation?

👉👉 Read more from the World Bank

Ecosia Made €3.4M Last Month—and Sent It Straight to the Forests

Ecosia, the world’s favorite tree-planting search engine, just dropped its monthly financials—and the vibe is part startup ledger, part environmental love letter. In February, they pulled in €3.46 million, financed 3 million trees, and still didn’t cut a dividend check (because they legally can’t). A cool €877K went into planting trees across biodiversity hotspots like Kenya, Brazil, Senegal, and Mali, with another €500K tucked into their tree fund, which now sits at €16.4 million—basically a green war chest. They also spent €504K on climate projects, €197K on diversifying search, and just over €800K to keep the lights on (and the servers humming). Ecosia calls itself a not-for-profit tech company, but let’s be honest—this kind of transparency is rare, even in the nonprofit world.

If every climate project laid out their numbers like this—trees, euros, carbon—would it shift how we trust and fund reforestation? What would full transparency look like across the carbon market?

👉👉 Read more from Ecosia

Australia’s Nature Repair Market Kicks Off with First Official Method: Native Replanting Gets the Green Light

Australia’s shiny new Nature Repair Market just released its first official method, giving landholders a way to earn biodiversity cred for replanting native forest and woodland ecosystems. The voluntary market—regulated and tied to a public register—is built to funnel private investment into restoration projects with measurable ecological outcomes. Under the debut method, landowners can apply for biodiversity certificates (think: nature credits) for revegetation work on historically cleared lands, either keeping the certificates or selling them to investors. Bonus twist? Projects can stack with carbon credits, if they tick the right boxes—giving landholders a potential double win for trees and biodiversity. More methods are on the way, so this could be the start of a broader framework for making "nature-positive" pay.

With biodiversity credits now officially in the market mix, how should these stack up next to carbon credits? Will this drive meaningful investment—or just complicate the ledger?

👉👉 Read more from the Australian Government

Ghana’s $25B Climate Bet: Carbon, Reforestation, and a Whole Lot of Social Impact

Ghana just went big—$25 billion big—with the launch of the Ghana Green Guard initiative, a massive public-private partnership aiming to restore 12 million hectares of land while generating over 305 million investment-grade carbon credits. Spearheaded by CarbonPura Africa, the Environmental Protection Authority, and PSPH, the plan blends reforestation, regenerative agriculture, clean water access, and biodiversity conservation with social programs designed to empower women, farmers, and local communities.

It's a climate-meets-development moonshot that hopes to funnel $10.4 billion in revenue from carbon markets over 25 years, positioning Ghana as a serious player in the nature-based finance game. If it works, Green Guard won’t just restore degraded land—it could rewrite the playbook on carbon-backed socio-economic transformation.

Is this the scale and structure carbon markets need to actually deliver long-term climate and community wins—or is the complexity still outpacing the accountability?

👉👉 Read more from Globe Newswire

UK Launches First Nature Market Standards to Cut Greenwashing and Boost Biodiversity Investments

The UK just fired its opening shot in the race to become the green finance capital of the world, launching a new Overarching Principles Standard to bring order (and receipts) to nature markets. Designed by the British Standards Institution (BSI), this framework sets the tone for how businesses can invest in habitat restoration, flood resilience, clean water, and biodiversity—without accidentally planting monocultures or fueling the next green PR disaster.

With global markets sniffing around nature-based credits and carbon+ initiatives, this move gives investors a clearer rulebook, while helping landowners and farmers monetize ecosystem benefits without wading into murky offsets territory. Bonus: a Natural Carbon Standard is now in the works too, targeting peatlands, woodlands, and other high-carbon habitats.

Will these standards bring real accountability to nature markets—or will compliance remain more aspirational than enforceable? And how should nature-based carbon credits be verified for integrity in the UK and beyond?

👉👉 Read the UK government press release