Gemini unchecked + Gresham House:
A massive A$142 million ($98.5 million) natural capital and carbon credit deal was officially approved and announced on July 8, 2026.
The deal involves the launch of the Tasmania Natural Asset Trust (TNAT), a platform backed by a consortium of heavyweight institutional and public funds to acquire and convert Tasmania’s largest farming property.
Source doc:
CEFC and Aviva Investors invest in Tasmanian plantation forestry and natural capital platform
The CEFC, Aviva Investors and Gresham House have launched a groundbreaking $142 million project to invest in sustainable forestry plantations in Tasmania, creating local jobs and injecting significant capital into the regional economy while generating high integrity Australian Carbon Credits Units (ACCUs) and the protection of a significant Ramsar wetland.
The new Tasmania Natural Asset Trust (TNAT) platform is an afforestation and natural capital platform to be managed by Gresham House Asset Management (GHAM). It has investments from the CEFC, Aviva Investors and Gresham House Limited.
The cornerstone asset for the platform is a vast 21,745ha property in northern Tasmania Rushy Lagoon.
The pioneering project will combine commercial softwood plantations on low productive land with large-scale conservation and ecological restoration and sustainable grazing. This is expected to provide a major boost to Tasmania’s forestry industry.
The Radiata Pine trees produced by the project are expected to be processed locally by Tasmanian-based sawmills and supplied into the Australian market. This will alleviate some of Tasmania’s wood supply pressures and help divert harvesting away from native forests.
It is expected to stimulate the local economy, creating jobs for contractors, sawmill operators, field surveyors and planting crews.
In addition, sustainable agricultural activities will continue in designated areas across the property.
CEFC Head of Natural Capital, Heechung Sung said: “This critical investment converts degraded farmland into a production model that will boost the Australia’s forestry industry, create local jobs, support sustainable timber production, introduce sustainable grazing and protect the unique environment.
“It is a demonstration of the power of institutional capital to drive economic development for regional communities while also supporting decarbonisation and positive environmental outcomes. Direct benefits are expected to include:
- More than 190 new jobs over the life of the project compared to 19 jobs currently supported by the property
- Production of approximately five million tonnes of timber and 3.2 million ACCUs.
- Timber will be grown under Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and be processed by Tasmanian sawmills to help offset a critical shortage of construction timber in the Australian housing market.
Ms Sung added: “This initiative represents a long-term equity investment in nature and Australian forestry that will provide significant local employment and contractor opportunities. By utilising high-integrity Plantation Forestry and Environmental Plantings Australian Carbon Credit Unit methods, the economics support the establishment of this new large scale investment opportunity, generating commercial returns.”
Greta Talbot-Jones, Director of Natural Capital at Aviva Investors and co-Portfolio Manager of the Carbon Removal Fund, said: “This is an important project in Tasmania with the potential to create real economic benefits for the region and repair a degraded area of land through considered and sensitive afforestation. We think it will be a great example of how our investment activity can deliver long-term investment outcomes, whilst having a positive and real-world benefit on the surrounding habitat and within local communities.
“Working with the CEFC and Gresham House, alongside local land and development partners in Tasmania, gives us clear, direct reporting lines which are vitally important in helping to deliver on our financial and sustainability ambitions to create positive change and long-term value.”
Dorian van Raalte, Associate Director, Forestry and Natural Capital at Gresham House said: “TNAT is a new model for sustainable land management in Tasmania. By combining climate-positive forestry with restoration of high-value habitats, we aim to deliver durable natural capital outcomes while supporting regional jobs and skills. Our management approach prioritises safeguards, certification and transparent monitoring, including the protection of the Lower Ringarooma Ramsar site.”
Rushy Lagoon includes ecologically significant wetlands and threatened species, with part of the purchase area intersecting the internationally recognised Floodplain Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar Site.
Alongside restoration of the wetlands and conservation areas, the project design will include protective buffers and hydrology safeguards to help maintain the ecological character of the Ramsar site.
Ramsar wetland
A Ramsar wetland is a site designated under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention), an international treaty signed in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, to halt loss and conserve wetlands of global importance. Wetlands under the convention are considered rare or unique, or important for conserving biological diversity. Each wetland must meet at least one of nine criteria, such as:
- Supporting rare or endangered species.
- Maintaining regional biodiversity.
- Representing unique wetland types
In Australia, Ramsar wetlands are protected under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which requires maintaining their ecological character and implementing management plans.[1]
[1]https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/factsheet-australias-ramsar-site
About the CEFC
The CEFC is Australia’s specialist climate investor, helping cut emissions in the race towards net zero by 2050. We invest in the latest technologies to generate, store, manage and transmit clean energy. Our discounted asset finance programs help put more Australians on the path to sustainability, in their homes and on the road. CEFC capital is also backing the net zero transformation of our natural capital, infrastructure, property and resources sectors, while providing critical capital for the emerging climate tech businesses of tomorrow. With access to more than $33 billion from the Australian Government, we invest to deliver a positive return for taxpayers.
About Aviva Investors
Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of Aviva plc. The business delivers investment management solutions, services and client-driven performance to clients worldwide. Aviva Investors operates in 9 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the United Kingdom with £262 billion in assets under management as at 31 December 2025.
Other sources
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“This is an important project in Tasmania with the potential to create real economic benefits for the region and repair a degraded area of land through considered and sensitive afforestation”, commented Greta Talbot-Jones, Aviva Investors’ director of natural capital and co-portfolio manager of the Carbon Removal Fund. (Snip)
I can’t immediately find financial-flow details, timespan.
See this
Here are the limited key details of the transaction:
The Players Involved
- Gresham House: The UK’s largest forestry asset manager, who will manage the trust.
- Aviva Investors: The massive UK-based asset management arm of Aviva.
- Aviva, CEFC, Gresham House partner for $142m Australian forestry investment – Net Zero Investor
- Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC): Australia’s government-owned green bank, which is bankrolling the project with $69 million in taxpayer-backed finance.
The Property and Scale
The trust purchased Rushy Lagoon, a legendary 21,745-hectare (nearly 54,000-acre) dairy, beef, and cropping estate located in Tasmania’s far northeast. The land purchase itself is valued at well over $100 million.
The Carbon and Environmental Play
The funds plan to transition a significant portion of this massive agricultural property into a commercial pine plantation and conservation zone. Over its lifetime, the project is projected to deliver:
- 3.2 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
- 5 million tonnes of timber to supply local Tasmanian sawmills.
- Biodiversity credits under Australia’s newly established Nature Repair Market, specifically targeting the protection of the internationally recognized Lower Ringarooma River Ramsar wetland which overlaps the property.
The Local Controversy
While the federal government and the timber industry have welcomed the move as a boost to sovereign timber supply and carbon reduction, the deal has sparked intense political pushback in Tasmania. The state government and agricultural groups like TasFarmers are heavily criticizing the move, arguing that using taxpayer carbon subsidies to outbid local farmers and convert highly productive food-producing land into a monoculture timber plantation sets a worrying precedent.
