As COP30 \u2013 the UN climate change conference in Brazil \u2013 unfolded, it looked less likely by the day that Australia would emerge victorious in its bid to host COP31.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s eventual concession to Turkey came as a disappointment to some investors hoping that proximity would help to channel capital into the Australian agriculture sector and spread awareness of the plight of its climate-change-prone Pacific Island neighbors.<\/p>\n
Geoffrey Seeto, head of emerging markets at investment manager New Forests<\/a>, hoped that COP31 would come to Australia with Pacific Island nations involved as co-hosts.<\/p>\n New Forests would have used the opportunity to showcase its first investment in the Solomon Islands<\/a>, a 75 percent stake in local forestry company Kolombangara Forest Products, as one of the region\u2019s \u201csuccesses\u201d, Seeto said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has always been a very neglected part of the world, for the rest of the world,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you can prove out a concept or a model in there, then potentially we could build scale.\u201d<\/p>\n Heechung Sung, head of natural capital at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation<\/a>, agreed that conferences like COP can create an \u201cefficient\u201d environment to connect capital to investment opportunities.<\/p>\n However, Sung said the location of next year\u2019s summit is not so important as its agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it makes a huge difference where COP is held,\u201d she told Agri Investor from the corridors of COP30.<\/p>\n \u201cConversation, whether it\u2019s [around] mitigation or adaptation, has to continue leading up to COP and then post-COP. The actions and the outcomes that we need live before and beyond COP.\u201d<\/p>\n Sung said many Pacific Island nations had a strong representation in Bel\u00e9m, and that these nations \u2013 like Australia \u2013 can still impact next year\u2019s agenda despite their distance from host city Antalya.<\/p>\n Indeed, while Turkey will host COP31, Australia will take responsibility for the negotiations<\/a>, with minister for climate change and energy Chris Bowen acting as president of negotiations.<\/p>\n A Pacific Island nation, yet to be determined, will also host a pre-COP meeting.<\/p>\n Ecosystem economics<\/p>\n Sung described her experience at the summit as an \u201ceye-opener\u201d in terms of the amount of work needed to meet global climate ambitions.<\/p>\n The text adopted at the end of COP30 included a rallying call for at least $1.3 trillion towards climate action<\/a> each year by 2035.<\/p>\n Nature-based solutions \u2013 ways to protect, manage or restore ecosystems \u2013 are emerging as one tool to combat the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n Sung said while many nature-based solutions were on show at the summit \u2013 most prominent among these being a Brazil-led rainforest fund that has so far raised $5.5 billion against a $125 billion target \u2013 natural capital as an asset class remains in its infancy.<\/p>\n The CEFC has been a leader in this space in Australia, most notably through its partnerships with Canadian public pension investment manager La Caisse<\/a> and farmland manager Gunn Agri Partners<\/a>.<\/p>\n The trio\u2019s A$250 million ($163 million; \u20ac140 million) Meldora platform<\/a> blends agricultural operations with environmental plantings to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units, for which a long-term offtake agreement<\/a> is in place with mining group Rio Tinto.<\/p>\n Sung said the platform\u2019s \u201cinfrastructure-like\u201d cashflows gave La Caisse the confidence to support it, and described its combination of farming assets, decarbonization opportunities and environmental monetization methods, as unique.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one else is doing that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel confident in saying that, having spent the last week here talking to lots of different people who are so surprised we\u2019re able to do those types of transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n Sung expected the offtake agreement with Rio Tinto to generate strong interest from global investors but said even Australian institutions need more education around the intricacies of the ACCU market.<\/p>\n Looking forward, she said the CEFC could look to expand its use of different ACCU methodologies involving the restoration of coastal and inland waterways.<\/p>\n \u201cWalking the massive facility \u2013 it\u2019s a very large conference area and it\u2019s very hot and steamy \u2013 there is a renewed focus on waterways and oceans as a source of climate solutions,\u201d Sung said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is an area I\u2019d be really keen to bring home and progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Market movements<\/p>\n Carbon markets were also an area of interest for New Forests\u2019 Seeto, who wanted to see COP30 produce more clarity around the use of natural climate solutions in Article 6.4 of the 2015 Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n