ZURICH (Reuters:) Insurer Axa (NYSE:), and Unilever (NYSE 🙂 each plan to invest 100m euros in a 1 billion Euro ($1.06 Billion) regenerative agricultural fund, according to the groups.

Each company will invest 100 million euro into the fund. The companies signed an agreement to create a private equity fund called “impact”. This new fund will be used to enhance biodiversity and mitigate climate change through scaling up regenerative agriculture. Governments and businesses see it as a means to meet their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Regenerative agriculture, according to proponents, can combat climate change through the rebuilding of soil organic matter and the restoration degraded biodiversity. It also draws carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and improves the water cycle.

Pierre Abadie is Group Climate Director at Tikehau Capital. The fund also has a goal to invest 100 millions euros.

Nearly 40% of world’s land is covered by agriculture, which accounts for 17% global greenhouse gas emission, and also causes a decline in biodiversity. A 2019 National Academy of Sciences report estimates that changes to farming practices alone could reduce the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions by as high as 250,000,000 tonnes annually. This is about 4% of America’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Companies want the fund to be used to invest in companies and projects that improve soil conditions, limit water usage, and supply regeneratively-grown crops.

Investors are increasingly interested in impact investing. This requires a manager of a fund to monitor how money is meeting targets related to environmental, governance, and social metrics.

AXA’s climate arms would utilize satellite technology in order to track the fund’s impact, said the companies. Unilever will provide guidance, based on their own regenerative farming policies and works.

($1 = 0.9473 euros)