A global think tank has proposed a variety of options to address emissions leakages in an equitable manner while avoiding perverse outcomes for developing countries. 

Greener cities - 112 cities, and 2 states and regions, were named on CDP's A list status for climate leadership, with most located in Europe and North America, the environmental non-profit wrote in a release Thursday. Last year, 15% of scored cities globally demonstrated progress in environmental transparency and climate action, with nearly 1,000 cities disclosing environmental data through CDP-ICLEI Track. The results show that "environmental transparency and action are engrained in many of the world’s urban areas and are driving sustainable decisions", CDP stated. 83% of cities are facing significant climate hazards, and two-thirds are reporting they expect these hazards to be become more frequent and intense, it said. The A list included Paris, Florence, Edinburgh City Council, Boulder, Miami, Buenos Aires, and Cape Town.

Following the recent agreement for a global carbon tax on shipping emissions, energy analysts project that the maritime industry will face biofuels supply constraints and high costs of e-fuels as it attempts to comply with the new rules.

Ghana – the frontrunner in the African carbon market landscape – will move towards the issuance of its first Article 6 credits in the next couple of weeks, an official from the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told a conference Wednesday.

Peru will include, by the end of this week, five additional methodologies from the voluntary carbon market (VCM) in its National GHG Emissions Reduction Registry (RENAMI), the country’s top climate official announced on Wednesday.

Bon Bonn - Brazil's COp30 presidency sees June's intersessional meeting in Bonn as an opportunity to restore confidence in climate negotiations, accelerate action, and instil a sense of urgency, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The presidency plans to hold at least 12 events over the 10 days, and play an prominent role in plenary and negotiating sessions. It will follow three pillars of work during the SB62 meeting, it said: strengthening multilateralism and the UNFCCC regime, connecting climate decisions to real world lives, and accelerating implementation of the Paris Agreement. Brazil is also proposing a "Day Zero" of informal talks among heads of delegations, before the first day on June 16.

A blockchain-based carbon metadata project has released a new version of its model, which is now available for public consultation.

2C warming – Global warming is expected to grow closer to the 2C average threshold over the coming five years, with a temporary breach potentially occurring in the near term, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Annual temperatures in 2025-29 are expected to be 1.2C and 1.9C higher than the 1850-1900 average, the WMO said, with the five-year mean likely to exceed 1.5C. Likely consequences of this include a fall in crop yields, and exposure to extreme heat for more than a third of the world’s population. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2C, and ideally to 1.5C, by mid-century.

Portugal's carbon colonisation – Portugal wants to source carbon credits from its former colonies to meet its climate goals, the country’s environment minister has said. Graca Carvalho said Lisbon should be able to claim credits for emission reduction projects in its former colonies of Cabo Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, even if those credits are not yet formally approved under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which creates a global carbon market. (E&E News)

A German court has dismissed a landmark climate lawsuit brought by a Peruvian farmer against energy giant RWE, but an important precedent may have been set where big emitters can be held liable for the impact of their greenhouse gas emissions.

A Malaysian asset management company has partnered with developer South Pole to develop carbon credits across Southeast Asia.

Reaching global net zero emissions remains possible, but only if governments accelerate policy reforms, ramp up clean energy investment, and better align public finance with climate goals, according to research published Monday.

Geothermal energy is racing up the leaderboard for innovation to become a contender as the next technology to transform the energy sector, although oil majors may slow progress after many cut spending on low-carbon projects, analysts have said.

A clean cooking funding initiative in Africa plans to expand its reach and will select the first companies  through a second funding round by the end of June, with carbon finance also helping to fund its work.

Revised methodologies under the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) framework still lack integrity, market experts said on Wednesday, arguing that those being developed under the Article 6 Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) look likely to be better.

Active private sector projects financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have avoided 23.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually as of the end of 2024, according to an internal review of its activities.

Missed the boat – The IMO’s draft framework for net zero emissions in shipping will lead to a significantly lower carbon price than what is needed to decarbonise the sector, said University College London Energy Institute professor Tristan Smith in an interview with RNZ. Smith said the proposal – which will see ship operators pay a fee for missing their fuel intensity targets – leads to a de facto price of around $15 per tonne, far below the $100-150/t that he said is needed. Smith added that Pacific Island nations were left wanting by the final deal, as they had pushed for a tougher programme with higher costs, of around $150/t. Nonetheless, Smith said the framework was significant and the world’s first global carbon price.

Peer pressure – Officials warned New Zealand climate minister Simon Watts last year to expect scrutiny from other governments of a huge shortfall in its plans to meet its NDC. Government documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act showed that Watts was warned last year about the lack of plans to meet the 84 mln shortfall in the country’s plan, due to its failure to commit to buying units from overseas via Article 6. The officials also highlighted to the minister cabinet decisions to use overseas credits dating back to 2015 – the year the Paris Agreement was signed, for which New Zealand was a key proponent of the inclusion of market mechanisms and international collaboration. Opposition climate spokesperson Megan Woods told Carbon Pulse in December that the winding back of policies to address gross emissions in the government’s second emissions reduction plan, released the same month, means it would have to rely more on overseas credits. Last week, non-profit Lawyers for Climate Action NZ said the government’s 2025 budget shows it is not serious about meeting its NDC, as no funding had been allocated to purchasing units to cover its shortfall.