Climate Investing Isn’t Just an Impact Story, it’s Both Business & Impact
At BlueGreen Ventures, we firmly believe this when it comes to building sustainable business models in this space. No wonder we’re thrilled about the recent news on Varaha - a folio co for the GPs since 2022.
Back then, carbon removal in Asia was long on intent and short on delivery. Biochar was debated. Nature-based credits were discussed. But durable carbon removal made up <5% of global supply, even as enterprise buyers were already committing over 50% of forward purchases to it. What mattered to us was whether this could scale into a real business.
Momentum Compounds
Before the latest news, Varaha had already earned the trust of Google, validating that high-integrity, long-duration carbon removal could originate from Asia. Last week, that trajectory accelerated. Varaha signed a landmark carbon removal offtake with Microsoft, marking Microsoft’s first biochar carbon removal purchase in Asia.
The Scorecard
- 100,000+ tonnes of biochar-based carbon removal contracted (next 3 years).
- 2+ million tonnes of CO₂ to be removed over project lifetime.
- 18 industrial reactors across India’s cotton belt.
- 15-year operating life per reactor.
- Thousands of farmers integrated into a formal biomass supply chain.
- Cotton stalk waste, earlier burned, now monetised at scale.
- Meaningful PM2.5 emissions avoided via reduced open-field burning.
This isn’t a pilot. It’s contracted, long-duration infrastructure.
Why This Matters
Globally, projected demand for durable carbon removal by 2030 is 200–400 Mt/year, while committed supply remains below 10 Mt/year - a structural gap1. Over 70% of contracted CDR supply today comes from North America and Europe, despite Asia holding a disproportionate share of biomass and land potential2.
Varaha is now among a small group globally proving that enterprise buyers, defensible unit economics, and permanent carbon removal (1,000+ year permanence) can originate from Asia.
