Dear Leafer,

Spring is springing - buds are budding, trees are leafing and, with the IRA and BIL funding flows clicking into place, the future has never looked greener for the US. 

Or should that be cleaner? Because within this once-in-a-lifetime climate finance flow, nature risks being left out in the cold. 

The historic $27B Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) allocations announced in April has limited application for nature - even if there are low-hanging sequestration and energy efficiency strategies in exactly the same target communities. And yet, even a 1% spillover from GGRF would still be larger than the total funding flowing through the USFS Forest Landowner Support and the NbS allocation of last year’s Climate Smart Commodities grants. 

We are firm believers in more is more - that is, we are excited to see the catalytic impact of this funding on the clean energy and energy efficiency landscape, particularly in underserved communities throughout the country. At the same time, we know we have a growing investment shortfall in the conservation and restoration economy. We urgently need to ramp up funding volumes for nature to match the ambition we are seeing for clean infrastructure and integrate a market-facing approach that leverages grant funding to build long-term, scaled flows of private capital.

So while we push for IRA 2.0/GGRF 2.0 for nature and land use, we’ve been hard at work building a Nature Development Finance Institution (NDFI) that makes the case for how the CDFI model can be tailored to implement the next generation of NbS projects. 

Here are some highlights from the past few months. We’d love to share, connect and learn as we go – please get in touch. 

Harry, Greg, and Mike

Activities

• Investment Analysis and Research: Coming off of a successful private capital roundtable at the Rockefeller Foundation on 1st March, we’re doubling down on our work to map the sustainable land use investment landscape and potential so that decision-makers are better able to prioritize NbS strategies.
• Supply Chain Investment: We’re actively raising our Forest Inputs Resilience Fund to deploy flexible capital to seedling nurseries and related businesses that underpin the US restoration value chain - and we have a compelling $50M+ pipeline of deal flow spanning 15 states.
• Conservation Assessment: We’ve added another pillar to our advisory toolbox, leading baseline assessment analyses for properties with high conservation value in CA for a local Land Trust. As we continue to build out a robust suite of services, let us know where else we can help.
• Project Development: We’ve been quietly working on a financing mechanism for small acreage land stewards, demonstrating high-value conservation and access to carbon markets for underserved markets. Thanks to the generous support of the Bella Vista Foundation, we’ve now raised funds for the first - a blue oak woodland restoration project in Northern California. We’ll be kicking off site prep and landowner technical assistance efforts at the end of May.

Activities

• We’ve been crisscrossing the country meeting with stakeholders, strategizing with partners and speaking at industry events
  • In March, we spent a week in Missouri (St Louis > Ozarks > Jefferson City > Columbia) meeting with potential project partners and digging into the on-the-ground restoration financing needs.
  • Kunsang represented us at the SUMASA Sustainability Symposium with highlights including a deep dive discussion on pioneering the circular economy from supply chain and investment leaders.
  • In April, Greg spoke on an Impact Investing panel during the Ignite Summit at Columbia, talking about the need for impact-first capital focused on nature.
  • Mike participated in a fireside chat to discuss best practices in sustainable investing and the future of nature-based investments at GAIM Alternative Investing Conference.
  • Harry presented our NDFI strategy and Nursery Fund at the Conservation Finance Network roundtable in Durham, North Carolina.
  • Harry also presented on seedling supply challenges on a panel at the Environmental Markets Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

  • Mike’s session from last year’s SOCAP was released here: Catalyzing Investments in Nature-Based Solutions: Moving From Niche to Mainstream.

Team

• Harry and Greg wrapped up an exhausting and exhilarating first year teaching as part of SIPA’s Sustainable Investing Research Initiative with a great crop of students, including a fantastic capstone team analyzing rural SME financing under the sage tutelage of Ralph Schmidt - many thanks for their input.
• While all this was going on, Erica found time to marry her longtime partner in Mexico City, MX - Congratulations Erica! 

Asks

• We’re continuing our travel schedule - in Nashville, TN, St. Louis, MO, Atlanta, GA, Nebraska City, NE, and Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks. If you’re there, give us a shout. If there are other events we should take note of - let us know.
• If you are looking for interns or academic research support this summer or fall, we have a cohort of ambitious students raring to go and would love to make connections. 
  

Until next time!

-Team New Leaf Climate