By Ryan Dezember

Manulife Investment Management, one of the country's largest timberland owners, said it has raised a $480.1 million fund to buy forest properties for carbon sequestration.

The fund, for which Manulife began soliciting investors in 2022, has already acquired about 150,000 acres of timberland. The purchases include a forest that straddles the Washington-Oregon line in the eastern part of those states, another on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and most recently a package of timberland spread over parts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Manulife sold some of the western property to Oregon for conservation and plans to produce carbon offsets on the other tracts.

Manulife said those properties will be managed to maximize how much carbon is accumulated. Logging less and allowing trees to absorb carbon as they grow is rewarded with offsets, which companies buy to make up for their emissions of greenhouse gases.

Some companies have backed away from carbon markets in recent years amid criticism that offsets enable firms to pay a relatively small amount to avoid reducing emissions, and that certain carbon projects have been singled out for not actually resulting in any fewer trees being cut down.

Timberland managers say, however, that enthusiasm remains for carbon offsets generated on U.S. properties by well known landowners.

"Investors are showing confidence in forests as a top natural climate solution," said Eric Cooperstrom, Manulife's managing director of impact investing and natural climate solutions. "With the interest we have seen in the fund, we will continue to pursue natural climate solutions to drive new opportunities for impact and results for our clients."

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January 28, 2025 15:18 ET (20:18 GMT)

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