Global asset manager Aviva Investors has launched the Carbon Removal Fund (CRF) to provide institutional investors with access to carbon-removal solutions that deliver strong financial returns. The CRF will target investments in nature-based and engineered carbon removal solutions generating high-integrity carbon removal credits as part of a blended portfolio. It will invest in afforestation and restoration projects across peatlands and mangroves, as well as commercial forestry, venture capital and private equity-backed nature tech, and alternative carbon removal companies. The fund will prioritise co-benefits, such as biodiversity enhancement, improved water quality and employment. “Investors have been consistent in calling for investment strategies that can deliver long-term performance whilst also helping them to align with net zero ambitions,” said Daniel McHugh, Chief Investment Officer at Aviva Investors. “This is a fund designed for investors with ambitious decarbonisation pathways in place and who are looking for ways to hedge against exposure to carbon pricing.” Categorised as Article 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, the fund has been seeded with an initial commitment from Aviva’s investment, wealth and retirement business. “Through CRF, we will be able to work directly with conservation groups, NGOs, specialist land managers and development partners,” said Greta Talbot-Jones, Co-portfolio Manager and Director of Natural Capital at Aviva Investors. “That is a vitally important element of this strategy as it should provide clearer, more direct and less diluted reporting lines from the projects we fund on how investment capital is being deployed, which activities that funding is supporting and where, and the impact it is having in terms of real-world outcomes.”
