Carbon removal, reforestation, and carbon credits are becoming a larger part of institutional climate investing as Octopus Energy Generation plans to invest $500 million in U.S. forestry projects designed to pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The company said the funding will support afforestation and reforestation projects developed by California-based Living Carbon, with the potential to remove up to 50 million tons of CO2 over the next 40 years. Octopus is also investing nearly $13 million directly into Living Carbon’s operating business as demand for long-term carbon removal accelerates.
Zoisa North-Bond, chief executive of Octopus Energy Generation, called the agreement “a landmark deal for us in the US and a huge step in our mission to invest in solutions that drive the planet toward a cleaner future.”
Living Carbon’s reforestation focus
The projects will focus on degraded land such as former mining sites and exhausted farmland that would otherwise remain underused. Living Carbon uses satellite imagery and climate data to identify the best locations for restoration, aiming to turn barren land into carbon-absorbing forests while also improving biodiversity and water quality.
Living Carbon’s chief executive Maddie Hall said: “We are proud to partner with the Symbiosis Coalition, along with its members, Google, McKinsey, and Meta, to accelerate long-term carbon removal.” She added that “multi-year agreements like this provide the confidence needed to invest and scale high-quality, durable removals.”
According to the company, 1.6 million acres of abandoned mine lands across the U.S., but particularly in Central Appalachia, are degraded by poor soil quality, erosion, toxic metals, and invasive species that hinder natural regeneration. An additional roughly 30 million acres of abandoned agricultural land also present major opportunities for reforestation and restoration. Octopus Energy also says roughly 130 million acres of degraded land across the U.S. could be reforested, an area larger than California.
The massive agreement shows that decarbonization efforts by Big Tech are very much on the agenda but also shows that credit buyers and investors are becoming more selective after years of criticism around voluntary carbon markets. Rather than low-cost offsets, buyers increasingly want measurable and durable removals. Nature-based projects still face scrutiny, but institutional capital is beginning to treat them less as sustainability experiments and more as long-term infrastructure investments.
“Our support of Living Carbon reflects our belief that effective nature-based carbon removal requires both strong science and solid execution,” said Julia Strong, Executive Director of Symbiosis Coalition. “Their project stands out for its rigor and for its thoughtful and scalable approach shaped around the needs of the local communities, ecosystems, and economies in Appalachia.”
Read more: Symbiosis Members Google, Meta And McKinsey Invest In Reforestation CDR By Living Carbon
