Capital Note · Capital Markets & Real Assets · Capital & Finance

A 500 million dollar nature fund bet carbon credit prepayments can unlock billions more

Mercuria's Silvania Fund pledged to pay a dollar upfront for every ton of Amazon carbon credit it commits to buy, up to 100 million dollars, as the opening move in a campaign targeting 1.5 billion dollars in private capital for rainforest protection. The prepayment structure, not the headline target, is the mechanism worth understanding.

January 2025 · Latin America & Caribbean

Retrospective analysis of January 2025. Published August 2026.

Aerial view of a river winding through the Amazon rainforest

Mercuria's Silvania Fund, alongside Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, launched the Race to Belém initiative at the World Economic Forum's Davos meeting on 22 January 2025, targeting $1.5 billion in private capital for Amazon rainforest protection ahead of COP30. Silvania, a $500 million nature investment platform, structured its own contribution as an upfront payment of $1 for every ton of carbon credit it commits to purchase, capped at $100 million, effectively prepaying project developers before credits are issued rather than paying only on delivery. The campaign's stated goal is to demonstrate a private capital structure other investors can replicate, rather than simply raising Mercuria's own commitment.

The Signal

Mercuria's Silvania Fund launched the Race to Belém initiative on 22 January 2025 at Davos, targeting $1.5 billion in private Amazon protection capital, with Silvania itself committing to prepay $1 per ton of committed carbon credit purchases up to $100 million ahead of credit issuance.

Why It Matters

Carbon credit markets have historically paid on delivery, after a project has already borne the upfront capital cost of establishing and verifying a conservation or restoration program. A structure that pays a portion upfront, against a forward purchase commitment, shifts real financing risk onto the credit buyer rather than the project developer, which is a materially different instrument than a standard offtake agreement even though both get described loosely as carbon credit purchases.

Capital Implication

Prepayment structures like this are closer to project finance than commodity purchasing, buyers taking on development stage risk in exchange for presumably better credit pricing or access, a distinction that matters for how this kind of commitment should actually be underwritten and disclosed.

Development Implication

Conservation and restoration project developers in the Amazon now have a concrete reference structure to pitch other capital sources, prepayment against forward delivery, rather than only the standard pay-on-delivery offtake model that has left many projects undercapitalized at the development stage.

What We Are Watching

  • Whether the $1.5 billion target draws capital beyond Mercuria's own $100 million commitment ahead of COP30 in Belém.
  • Verified credit issuance and delivery against the prepaid commitments, the real test of whether prepayment risk was justified.
  • Whether other nature capital platforms adopt a comparable prepayment structure.
Sources reviewed
Last checked August 2026
← Back to Field Notes
Related Field Notes
Utility-scale solar plant under wide skies
Field Note · August 2026Capital Markets & Real Assets
What the EU's finalized disclosure rules mean for real asset underwriting
With the Omnibus I Directive published in February, European sustainability disclosure now has a narrower, clearer scope. That clarity is starting to show up in how real asset deals are structured.
Read →
The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan
Policy Note · November 2024Capital Markets & Real Assets
The climate finance goal tripled on paper. The harder number is 1.3 trillion
COP29's headline agreement raises the developed country finance floor to 300 billion dollars a year by 2035. The 1.3 trillion figure it points toward depends on private capital nobody has yet committed to mobilize.
Read →
High-voltage electricity transmission towers and lines
Capital Note · October 2025Capital Markets & Real Assets
The largest ever energy transition fund closed above target
Brookfield raised 20 billion dollars for its second global transition fund, beating a 17 billion dollar target and its own prior record. The scale says institutional capital still treats the transition as a distinct, investable category, not a niche.
Read →

Important Notice. Regenera Advisory provides project development, strategic consulting, capital alignment, and introductory services. Regenera is not registered as a broker dealer, investment adviser, underwriter, or placement agent and does not hold or manage client or investor funds. For general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice, an offer to sell, or a solicitation to purchase any security. Any investment opportunity referenced is offered solely by the relevant issuer or registered intermediary and remains subject to applicable law, independent due diligence, and definitive documentation. Project descriptions and figures do not represent investment performance, committed capital, or guaranteed results.