• Just Climate raises $375 million from global institutional investors to scale natural climate solutions across land, water and waste sectors.
• The strategy makes a new investment in India’s AgroStar to expand climate-resilient inputs and services for more than ten million smallholder farmers.
• Backers include CalSTRS, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund, Achmea Investment Management, the Environment Agency Pension Fund and Royal Bank of Canada.
A turning point for land-based climate finance
Just Climate, the investment platform created by Generation Investment Management, has secured $375 million to expand its Natural Climate Solutions strategy, drawing commitments from pension funds, asset managers and global financial institutions seeking exposure to nature-positive growth markets. The capital positions the firm to accelerate investment in land, water and waste systems that sit at the centre of net-zero and biodiversity agendas.
The strategy is designed to scale products and services capable of transforming land use, supported by a team with backgrounds in growth equity, science, policy and impact measurement. It aims to deliver strong financial returns while prioritising climate and nature outcomes, with a focus on high-integrity models that can operate at scale.
Land use accounts for roughly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and remains the primary driver of biodiversity loss. For institutional investors, these pressures create a mix of transition risk and investment opportunity. Biological fertilisers that replace synthetic chemicals, new restoration finance models, and technologies that verify carbon, water and biodiversity outcomes have emerged as early beneficiaries of capital seeking measurable environmental impact.
Investment into India’s agricultural transition
The latest investment from the strategy is a stake in AgroStar, one of India’s leading agritech platforms. The company serves more than ten million smallholder farmers through a digital marketplace and a network of around 10,000 physical stores. Its services pair high-quality inputs — including biological alternatives to conventional fertilisers — with real-time agronomic advice, embedded credit and market-linkage tools.
The investment responds to the structural pressures shaping India’s agricultural sector. The country is the world’s second-largest food producer, yet faces rising climatic volatility, water scarcity, and degraded soils exacerbated by over-application of chemical fertilisers. Yields remain below global averages, and farmer incomes have lagged broader economic growth.
AgroStar positions itself as a solution to these constraints by improving productivity while reducing reliance on synthetic inputs. Independent surveys reviewed by Just Climate show that the company’s customers achieve higher yields with lower input costs, alongside significant reductions in fertiliser, pesticide and water use. The new funding is intended to accelerate the expansion of AgroStar’s store network and broaden its product portfolio across India’s farming regions.
Clara Barby CBE, Senior Partner at Just Climate, said: “We are proud to welcome a diverse group of partners who share our conviction that investing in the land transition is essential to building a sustainable economy. Together, we can scale solutions that deliver measurable impact for climate, biodiversity and people. With initiatives like our investment in AgroStar, we are demonstrating how nature-based solutions can drive climate-resilient growth in India and other emerging markets.”
Institutional demand for nature-focused strategies
The Natural Climate Solutions strategy has attracted commitments from a broad institutional base. Achmea Investment Management, the Environment Agency Pension Fund and Royal Bank of Canada are among its early backers. In November 2024, the strategy named the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) as its institutional anchor and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund as its corporate anchor.
Investors describe the strategy as one of the few vehicles offering scalable, high-integrity natural capital investments with clearly defined impact outcomes.
RELATED ARTICLE: Microsoft, CalSTRS Back Just Climate with $175M to Scale Natural Climate Solutions
Becky LeAnstey, Investment Manager at the Environment Agency Pension Fund, said: “Climate and nature are inextricably linked. We are excited to partner with Just Climate who not only recognise this but understand the investment opportunities that arise when you protect and enhance nature. They offer opportunities that not only work financially, but also for people and planet.”
Ralph Engelchor, Portfolio Manager for Impact Investing at Achmea Investment Management, said: “Achmea Investment Management, on behalf of its clients, is proud to become an investor in the Just Climate Natural Climate Solutions strategy. Investing in natural capital is essential to addressing the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Through this partnership, we seek to accelerate the transition to a nature-positive economy by supporting scalable, high-integrity projects that deliver measurable environmental impact alongside long-term financial value for our clients.”
Early portfolio taking shape
The AgroStar investment follows two earlier transactions announced in January 2025: NatureMetrics, a UK-based biodiversity monitoring firm using eDNA technology, and GreenLight Biosciences, a developer of next-generation biological solutions for agriculture. Together, the portfolio reflects the strategy’s focus on technologies and operating models capable of delivering quantifiable nature and climate outcomes across global value chains.
What leaders should watch
For C-suite leaders and institutional investors, the scale of this capital raise reinforces the shift of natural capital from niche theme to mainstream asset class. As regulatory frameworks put greater pressure on nature-related risk disclosure — from the TNFD to EU sustainability standards — demand for measurable, investable solutions is expected to increase.
Just Climate’s latest commitments suggest a growing consensus that land transition is central to meeting global climate and biodiversity goals. The firm is positioning itself as a conduit between institutional capital and nature-based opportunities that require scale, scientific credibility and transparent impact accounting.
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