A global investment firm and the Australian government’s green bank have committed A$250 million ($163 mln) to an agricultural platform to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), with a major miner signed on as a foundational offtaker.

Caught - One of the worst floods in decades in the northern region of India has revealed large-scale illegal felling of forests in the Himalayan region. Viral visuals of wooden logs carried downstream by swollen rivers following flash floods and incessant rains has drawn the ire of the Supreme Court. It called the illegal felling a serious issue and said the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate change had failed in its duties, The Hindu reported. The court issued notices to various ministries and governments of the Himalayan states.

A US-based forestry company is looking to participate in the voluntary carbon markets (VCM) to capitalise on “significant growth” in demand for carbon offset, it said this week.

New listings - India-based carbon project developer Varaha and Kenya’s EcoFix have listed biochar facilities on Puro.earth carbon removal standard, according to the registry. Varaha’s site has already been issued 1,274 carbon credits for 2025. Separately, EcoFix is building a biochar plant in Nanyuki, Kenya, using croton nut husks as feedstock. The project has cleared a preliminary assessment but has yet to issue credits, with Puro estimating annual removals of 7,000 tCO2. Puro.earth recently raised €11 million in funding as it seeks to hold on to its market share.

Brazil is proposing an international effort to foster interoperability between different carbon pricing systems around the world, and has begun efforts to bring major emitters on board ahead of November's UNFCCC climate summit.

Verra has launched a public consultation on proposed revisions to its VM0016 methodology, which covers the recovery and destruction of ozone-depleting substances from products such as refrigeration systems and insulating foams.

July and August saw a 9% increase in retirements in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) compared to the same period of 2024, while issuances were down nearly 40% year-on-year, new Carbon Pulse analysis of registry data shows.

China's national emissions market saw a surge in trading volumes over the past week, with the permit price falling to the lowest level since early June amid lingering selling pressure among regulated power companies.

India is developing 20 additional offset methodologies spanning agriculture, transport, renewable energy, and waste minimisation for its Indian Carbon Market (ICM), officials told a stakeholder webinar this week.

Further collaboration - Japan's environment ministry and its Lao counterpart have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to strengthen their work on climate change, pollution control, and biodiversity. The collaboration will cover activities about their NDC targets, emissions reductions, and the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, such as the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM). The JCM between Laos and Japan has been running since 2013.    

Selected - Japan's environment ministry has decided to subsidise one more international emissions reduction project under the bilateral Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) for FY2024-26. The biogas conversion project, to be implemented in Indonesia's West Java, is expected to reduce emissions by around 17,000 tCO2e per year. In previous rounds, the ministry already selected another 17 projects for the JCM subsidy programme for the period. Japan is also looking to subsidise project proposals that can provide benefits beyond emissions reductions under JCM.    

Spring up - Several Japanese project developers have recently secured new partnerships or projects to expand their business in the domestic voluntary market. Creattura and its domestic partners have completed the registration of a J-Credit project utilising Chitose Forestry's forests in the Nanae and Shikabe regions, it said in a statement released Friday. The project is expected to generate around 25,000 J-Credits over its 8-year lifetime. Similarly, Stellar Green formed a partnership with the government of Nagano prefecture's Shiojiri city to promote low-carbon initiatives and create forest-based carbon credits. Meanwhile, Bywill concluded a collaboration agreement with Hyakujushi Bank and Kanonji Shinkin Bank to introduce solar power equipment and thereby generate J-Credits.        

Clean air partnership - Seoul-based intergovernmental organisation Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has signed a MoU with the Global Alliance for Clean Air and Climate (GACA) for their collaboration to support developing countries in the development and implementation of clean air and sustainable environmental policies, GGGI announced Friday. They will also support the facilitation of green public and private investment to scale relevant solutions and explore cooperation opportunities in Asia.

Australia's Climate Change Authority has yet to deliver its formal advice on the country's 2035 climate target, a webinar heard on Friday, as some market participants fear the country is being left behind from participating in Article 6 mechanisms.

Airliner Qantas retired over 365,000 carbon credits in Australia’s 2024 financial year, which ended June 30, 2024, with the bulk going to its voluntary carbon programme (VCP), while emissions rose over previous years.

The digital arm of Japan's Hitachi group has begun providing services to help clients create and distribute domestically issued J-Credits from forestry projects.

To legislate, or not to legislate - Australia may not necessarily legislate its 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen told the ABC. This would differ to the government's approach to legislate its 2030 NDC to reduce emissions below 43% by 2005 levels, and its net zero emissions by 2050 goal. Bowen said the matter would be discussed with his parliamentary colleagues and whether or not it was politically feasible. The government could seek the Greens party out in the Senate to legislate a target, however it is understood that they expect nothing less than a 70% emissions reduction goal by the end of the decade, and a NDC below that would be a step backwards in ambition, the public broadcaster reported.

Australia achieving a 50-70% emission reduction goal by 2035 would require some A$210-530 billion ($136-345 bln) of new investment and could increase the risk of carbon leakage, according to a report by a major business lobby published Friday.