Brazilian officials played down US President Donald Trump’s latest dismissal of climate action at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), stressing that the Paris accord remains strong as preparations accelerate for the global climate summit in Belem in November.

Pacific Island nations have launched a global fundraising drive at the 80th UN General Assembly (UNGA80) to fund a regionally-run climate resilience fund, securing more than $160 million in initial pledges from donor governments.

A new alliance of academic institutions, private sector innovators, and non-profits has unveiled the VCM+ Coalition at Climate Week NYC, which aims to to reduce or remove 5 billion cumulative tonnes of CO2 over the next decade.

The EU and Indonesia signed a free trade agreement this week allowing duty-free palm oil exports to bloc, stirring fears among environmentalists that deforestation has dropped from EU leaders' agendas.

China's national emissions market over the past week fell below the RMB 60 ($8.41) mark for the first time since July 2023, with analysts expecting the price to dip further in the coming months with a glut of allowances in the market.

BP sees global oil demand peaking in 2030 and then easing slowly out to 2050 to leave the world missing its Paris Agreement target, though the report will likely have been produced before China announced a pledge to cut emissions up to 10% by 2035.

Waste biomass potential – Waste biomass pellets could boost energy security and cut emissions by providing a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, found a recent report by Malaysia-based researchers published in ScienceDirect. However, while demand in Europe and Asia already exceeds production, feedstock variability, supply chain issues, and policy gaps hinder growth, the study said.

One of South Korea’s major state-owned power companies has teamed up with a project developer to explore opportunities in international carbon markets.

The NZU price drifted down this week but regained ground on Friday as sellers are slowly coming back into the market, according to traders.

Australian environment and clean energy groups have raised concerns that the government’s environmental law reforms are not reflecting the need to massively scale up carbon removal and renewable energy, as outlined in its sectoral decarbonisation plans.

Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator expects nearly all  carbon credit supply to be sourced from existing and developing projects between now and 2030, as the market waits on finalised methods to see new projects established.

Disappointing - EU's climate chief said China's 2035 NDC "falls well short" and will make it harder to reach global targets to slow climate change, Reuters reported. "We will continue to push China (and others) to go beyond the current level of ambition, and respect our joint commitments under the Paris Agreement," EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said. Chinese President Xi Jinping this week said that by 2035, his country would cut GHG emissions by 7%-10% from their peak, a target experts consider underwhelming.

Carbon capture pilot - Japan's OOYOO Co. and Otsuka Chemical have begun a demonstration project to capture CO₂ from gas boilers at a plant in Tokushima. The initiative will use a high-performance separation membrane module developed by OOYOO to capture CO₂ from gas boiler exhaust gas. The companies said they aim to establish a new model for CO₂ reduction and recycling in the manufacturing industry.  

Milestone - US-based Aircapture has launched its first commercial direct air capture (DAC) facility in Japan, making its entry into the Japanese market. The company said its modular DAC system is now installed at the Fukushima RDM Center through a partnership with Aizawa Concrete Corporation, capturing CO₂ directly from the air and turning emissions into building materials. Aircapture also has projects in development across North America, Europe, and Latin America.

Solid effort - The New South Wales state government has awarded A$2 mln ($1.3 mln) to low-carbon concrete manufacturer Solidcast, it announced. The company has developed patented precast panels that cut emissions by up to 60% compared to traditional concrete, the government said. The grant funding has been awarded through the A$480 mln Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative and will go towards expanding the company's operations.

China's newly announced 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), while introducing absolute emission reduction targets for the first time, reflects the government’s cautious approach to climate action, experts told Carbon Pulse.

Deals, deals - Australian miner Fortescue has announced Heads of Agreement (HoA) with multiple technology companies to advance its efforts to reach 'real zero' Scope 1 and 2 emissions target by 2030. The agreements will see Chinese automaker giant BYD supply it with energy storage solutions, solar developer LONGi to supply PV modules and solar technology, and wind developer Envision to supply wind turbines and integrated energy solutions. Additionally, it has signed agreements with XCMG and Liebherr to supply zero-emissions haul trucks between 2028-30, following an earlier agreement struck in April. Finally, it has expanded its stake to acquire full ownership of Spanish wind technology company Nabrawind.

The government of Peru published on Thursday a regulation operationalising the existing implementation agreement with Singapore to apply Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, establishing a framework for the authorisation and transfer of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs).