Feed-back sought – Verra has opened a public consultation into a third version of its methodology to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants through the use of feed ingredients (VM0041), it said in a statement on Wednesday. Globally applicable, the proposed revisions update the approach to assess project additionality, project boundaries, quantification of GHG reductions, and the monitoring requirements. It also expands guidance on applicability conditions. Verra said the changes are designed to align the methodology with the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles. According to Verra’s project registry, four projects are registered under the methodology, one of which is also undergoing verification to receive credits. A further four projects have requested registration. In total, projects at various stages of development under VM0041 could yield 15.4 mln credits annually. The consultation closes Nov. 7. The programme operator has also issued an RfP for expert review of the proposed third version of the methodology, with a deadline of Oct. 22.

PJM prices - A recent report by Bank of America's global research team has found, after two decades of declining demand in US Northeast regional transmission organisation (RTO) PJM, rising data centre-driven load demand will increase off-peak power prices at a faster rate than on-peak prices. This would be due to solar mitigating some on-peak rises and heightened demand response. Additionally, average hourly power demand in PJM will reach roughly 20 GW by 2030, while nameplate offshore wind capacity on the US East Coast will reach nearly 6 GW by 2030, according to modelling in the report. The bank's research team also said it was cautious optimistic on Northeast Appalachian natural gas prices in the future, as it expects new pipelines to enter service in 2027-2028.

Agricultural carbon projects can create a win-win situation for rural development and climate mitigation in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), but unlocking their potential requires policy support, according to a brief published this week by agriculture and carbon market groups.

The EPA has confirmed cooperation with France to halt the destruction of a US-sourced ozone depleting substance (ODS) in the EU country, an act which was intended to generate carbon credits.

Tropical trials and triumphs – During a webinar hosted by carbon removal firm Milkywire on Wednesday, speakers highlighted both the practical challenges and unique opportunities of deploying biochar and enhanced rock weathering (ERW) in tropical agriculture. Freddie Catlow, CEO of Planboo, a tropical biochar project developer, said high temperatures, travel constraints, and limited infrastructure can make project monitoring and data collection difficult. Niklas Kluger, co-founder of InPlanet, an ERW start-up, added that field logistics and verification in tropical regions remain resource-intensive. Still, both emphasised the tropics’ advantages for rapid biomass growth, abundant agricultural residues, and active farmer participation. Catlow said farmers often share results within their networks, helping scale adoption through word of mouth, while Kluger added that Brazilian farmers are especially receptive to ERW because of its soil benefits and alignment with existing agricultural practices. Both described local knowledge and trust as central to long-term project success.

Protest penalties – Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) is pushing an amendment that would broaden the definition of criminal pipeline sabotage to include actions that “disrupt” or “prevent” construction or operations, carrying penalties of up to 20 years in prison, E&E News reported. The proposal, which could be voted on during a Senate committee markup of a bipartisan pipeline safety bill, has drawn strong opposition from environmental groups which warn it could criminalise peaceful protests. Sheehy has not said whether he will formally introduce the measure.

Gulf growth – Air Liquide, a French industrial gas company, announced on Tuesday it will invest nearly $50 mln to expand and optimise its hydrogen network along the US Gulf Coast after signing long-term supply agreements with two major refiners. The investment will fund upgrades to pipeline systems and new compression and distribution equipment integrated into existing infrastructure, including in Texas. The company said the expansion is intended to boost supply capacity with minimal new construction.

Sailing off – Jeffrey Lantz, a veteran Coast Guard official and head of the US delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has stepped down amid tensions over the Trump administration’s opposition to international rules aimed at cutting shipping emissions, E&E News reported. His departure, confirmed by reports of his retirement but not by the Coast Guard due to the ongoing government shutdown, comes as Washington pressures other nations to resist new carbon reduction measures at the IMO’s upcoming Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting.

Hydrogen hub halt – US Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito expressed concern after reports that the Trump administration may cancel seven federally funded hydrogen hubs, including the $925 mln ARCH2 project in West Virginia, E&E News reported. An internal US DOE list identified hundreds of Biden-era green energy grants under review, following last week’s $7.5 bln in cancellations. Capito said she was worried about the potential loss, calling the hub’s future “a big deal” for her state.

Moving forward – The Secretariat of ART Trees on Wednesday released the documents accepted in August for Tocantins’ jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) programme, moving the Amazonian state a step closer to issuing carbon credits for 2020–24. Despite existing criticism, Tocantins said in documents it has developed a consultation plan to implement a free, prior, and informed consultation (FPIC) process, holding workshops in recent months and planning a public hearing later in October in the capital, Palmas. The state reaffirmed its benefit-sharing model: 50% of revenues to the government; 25% to Indigenous peoples, quilombolas, traditional peoples, and family farmers; and 25% to agricultural and cattle producers. Tocantins expects to issue its first J-REDD+ credits by early 2026. Last week, carbon market veteran Divaldo Jose da Costa Rezende was appointed Tocantins' secretary for the Environment and Water Resources.

Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) experts said at a conference Wednesday the proposed repeal of the GHG Reporting Program (GHGRP) by the US EPA could create challenges for developers aiming to use 45Q tax credits, but appeared split over whether or not the policy change would pose a significant risk to projects.

The durable carbon removal (CDR) market continued to surge in the third quarter, reaching towards 40 million removal credits, according to a portfolio manager.

The European Parliament appears set to sway in favour of significantly weakening the EU's sweeping corporate sustainability reporting rules, after the majority party chose to align with far-right groups rather than a centre-left coalition.

Ghana now has more than 90 carbon projects in its pipeline for Article 6 authorisation, an official from the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told the Carbon Forward Expo London 2025 conference on Wednesday. 

Two Latin American carbon market stakeholders have expressed concern over ongoing delays across the region for regulations to issue credits under CORSIA, the global aviation offsetting scheme, highlighting that it has an “outstanding possibility to lead the market”.

Panama on Wednesday launched a public consultation on a draft executive decree establishing a National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), aiming to consolidate a singular framework for the country's regulated voluntary carbon market (VCM) and activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Lower-emissions fossil fuel production, through enhanced oil recovery, should be eligible for carbon management tax credits already offered by the Canadian government, a public investment fund executive told conference attendees Wednesday.

Washington's scheduled 2025 Allowance Price Containment Reserve (APCR) sale earlier this month sold all 3.6 million allowances at a fixed price below current secondary market values amid bidding for more than four times the volume on offer, according to a notice published Wednesday.

The European Commission has decided to drag Poland to the EU Court of Justice for failing to submit its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), the EU executive announced on Wednesday.

The president of a CO2 pipeline developer that scrapped its US Midwest project last year said that the company had underestimated the level of grassroots opposition going into the project, while sharing wider lessons learned for CO2 pipeline developers.

The international CORSIA offset market is on the aviation industry’s radar, but take-off is delayed until credit supply develops and the 2028 surrender deadline approaches, the Carbon Forward Expo London 2025 conference heard on Wednesday.

The US needs to flip 15 countries in order to scupper the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) formal adoption of the Net Zero Framework (NZF) this month, the Carbon Forward Expo London conference heard on Wednesday.

Draft legislative proposals to allow sub-seabed storage of CO2 in German waters and abroad, via CO2 exports, were adopted by the German cabinet on Wednesday and will now go to the Bundestag for approval.

Winners - Three scientists from Japan, the UK, and Jordan have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering work that could aid global efforts to tackle climate change. Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi will share NOK 11 mln ($1.2 mln) for creating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) - molecular structures with large internal spaces that allow gases and chemicals to flow through. These frameworks can capture CO2, store hydrogen, harvest water from dry air, and remove pollutants from water, and are being explored for use in energy, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries. Robson developed the first crystalline molecular constructions with large cavities in 1974, inspired by a classroom exercise involving wooden balls and rods. Kitagawa later applied Robson’s principles to develop materials that could absorb and release gases such as methane, nitrogen, and oxygen without altering their shape, and went on to create flexible structures that expand and contract like lungs. Yaghi introduced methods to rationally modify these frameworks, significantly broadening their applications. Today, MOFs are used to trap toxic gases in semiconductor manufacturing, tested for carbon capture at industrial sites, and explored for breaking down trace pharmaceuticals in the environment. Since their initial discovery, chemists have designed tens of thousands of variations, enabling a wide range of technological and environmental innovations.

European carbon prices rose strongly on Wednesday afternoon amid modest trading activity, wiping out a couple of intraday declines as the weekly Commitment of Traders data showed the largest speculative net length in more than four and a half years, with most participants pointing to growing anticipation of tighter supply next year.

A US-based carbon project developer and a Lithuania-based regenerative agriculture developer have signed a four-year agreement to market more than half a million soil carbon removal credits.

New US trade demands – The United States have asked new concessions from the European Union as part of a bilateral trade deal negotiated in August, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous EU sources. The sources declined to go into the specifics of the new US demands, but said those were “significant”. The US has previously said it would seek exemptions from EU regulations on digital and technology, as well as the bloc’s corporate sustainability regulations. The European Commission said it was working on “flexibilities” to the EU Methane Regulation as well as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as part of the trade deal, but insisted that the US will not receive special treatment. (Bloomberg)

Token tie up – Infrastructure provider Xpansiv is undergoing a ‘phased initiative’ to enable the tokenisation of environmental assets and performance data on the Canton Network, a blockchain for regulated financial markets. The initiative will begin with a pilot programme to enhance Xpansiv’s existing database of standardised digital contracts into identifiers compatible with the Canton Network. “Trillions of dollars are required to finance the energy transition, and tokenisation presents a significant emerging pathway for capital deployment,” said John Melby, chief executive of Xpansiv. “By linking our infrastructure to Canton’s institutional-grade blockchain, we’re enabling our customers to pursue new distribution channels and laying the groundwork for trusted, interoperable transition finance.”

California geothermal – California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday approved a bill to streamline geothermal project approvals while vetoing another that would have eased environmental reviews, delivering a mixed outcome for the state’s geothermal sector, E&E News reported. The governor signed Assembly member Chris Rogers’ (D) AB 531, allowing developers to use the California Energy Commission’s expedited certification process, but rejected Assembly member Diane Papan’s (D) AB 527, which sought to exempt many exploratory wells from California Environmental Quality Act review. (E&E News)

The federal government of Nigeria has launched a $100 million initiative aimed at unlocking climate finance, generating carbon credits, and advancing the country’s green growth agenda.

India’s carbon market portal is expected to go live in November, with full integration for Article 6.2 international trading targeted by December-January, a senior Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) official said Wednesday.

Reports into the robustness of two REDD+ schemes, which the countries claim could see credits authorised for sale under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, may come under the spotlight at COP30 in Belem later this year, experts told the Carbon Forward Expo London event on Wednesday, as discussion around the rollout of the programmes hots up. 

Swiss food giant Nestle has withdrawn from a global initiative aimed at cutting methane emissions from dairy production, it said Wednesday.

Chile’s carbon tax has for years stagnated at $5 per tonne despite multiple policy changes to refine it, reflecting mixed and insufficient political will, Carbon Pulse heard at the Chile Carbon Forum in Santiago on Tuesday.

The short-term outlook for EU carbon prices is likely to be decided by the respective strength of a drop in supply versus weaker demand and speculative traders that are already heavily committed, according to analysts speaking at the Carbon Forward Expo conference in London.

India should open up its emerging carbon market and must move quickly to operationalise projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, a veteran climate negotiator said, arguing that the country’s strong progress towards its 2030 emissions goals leaves space to sell credits abroad.

The advent of power hungry data centres to feed the boom in artificial intelligence will have little impact on EU emissions because electricity prices are too high in Europe, speakers told the Carbon Forward Expo London conference.

The first credits from new methodologies under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) are expected to be issued in early 2027, a member of the Supervisory Body for the Article 6.4 scheme said at a conference on Wednesday, adding that the introduction of a controversial new standard on permanence risk could be delayed.

An EU decision to allow international carbon credits to be counted towards its 2040 target and traded in the ETS would be a “game-changer” for a global market that is struggling to scale, said speakers at Carbon Forward Expo London 2025.

There is significant global disparity in the economics of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) projects, with developers in China claiming a cost advantage of 70-90% over their European peers, analysis by a consultancy found.

West African countries aim to create a harmonised carbon market and a common platform that provides greater price transparency, as they race to position themselves as appealing Article 6 host countries, a regional alliance announced on Wednesday.

The first UK-accredited course specification for carbon accounting will help train a new generation of carbon accountants to handle the growing amount of mandatory carbon reporting that businesses face.

Funding shortfall - A report from the Clean Air Fund published Wednesday has warned that international funding for air quality remains severely undercapitalised, capturing just about 1% of global development finance and 2% of public climate funds, despite the urgency of the health-climate nexus. It highlighted that low-income and heavily polluted countries are particularly underserved, with much of the funding offered as loans at commercial rates, limiting accessibility. The authors have urged greater deployment of grant-based capital, smarter use of existing funds, and deeper alignment between clean air, climate, and public health planning to unlock more effective investments.

Coal resurgence - State electricity distributors across India are signing fresh long‐term contracts with coal plants to meet surging demand, signalling dependence on coal despite growth in renewable energy, Reuters reported. Uttar Pradesh and Assam plan to procure at least 7 GW of new coal-fired capacity to be delivered by 2030, while more than 17 GW is already under contract across 16 states – the largest pipeline since the COVID-19 era. This renewed reliance on coal, driven by weak battery rollout and spikes in air-conditioning demand during non-solar hours, could slow India's decarbonisation trajectory, even as the country targets 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, the outlet added.

Brick by brick - Trust is being rebuilt across carbon markets following accusations of greenwashing and questions about integrity in recent times, with new commitments on quality, transparency, and oversight reshaping the market and raising expectations, wrote soil carbon marketplace Boomitra in a blog post. Buyers are now favouring carbon removals, with buyers increasing their purchases of CDR fivefold from 2021-23. Four elements are now widely recognised as key to rebuilding confidence in the voluntary carbon market: additionality, permanence, measurability and verifiability, and co-benefits. It's not about pitching nature-based projects against engineered ones, but rather about building a diverse portfolio structured around quality. Meanwhile, transparency is improving thanks to public registries, digital MRV, and corporate disclosure. Independent oversight from registries continues to define the guardrails of trust, whilst CORSIA is raising the bar for aviation, and Article 6 is starting to align voluntary oversight with national accounting. Each stakeholder has an important role to play in making the market more resilient and robust. One weak project can cause severe damage for the whole market as buyers retreat and funding dries up, so maintaining trust in high-quality projects is essential to preserving the market's reputation. The carbon market is now at an inflection point and trust will be restored when actions consistently prioritise quality, transparency, and accountability.

Digital carbon footprint - The internet would be the 14th largest polluter were it a country - responsible for up to 3.8% of global carbon emissions, placing it level with the aviation sector, but small design improvements can significantly help to lower a website's carbon impact. Cornwall-based Papaya Studio is helping companies to lower their digital carbon footprint by designing lower-impact websites that are less complex, and by using greener hosting providers. Most clients are still unaware of the issue, said Papaya Studio founder Nathan Hambling, but quickly welcome the benefits when explained. Often, a website that's fast and effective by design, produces less carbon, he said.

Improved CDR transparency - The Transparent Reporting and Certification for CDR, or TRACEcdr tool, has been relaunched with new and improved features, helping to improve transparency in carbon removals. The tool, which was developed by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE and is powered by AlliedOffsets, links monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) protocols to carbon credits that have been issued and offers analysis on the accounting methodologies that underpin the protocols. A new website has also been launched here.

Dutch court case – Residents of three Caribbean islands within the Dutch Kingdom asked a Hague court Tuesday to order the Netherlands to take stronger climate action, arguing rising seas and extreme weather threaten their homes, Reuters reports. Claimants from Bonaire, a former Dutch colony, say Netherlands authorities are failing to adequately protect them, violating human rights obligations. The lawsuit seeks to force the Netherlands to cut emissions to zero by 2040, in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The islands, low-lying and vulnerable to hurricanes, rely on the Dutch state for climate policy. A ruling could extend the Netherlands’ legal climate duties to its overseas territories. (Reuters)

EU-Uzbek talks – A delegation from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Economy and Finance visited Belgium this week to meet with officials from the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Taxation and Customs Union and Climate Action, state news agency Azertag reported. Talks covered the “Omnibus I” legislative package, which seeks to simplify the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and exempt goods under 50 tonnes imported annually. The delegation also discussed carbon market development and emissions reduction strategies with climate officials. Both sides underscored the need to streamline CBAM rules, and provide technical support for the introduction of domestic emissions trading schemes in non-EU countries. (Azertag)

Brazil is set to arrive at COP30 with a proposal to establish a coalition for global carbon market integration, which will seek to harmonise existing emissions trading systems based on voluntary participation.

Singapore’s public sector cut its carbon footprint by nearly 2% in the financial year ending Mar. 2025, helped by efficiency gains and lower waste-to-energy emissions, according to a government report released this week.

A Tokyo-headquartered developer is aiming to expand its presence in the domestic voluntary carbon market through partnerships with agricultural producers and forest owners in the Tohoku region of Japan.

The Australian government has flagged that the two savanna fire management (SFM) carbon credit methods may not be finalised until March next year, due to likely revisions it will have to make.

Deepening ties - Singapore and Australia have expanded their clean energy and carbon collaboration under a newly upgraded Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, according to a press release. The pact includes a Cross-Border Electricity Trade Framework to guide regional power sharing and support decarbonisation through an integrated ASEAN-wide power grid. Two new state-level MOUs were also signed between Enterprise Singapore and New South Wales, covering green energy, fintech, and cleantech, and another one with Victoria focusing on offshore wind, hydrogen, and SAF.

Pacific Islands are slowly warming up to the use of carbon market mechanisms, according to the latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted to the UNFCCC – which also provide an insight into the level of climate finance sought.

Encouraging - Australian hydrogen and helium explorer HyTerra told the bourse Wednesday it had drilled its McCoy-1 well to just under 1,700 metres depth and found elevated hydrogen and helium flowing gas shows which it called “encouraging”. It will now design a production testing programme, expected in the US winter of 2026. The company is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and headquartered in Perth but holds acreage in Kansas and Nebraska where it is seeking naturally occurring hydrogen, rather than making it via splitting other molecules.

Additional liquidity – Global commodities trader Trafigura has secured $3.4 bln-equivalent syndicated revolving credit facility and term loan facilities, it announced Wednesday. The facilities were oversubscribed and upsized from their initial launch amount of $2.5 bln-equivalent, with 43 financial institutions participating in the transaction, Trafigura said. The announcement comes after the trader, an active player in global voluntary markets, earlier this year announced plans to raise its pre-financing support for a large mangrove carbon project.

Overruled – A Texas federal court ruled that American Airlines must strip environmental, social, and governance-related objectives from its employee retirement plan. American Airlines was sued for its use of investment manager BlackRock to manage retirement plan assets, due to the company’s ESG-oriented proxy voting practices. The decision comes amid the shifting landscape for corporate sustainability strategies in the US, ESG University reported. The Trump administration had signalled plans to reinforce that fiduciary standards exclude ESG-related factors.

Recent moves by the Indonesian government to ink recognition agreements with major voluntary standards will help provide wider market access to local projects, however experts are concerned about the inherent risks in what is being seen as increasingly complex regulatory framework.

Counting on offsets – A recently-published review of carbon offset-related research by nonprofit Annual Reviews posits that carbon credits face over-crediting issues in voluntary and compliance markets, undermining global climate progress. The paper determines that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) did not substantially address offset quality problems. The researchers recommend urgently phasing out non-carbon removal (CDR) offsets over the next decade, suggesting that all markets should prioritise the development of high-integrity, durable CDR and storage.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith dodged questions about the impact her government's actions were having on declining prices in the province's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) programme. 

A Californian developer of dairy digester projects announced on Tuesday an agreement with a US-based decarbonisation firm to produce carbon-negative hydrogen for fuel.