Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy investors, is putting $500 million in afforestation and reforestation projects in the US, led by Living Carbon, a San Francisco public benefit company that turns degraded land into carbon-absorbing forests.
Octopus has also invested $13 million directly in Living Carbon. These deals represent the largest institutional investment in Living Carbon to date and help Octopus move closer to its goal of investing $2 billion in US clean energy by 2030.
Octopus commits $500M to Living Carbon as Google, Meta and McKinsey sign up for the carbon credits
Living Carbon was founded in 2019 by Maddie Hall, who is also the CEO. The company has support from major investors like Temasek, Toyota, Felicis Ventures, Y Combinator, and Chris Sacca’s LowerCarbon Capital. It works only on degraded land, such as old mine sites, worn-out farmland, and areas that would not recover on their own.
Living Carbon uses satellite imagery and historical climate data to identify suitable sites, plants, and native species, and manages these projects for decades. Its work restores forests on old mine lands that have been underused, improves soil and water health, boosts biodiversity, and helps economic growth in rural communities that need support.
There is plenty of land available for this project. About 130 million acres of degraded land in the US could be reforested, an area larger than California. Octopus’s $500 million will fund projects on some of this land, with the goal of removing up to 50 million tonnes of CO₂ over 40 years. That’s about the same as New York City’s yearly greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier, Google, Meta, and McKinsey, all part of the Symbiosis Coalition, have agreed to purchase 131,240 tonnes of carbon removal over 10 years from Living Carbon’s Appalachian reforestation projects. The Symbiosis Coalition, which also includes Microsoft, Salesforce, and Bain, has committed to buying more than 20 million tonnes of nature-based carbon removal by 2030.
Other companies in this field, like Chestnut Carbon, Land Life Company, and Mombak, also work with degraded land, native species, and long-term agreements. The $500 million from Living Carbon and Octopus is a big step up in funding for this approach.
This deal comes after Octopus’s $100 million investment in Cultivo, a company that restores degraded grasslands. Octopus is quickly building a portfolio of nature-based carbon assets in the US, faster than most European investors.
