No room at the inn - Brazil is facing growing international concern over whether it can ensure affordable, adequate accommodation for delegates at COP30, the crucial UN climate summit it will host in Belem this November. At intersessional climate talks earlier this month in Bonn, Politico reports the single dominant topic among diplomats wasn’t negotiations or climate finance, but worries about whether they would even have a place to stay. Belem, on the edge of the Amazon, was chosen to showcase the rainforest’s importance in fighting climate change. But the city has never hosted an event of this scale, and hotel rooms sold out quickly at soaring prices, sparking fears that low-income countries, small island states, Indigenous representatives, civil society groups, and even some wealthier delegations will struggle to attend. Options being considered include military barracks, converted schools, rented houses, and cruise ships. Even then, diplomats may need to share rooms, despite prices that have reportedly exceeded $1,000 per night. Some European delegations said they had not booked any rooms because of the uncertainty and high cost. Panama’s climate envoy publicly warned that COP30 risks becoming “the most inaccessible COP in recent memory”. Brazil’s COP30 organisers acknowledged the problem and promised action, committing to ensuring reasonable prices and cracking down on price gouging. Brazilian officials insist there will be enough beds (over 55,000 across nearly 30,000 rooms) for the expected 50,000+ attendees, though not necessarily individual rooms. The EU and other negotiators voiced concerns about the need for privacy and rest during intense negotiations, long commuting times from accommodation to the venue, local airport capacity, and the availability of medical services. Despite these challenges, Brazil said it is listening to countries’ worries and working to address them before November. But with time running short and prices still unclear, many remain sceptical that COP30 will be truly accessible for all participants.

Burying wood waste from managed forests could remove almost 1 trillion tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere by the end of the century, according to a new study.

Google’s total greenhouse gas emissions rose by more than 6% in 2024, while the tech giant’s portfolio of contracted carbon removal credits increased 14-fold year-on-year.

VM0044 update - Verra published Friday what it called a "minor" update to the biochar methodology in its VCS Program. The standard said VM0044 Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications, v1.2 constitutes a minor revision to the previous version of the methodology. Updates included the addition of an investment analysis as a requirement to demonstrate additionality, intending to align with the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label, and references to the latest available versions of CDM and VCS tools. Verra said it continues to make progress on VM0044, which will result in version 2.0 of the methodology. The standard expects to open a public consultation on the revision by Q4 2025.

A partnership of Japanese companies has begun demonstration testing for a new technology that produces electricity, hydrogen, and CO2 simultaneously via firing of biomass and have been selected for a grant programme from research and development agency the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO).

Australia on Friday began a public consultation process for sea dumping carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), releasing draft guidance documents for domestic projects.

Prices in China's national carbon market continued their recovery for the third consecutive week, with trading volumes almost doubling from the previous week. 

Australia’s next Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) will likely create the need for faster Safeguard Mechanism baseline decline rates, potentially leading to vastly higher Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) prices, according to analysis shared exclusively with Carbon Pulse.

Reducing data centre emissions - Singapore-based AI and IoT tech company Univers has partnered with Microsoft to accelerate energy transition using advanced AI and cloud technologies, the company said in statement. Announced at the London Climate Action Week, the partnership will integrate Univers’ EnOS Ark platform with Microsoft’s AI and data capabilities to help organisations track, manage, and reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions - starting with energy-efficient data centres. As well, the initiative will aim to improve cooling efficiency, renewable energy integration, and intelligent operations within data centres worldwide.

Betting on batteries - Australia passed law Friday to ensure lower prices for home batteries, the Clean Energy Regulator announced. The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Cheaper Home Batteries Program) Regulations 2025 expands existing regulations from 2001 and confirms solar batteries are eligible under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme from Jul.1. Canberra’s A$2.3 bln ($1.5 bln) Cheaper Home Batteries Program aims to reduce the upfront costs by around 30%.

Net zero by 2060, first! - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto claimed this week his nation will be one of the first to hit net zero, despite an official target of 2060 or 10 years after most nations. According to the President’s website, he made the promise via a videolink message to the inauguration of a renewable energy development as well as an oil block expansion boosting production by 30,000 barrels per day. He said the country was in a strong position to become "one of the first countries to achieve net zero emissions on time". Separately, an Indonesian energy think tank on Friday proposed five measures the government could take if it is serious about using the renewable energy potential of Central Java to generate hundreds of gigawatts of power. The Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) suggested Jakarta develop a green investment roadmap from now to 2035, establish a green investment unit as a ‘one-stop’ for investors, launch a Green Industrial Parks initiative in strategic areas, partner with financial institutions to explore green financing, and invest in green skills training. A separate report of this week found that Indonesia’s vast upstream coal sector is so profitable miners have little incentive to change or meet the eventual energy transition.

Renewable recharge - One of Australia’s large conglomerates that owns hardware and office supply stores and a large chemical arm will fast track decarbonisation via a A$100 mln ($66 mln) funding commitment from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), it announced. The funding will be used to install distributed energy resources (DER) across operations including rooftop solar, battery storage, energy efficiency initiatives, and an electric vehicle smart charging infrastructure pilot. Wesfarmers will also conduct a study to decarbonise its chemical arm. Wesfarmers said it expects to have installed or upgraded onsite renewables at its retail outlets by the end of the year. Visitors to hardware outlet Bunnings will also be able to use onsite EV chargers.

Disappointing - Australia’s Clean Energy Council (CEC) has expressed dismay at Queensland’s parliament passing renewable energy planning reforms without amendment, it said this week. The Social Impact and Community Benefit bill will add complexity and delay approvals for new grid-scale projects, according to the NGO. It will also put investment in the Sunshine State at risk, it said, even as it welcomed the plan to better consult with communities. The CEC said renewable investors are already hesitant to continue projects, which may ultimately delay the exit of coal. Earlier this year the state paused the approvals process for several large gigawatt-scale windfarms for several months over claims they failed to properly consult with local communities.

Getting recognised - Australian analysis firm RepuTex has had its Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) price benchmark recognised as the "Default Prescribed Unit Price" (DPUP) by the Australian government, it announced Friday. The recognition sets the standard price for prescribed carbon units under the Safeguard Mechanism. The DPUP is an average of prescribed carbon unit trades for a financial year, including ACCUs and Safeguard Mechanism Credits, and provides the market with a standard benchmark for calculating the cost of managing excess emissions - linked to an audited reference price, the firm said. RepuTex said interim estimates of the DPUP will be published by the government on a quarterly basis.