The US risks losing its competitive edge in the carbon removal (CDR) sector, as policy changes and potential cuts to subsidies create an opportunity for European countries and the UK to attract investments in the rapidly growing field, according to a report released Wednesday.

Stakeholders weighing in on a new Article 6 clean cooking carbon crediting methodology have welcomed the approach as progress for the sector, but urged several improvements, notably on flexibilities when calculating the wood-to-charcoal conversion factor and the fraction of non-renewable biomass (fNRB) rate.

China has signalled it will support Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a funding mechanism to fight deforestation, on the sidelines of the 17th BRICS summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Proposed changes to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)'s corporate climate standard could generate huge additional annual demand for removals credits, according to new modelling by carbon analysts.

The Malaysian state of Sabah on Tuesday passed a law to regulate carbon-related activities, including the recognition, registration, and ownership of carbon rights and carbon credits.

Samoa’s first national reference levels for forest-related carbon emissions and removals have undergone a technical assessment by the UNFCCC, with experts praising the Pacific island state’s transparency while urging better data consistency and precision in future updates.

Free trading training – AI-powered carbon market trading simulator CarbonSim has launched a free version aimed at under resourced governments, civil society groups, and other stakeholders. In a post on LinkedIn, its creator Josh Margolis said he would donate his time to run training sessions for CarbonSim ProBono, which has helped past participants to develop skills to manage emissions trading portfolios and develop ETSs. Developed when Margolis was at EDF, CarbonSim has been used in training workshops around the world, including Mexico, Chile, and Vietnam.

SAF boost - Japan's two major airlines, JAL and ANA, have teamed up with the Tokyo municipal government to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the country, they announced Tuesday. As part of the Fry to Fly Project, domestically produced SAF, using waste cooking oil collected by JGC Holdings in collaboration with the Tokyo government, is being supplied to scheduled passenger flights departing from Haneda Airport. In order to ensure a stable supply at home, Tokyo has also started subsidising the price difference between domestic SAF and overseas products.    

International ratings firm BeZero is set to rate its first carbon project under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme, a conference heard Tuesday.

Two Scandinavian countries have advanced bilateral Article 6 trading agreements with host countries, it was recently announced.

A guide to credible corporate climate transition plans has urged companies to provide greater detail and thought into how they use carbon credits as part of their strategies.

Explicitly linking conditional emissions reduction targets to international climate finance would position Article 6 better as a tool for mobilising investment, an emissions trading advocacy group said on Tuesday, as it released a new framework to help countries strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The power regulator of India’s western state of Gujarat on Monday ruled that renewable energy producers must share carbon credit revenues with state power utilities, regardless of whether the credits come from UN or voluntary markets.

Looking ahead - The government of Shanghai has pledged to strengthen its local ETS, and has agreed in principle to a five-year action plan for the market (2026-30), local media reported. The municipal government will continue improving the arrangements for the pilot market, explore carbon finance, as well as shift the focus towards a management system that covers both emissions intensity and total CO2 output. According to the government's proposal, around 65% of Shanghai's total emissions will be covered by emissions trading schemes by 2027.

A Paris-based firm announced Monday it has hired a new deputy CEO to drive sales and support the company's expanding portfolio of nature-based and community-based carbon removal projects.

One of Japan's largest securities firms has received government support to develop an afforestation project in Cambodia, as it seeks to create carbon credits under the bilateral Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM). 

A group of lawyers are working on establishing the legal nature of voluntary carbon credits, with a view to creating a set of principles for government use, a conference heard on Tuesday.

Steel offers a timely, real-world test case for how credible data and shared standards can protect investors and accelerate industrial decarbonisation, writes Annie Heaton, CEO of ResponsibleSteel.

The head of an Australian carbon project developer has resigned, the company announced Tuesday. 

The share of carbon credit retirements recorded under Verra has declined in the first half of the year, as emerging registries have reported fast-growing volumes in what may push the voluntary market to a record year for such transactions, while data also shows a rising number of new buyers in the market, despite the ongoing weak price environment.

Exploring CCUS - The Indian government is exploring CCUS projects in Norway in order to leverage its expertise to upgrade and expand India’s energy capabilities, DD News reported. The country is reviewing various projects in deepwater exploration, seismic oil surveys, offshore wind, and CCUS technologies as they align well with India’s energy transition agenda, Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on X. The South Asian nation is working on a national mission for CCUS, under which the government may provide financial incentives to companies adopting the technology. It has identified CCUS as “removal activities” in its list of activities eligible for trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and is also working on plans to set up pilot plants that can capture 500 tonnes of CO2 per day.

Gather the small - The Australian government is seeking feedback on including aggregated resources in its renewable energy Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS). Aggregated resources (ARs) are at the other end of the spectrum from large installations like gigawatt-scale wind farms. They are often small projects connected to batteries of less than 5 MW, or are rooftop solar, residential batteries, and smart devices that are part of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). The government is now consulting on the design of the CIS in relation to ARs, how the current eligibility and merit criteria may apply to ARs, and how these small systems can contribute to the National Electricity Market (NEM). The consultation closes Aug. 5.

Planned investment - Hong Kong-listed China Carbon Neutral Development Group (CCNG) has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing Zhonghong Lanhai, an energy arm of Chinese power giant China Huaneng Group, to work on carbon neutrality and new energy projects, according to a notice. They plan to invest around RMB 10 billion ($1.4 bln) in the relevant sectors and establish a dedicated working team to promote a digital platform for carbon management. The companies also aim to build public charging infrastructure and intelligent charging networks for electric vehicles.

New partnership - Japanese software provider SCSK Corporation has teamed up with project developer Bywill to promote decarbonisation and support the country's green transformation, the companies announced Tuesday. The alliance plans to help create and distribute environmental values such as I-RECs using a platform developed by SCSK, as well as provide CO2 visualisation services.