Alexandria Venture Investments has made a commitment for more than $100 million (£74m) for innovative technologies that help mitigate the effects of climate change.

The venture capital platform of Alexandria Real Estate Equities has already been investing in innovative climate technology companies for more than a decade as part of its strategic investments in disruptive companies that are developing transformative technologies and platforms.

It is increasingly focusing on investment across “impactful areas”, including agrifood tech, the decarbonisation of construction and the built environment and sustainable manufacturing solutions, such as nature-based substitutes and synthetic biology production techniques.

Joel S. Marcus, Executive Chairman and Founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Founder and Head of Alexandria Venture Investments said: “With our first investment in the climate innovation sector in 2009, Alexandria has long recognised the immense potential of this important sector to transform the way we manage our climate-driven environment, secure a sustainable food supply chain, mitigate exposure to environmental hazards, advance human health and improve quality of life.

“Society stands at a pivotal moment, as the effects of climate change continue to cause more frequent extreme weather events and increase the risk of coastal flooding, putting lives and properties at risk as well as increasing the viability and spread of vector-borne diseases. Several countries are substantially and disproportionately contaminating our planet with unnecessary carbon emissions.

“According to a recent McKinsey report, annual clean energy investment would need to triple to more than $6 trillion (£4.5tn) in order to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Driven by this mission-critical and time-sensitive imperative, climate innovation has become a significant component of our Alexandria Venture Investments strategy.”