AXA IM Alts has made an equity investment in Pantheon Regeneration PBC, a new nature-based solutions company that focuses on the restoration of Pocosin peatlands through carbon credit projects.
The investment, of an undisclosed amount, will be made through AXA IM Alts’ natural capital and impact investments strategy to help scale Pantheon’s activities developing and managing peatland restoration projects. AXA IM Alts also said it will finance Pantheon’s first project, Pocosin Ecological Reserve I (PER I).
PER I aims to rewet peatlands that were historically drained on a 14,500 acre site in the Southeastern US. As well as restoring hydrological function to the peatlands, the site will be rewilded, creating space for local threatened and endangered species, the alternatives manager said.
The PER I project includes hydrological restoration and active land management, to enable peatlands to resume their role as carbon storage systems, thereby mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and significantly decreasing their wildfire vulnerability. The restoration of this vital natural capital will aim to generate high-quality verified carbon credits, AXA IM Alts added.
Alexandre Martin-Min, head of natural capital and impact investments at AXA IM Alts, said: “When pocosin peatlands are drained, natural sequestration stops and the organic material decomposes, adding around 21 tonnes of CO2 per hectare each year to the atmosphere, substantially adding to global greenhouse gas emissions.
“We are therefore excited to support Pantheon Regeneration PBC and its peatland restoration project, actively contributing to climate change mitigation, whilst restoring natural habitats. As well as generating high-quality carbon credits, Pantheon’s projects aim to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, restore natural hydrology, and provide habitat for threatened species.”
To read the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
