Happy Tuesday. A surge in investments fuels a startup boom aimed at regenerative agriculture as technology and soil experience a billion-dollar synergy.

In today’s edition:
⚡️ Potential risks to nearly $350bn in global offshore wind projects
🚜 Investment in start-ups aimed at regen ag increase by 46% from 2021-23
🌳 A 5-step guide to addressing subsidies that harm the environment

🔋 Energy (1-Min Read)
Nearly $350bn of offshore wind projects at risk

What happened: New research has highlighted potential risks to nearly $350bn in global offshore wind projects in the pre-final investment decision (FID) phase. The whitepaper estimates only 9% of capacity is deemed ‘Probable’ with the remaining 51% ‘Possible’ and 40% ‘Risked’ of cancellation or delay. Two key challenges highlighted are…

So what: The financial health of offshore wing value chains is critical for sustainable growth. Coordinated actions by governments across nations, project developers, and supply chain actors will be required to de-risk the pre-FID pipeline. (Full story here).

 🚜 AgriTech (1-Min Read)
The Billion-dollar Dance of Regenerative Agriculture

What happened: $1.4bn was invested in tech start-ups helping farmers take advantage of regenerative agriculture between 2021-2023 — a 46% increase over three years. This increase comes after rising interest in regenerative agriculture from major food companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and Danone, who are incorporating “regen ag” into their sustainability plans.

What is it? Regenerative agriculture is based on the idea that as well as producing food, farming should also benefit biodiversity, water and soil quality. Regen ag can increase the amount of carbon sequestered in the soil, enabling farmers to earn carbon credits. Startups are working on tools to monitor the amount of carbon sequestered and issue carbon credits, which farmers can use to create an additional income stream. 

Positive Outlook: Investors in regen ag start-ups are bullish due to the belief that incoming regulation and sustainability targets, such as the EU’s Green Deal, which targets better biodiversity and healthier soils, will make the sector even more appealing. (Full story here).

🐘 Nature (1-Min Read)
 A guide to transforming harmful subsidies and saving biodiversity

What happened: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) released a set of guidelines enabling governments to re-design subsidies harmful to biodiversity. Subsidies can negatively impact the environment by underpricing natural resources or incentivising increased production. So, the guidelines offer a blueprint for governments to navigate a more sustainable future.

Details: Energy and agriculture are identified as the sectors accounting for the largest shares of harmful subsidies. The OECD estimates that $500 billion is currently spent supporting agricultural production across 54 countries that could harm the environment.

The bigger picture: Changing subsidies that harm biodiversity is a crucial step towards the goals of the 2022 COP15 biodiversity summit. However, these changes must be balanced with support for food production, especially as farmers face rising input costs, and demand for food is expected to rise by 50% by 2050. (Full story here).

💭 Little Bytes (1-Min Read)

💬 Quote: “During this period, we will take a hard look at the effects of LNG exports on energy costs, America’s energy security, and our environment.” President Joe Biden, as the U.S. indefinitely paused approvals for new liquefied natural gas export terminals.

📊 Stat: The EU must invest about €1.5tn a year between 2031 and 2050 to meet its mid-century target of bringing greenhouse gas emissions down to zero — European Commission 

📺️ Watch: The world's tallest wooden wind turbine starts turning

🛗 Snippets for your lift conversations (1-Min Read)

 🎣 Gone Phishing (1-Minute Read)

Three of these stories are true, one we've made up. Guess which: