Chestnut Carbon raises $210 million for afforestation platform with new insurance structure

Chestnut Carbon has secured a $210 million facility to expand its afforestation platform, which generates carbon credits by planting trees on underutilized land. The deal includes a new insurance structure designed to protect against project risks like wildfire or drought, a common concern in nature-based carbon removal. This financing could signal growing confidence in the voluntary carbon market, especially for projects that require long-term management. The insurance component may help address buyer skepticism about permanence and reversal risk, which has limited demand for forestry credits in the past. If Chestnut can deliver verified credits at scale, it could become a test case for how afforestation projects attract institutional capital. The structure might also influence how other developers approach risk management and project finance.