The companies burning the most electricity are buying carbon credits from genetically engineered trees
May 1, 2026 - 8:14 am
Summary:
Octopus Energy Generation has committed $500 million to Living Carbon, a biotech startup that plants trees on degraded land to remove CO₂. This aims to sequester 50 million tonnes over 40 years. Google, Meta, and McKinsey have purchased 131,240 tonnes of carbon credits from Living Carbon's Appalachian projects through the Symbiosis Coalition.
Full Text:
Octopus Energy Generation has committed $500 million to Living Carbon, a San Francisco biotech company that plants trees on degraded land to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The deal, announced on 30 April, will fund reforestation projects across North America with the goal of removing up to 50 million tonnes of CO₂ over 40 years. Octopus has also invested $13 million directly in Living Carbon’s carbon business.
Separately, Google, Meta, and McKinsey, all members of the Symbiosis Coalition, have signed agreements to purchase 131,240 tonnes of carbon removal over ten years from Living Carbon’s Appalachian reforestation projects, which plant native hardwood and pine on former mine sites and degraded agricultural land.
While the focus is on a $500 million bet on planting trees, a key subtext is that these technology companies are significant contributors to global electricity consumption, with data centers generating as much carbon emissions as the global airline industry.
Living Carbon, founded in 2019 by Maddie Hall and Patrick Mellor, restores land that would not recover on its own. They genetically engineer hybrid poplar trees with enhanced photosynthesis to grow faster. While genetically engineered trees make up only 5% of their total plantings, the company has attracted both investment and criticism over these practices.
The US Department of Agriculture determined that Living Carbon’s trees did not require regulation as genetically modified organisms, allowing for commercial planting.
The $21 million Series A round was backed by Lowercarbon Capital, Temasek, Toyota, and Felicis Ventures, enabling the company to plant millions of trees annually. The Octopus deal represents a significant scaling up.