New Zealand allowances continue to trade sideways, with a major bank turning slightly sour on the market’s dynamics, as a governmental review concluded that the ETS advisory frameworks are fit for purpose.

A global think tank published a report attributing the climate investments that the highest-emitting fossil fuel companies are responsible for, asking the oil and gas giants to pay to scale up direct air carbon capture and storage.

1.5C out of reach - Nearly all respondents to a recent climate survey by Swissinfo don't believe it's realistic the planet will meet the Paris Agreement's ideal target of limiting global warming to 1.5C. On average, the researchers believe the Earth will warm by about 2.5C by 2100, and that the current geopolitical situation means there is little hope that earlier goals will be pursued. Switzerland is also warming twice as fast as the global average, potentially reaching an increase of 4-4.5C locally by century end. This would radically reshape the Alpine nation - making glaciers disappear, altering river flows, and threatening summer water supplies for agriculture, homes, and hydropower. Six out of 10 climate scientists say they are now more pessimistic about political will to act on climate change than in 2015, and most researchers agreed that Switzerland has an important role to lead on climate action due to its wealth and emissions impact.

Utility helps tear down the White House - NextEra Energy, a major electric utility company bas in Florida, was among the three dozen companies, individuals, and foundations that have donated to help finance President Trump’s project to demolish part of the White House and replace it with a ballroom, according to E&E News. Trump has said the project could cost upwards of $300 mln.

Will Trump send a COP delegation? - A coalition of Republican attorneys general representing 17 states sent a letter to the Trump administration urging it to refrain from sending a US delegation to Brazil for COP30. The group, led by West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey, said that US participation in the conference “would serve only to legitimise such unsound science and policies". Instead, America needs to take “a strong stance against the anti-coal, anti-gas, and anti-oil policies” that COPs promote.

Quietly committed - Two-thirds of Canada's largest companies remain committed to their net zero goals, despite major banks backing out of global emissions reductions initiatives, 440 Megatonnes reported. The outlet, a policy platform tied to the Canadian Climate Institute, said two-thirds of the top 60 companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) retained their net zero targets in 2024-25, just a slight drop of five percentage points over 2023. The data comes from 440's latest update to its Corporate Climate Commitment Tracker.

Mounting catastrophe costs - A non-profit is continuing the work of tracking the costs of extreme weather events after the Trump administration stopped the NOAA from updating the federal database earlier this year. Using the same methodology, the non-profit Climate Central has found that the cost of catastrophes continues to escalate at a record pace. Through the first six months of the year, disasters across the US have caused more than $100 bln in damage – the most expensive start to any year on record, according to the New York Times.

The largest advocacy group for the oil and natural gas industry in the US asked members of Congress to block bills that would advance the year-round availability of fuel with higher ethanol blends, reversing the support issued earlier this year.

It could be two years before California tables new rules to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the Golden State, following moves by the Trump administration that effectively repealed its EV mandate.

Turkiye’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority on Thursday published draft regulations on the mechanics of a primary and secondary market under its incoming emissions trading system (ETS).

The recent approval by the Brazilian government to drill at the mouth of the Amazon River basin in search of oil highlights the ongoing discussions and choices that countries need to make in the energy transition, rather than a change in climate policy, according to COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago.

Mexican states that have or are developing carbon pricing mechanisms should create an intergovernmental working group to improve coordination and reduce the heterogeneity of carbon tax policies between states, according to a recent study.

A joint venture between a Japanese power generator and global oil major has halted development of an offshore wind project in the US Northeast and will close its operations in the country, citing unfavourable conditions including federal political opposition.

Plug-in progress - Private companies continued to expand the US’ EV charging network over the summer despite the Trump administration’s resistance to adoption of the technology, E&E News reported. Data from Paren, an EV charging analytics firm, showed 699 new fast-charging stations and more than 4,000 ports were added in Q3 of 2025, bringing totals to 12,375 stations and 64,486 ports nationwide. Although the pace slowed slightly from the previous quarter, Paren reported improved reliability and higher utilisation rates, with the biggest increases seen in travel-heavy states such as Maine, Montana, and Oregon.

Shutdown stalemate - A federal judge in Massachusetts has paused a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging the US DOE’s climate report, which the US EPA is using to justify repealing the 2009 endangerment finding on GHGs, E&E News reported. Senior Judge William Young granted the Trump administration’s request to halt proceedings, citing the government shutdown that has limited Justice Department operations. Advocacy groups the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Union of Concerned Scientists argued the administration is continuing work to undo the finding despite the shutdown and accuse the DOE of violating federal law by relying on a panel of climate sceptics to produce the report. The plaintiffs maintain the case should move forward given the EPA’s ongoing efforts to roll back the endangerment finding, an Obama-era regulation underpinning GHG limits on major emitters.

TVA target turmoil - US President Donald Trump’s four nominees to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board declined to commit to maintaining the utility’s 2050 net zero emissions goal during their Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, E&E news reported. Questioned by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), none of the nominees affirmed support for TVA’s existing carbon-reduction targets, with nominee Jeff Hagood suggesting the plan should be “reevaluated” due to growing power demand. The federally owned utility, which supplies electricity to about 10 mln people, last updated its climate strategy in 2021, setting milestones for a 70% emissions cut by 2030 and 80% by 2035 before reaching net zero by mid-century.

A first-of-its-kind framework in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) has been expanded to account for all major heat drivers, advancing how non-CO2 climate impacts are quantified and verified.

Brazil’s future emissions trading system (ETS) will hinge on a domestic cap-and-trade mechanism – but links to Article 6 and voluntary carbon markets (VCM) will drive the lion’s share of its economic viability and environmental impact, Brazilian stakeholders believe, according to a ratings agency’s new report.

Coal closure - Merrimack Station in New Hampshire, New England's last coal-fired power plant, has closed, reported Inside Climate News. Granite Shore Power (GSP), Merrimack Station’s owner, officially ceased operations on Sept. 12, roughly two years ahead of its previously announced deadline. GSP announced the phase out of the facility by 2028 in Mar. 2024 following a five-year campaign by environmental groups. The facility was responsible for emissions amounting to over 16 MtCO2 under the RGGI regional power sector cap-and-trade scheme throughout its participation in the programme, according to RGGI CO2 Allowance Tracking System (COATS) data.

Flying further – Neste and United Airlines have expanded their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) partnership to three major US airports, extending Neste MY fuel deliveries to George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, Newark, and Washington Dulles through year-end. The deal makes United the first carrier to use SAF at all three hubs and builds on existing supply at Chicago O’Hare and San Francisco, with Neste’s fuel made from waste feedstocks that can cut lifecycle emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil-fuel based jet fuel.

Google has signed its first-ever agreement to buy power from a US natural gas plant equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS), a move the company says will help expand access to clean, reliable electricity for its growing data centre operations.

The European Parliament on Thursday set out a series of sweeping demands ahead of next month’s COP30 international climate summit in Brazil, as political groups continue to clash over the EU’s 2040 climate goal.

European carbon prices fluctuated in both positive and negative territory on Thursday and ended almost unchanged as EUAs were caught in the slipstream of volatile energy markets after news that the US is to impose new sanctions on Russian oil producers.

There is no perfect solution when it comes to preventing exporters to the EU from finding ways to circumvent the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), according to a Brussels-based think tank, advocating instead for a delay in the phasing out of free carbon allowances to give industry more time to decarbonise.

The Climate Action Data Trust's (CAD Trust) new version aims to deliver a new carbon market data model, and also updates tables to support input of multiple methodologies per project, as well as reporting under Article 6.

In an "opinion-rich" carbon market, the question what makes a project bankable ultimately depends on how bankability is defined – and that question has yet to be settled, experts at the Carbon Markets Africa Summit agreed. 

Another lawsuit - Almost 70 survivors of Super Typhoon Odette, which hit the Philippines in 2021, are suing Shell in UK courts, demanding financial compensation for the losses and damage they experienced and linking Shell's business to climate change, which intensified the typhoon's impact. Odette killed more than 400 people, displaced nearly 3.2 mln, and destroyed more than 1 mln homes, with the claimants arguing that Shell knew of the impact of increased emissions and still expanded its fossil fuel operations regardless. The letter representing the survivors was delivered to Shell on Wednesday, inviting the company to respond. If no agreement is reached between the parties, the survivors will file a case before the UK high court in December. The case is the first civil claim directly linking polluters to deaths and injuries to have occurred in the global south, whilst other climate lawsuits have so far focused on future impacts. (Guardian)

A Brussels-based carbon removal company has begun commissioning its modular direct air capture (DAC) facility in the Middle East, with the aim to start delivering certified carbon credits.

Gaps in governance, funding, integration, and technical capacity are hindering the rollout of nature-based solutions (NbS) across the Mediterranean, a new review found, urging longer-term finance and coordinated institutional support. 

A French court on Thursday found a global energy company guilty of greenwashing about its oil and gas ‘net zero by 2050’ and energy transition narrative, and misleading customers.

A cookstove project in Zimbabwe is hoping to soon become second in the world to be eligible to sell credits into the aviation offsetting scheme CORSIA, or at least among the next few to be approved, one of the project’s developers told Carbon Pulse.

Europe’s offshore wind market is facing headwinds from concerns about China at a time when the EU and UK has blown off course from 2030 targets, warns a new report.

N2O way - SustainCERT has validated a greenhouse gas removal methodology developed by Crop Intellect Ltd, marking the first-ever recognition of atmospheric N2O removal as a certified climate solution. The methodology, compliant with ISO 14064-2:2019, applies Crop Intellect’s R-Leaf photocatalytic fertiliser across large-scale croplands to capture N2O from the atmosphere and convert it into inert nitrogen and oxygen. This validation establishes a globally recognised, auditable framework for N2O removals, opening the door for value-chain decarbonisation and procurement-grade Scope 3 emission reduction claims within agriculture and food supply chains.

So true - Truecoco has achieved Puro.earth certification, becoming the first industrial-scale carbon removal project in West Africa and the first globally to use coconut husk as feedstock for biochar production, the developer claimed. The milestone demonstrates that rural, industrial-scale biochar projects in the Global South are both feasible and scalable, it said. Working with institutional investors and hundreds of smallholder farmers, Truecoco now has certified carbon removal credits available and plans to expand across multiple sites and value chains in West Africa. The company remains on track to remove 250,000 tonnes of CO2 and improve 30,000 farmers’ livelihoods by 2030.

A new report has urged the global sports industry to “match growth with responsibility” by investing in high-quality carbon removal to counter rising emissions from expanding leagues, events, and air travel.

Carbon credits from avoided deforestation projects, deemed to be of low quality, are being retired at much lower rates than those with higher scores, a ratings agency said on Thursday.

Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday again approved legislation to withdraw the state from RGGI, this time with bipartisan support.

The global carbon footprint of video gaming spans hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 annually, according to a report published Thursday by a carbon accounting firm.

EU leaders on Thursday set out several “enabling conditions” to reach the bloc’s 2040 climate target, calling for a “revision clause” to ensure the goal reflects the latest science, technological progress, and global economic changes – effectively clearing the way for its adoption at ministerial level.

Open for feedback - Carbon standard Cercarbono in partnership with developer Allcot has launched a public consultation for the first version of the Financial Transparency and Management Tool for Environmental Projects. The framework aims to provide greater confidence, traceability, and integrity in environmental credits, and the consultation is open until Nov. 12. The tool enables buyers to clearly see how project funds are managed and reinvested, investors to evaluate risk and performance, and communities and developers to improve trust through transparent benefit sharing. Learn more here.

Nature credits can help drive progress towards forestry goals in the transition towards a nature-positive economy, an independent expert report funded by the European Commission has said.

Around one in two people in the US and UK have heard of carbon removal (CDR), but a higher proportion support government or corporate action to accelerate the industry, according to a new survey of more than 10,000 people in both regions.

The UK government should drop its 'top-up' carbon tax that is costing the chemicals industry £100 million each year, a lobby group said on Thursday.

Morocco has, for the first time, set a date to phase out coal power, pledging to end its use of the fossil fuel by 2040, conditional on international support, or unconditionally in the 2040s.

Redressing energy upsets - The UK government is introducing stronger protections and consumer rights for families and businesses when things go wrong in the energy market, it announced Thursday. The changes include a faster redress and compensation process through the Energy Ombudsman, a crackdown on energy brokers to stamp out exploitation, and protections for businesses when installing smart meters. The Energy Ombudsman will be able to help customers resolve supplier disputes better through the reforms thanks to further powers, it said.

The EU is expected to fall significantly short of its 2030 carbon storage injection capacity target set under the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), according to analysis published Thursday.

Member countries of the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) are looking for ways to promote high-integrity carbon markets, including exploring more carbon credit methodologies.

Carbon removal is now essential for UK climate goals, but only those storing CO2 for centuries or more should be allowed into the country's compliance carbon market on the journey to net zero, according to a government-commissioned review of the sector.

The UK government has denied media reports that it is prepared to miss a flagship 2030 clean power target if the goal ends up costing far more than building new gas-fired capacity and risks pushing up energy bills.

Countries in the Asia Pacific region are accelerating cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, with Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia emerging as early movers through bilateral carbon trading deals and new emissions market infrastructure, positioning the region to become a key source of high-quality carbon credits, according to a recently published report.

A Los Angeles-based bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) developer announced Tuesday it has raised $55 million in Series A funding to scale its modular turbine systems amid growing electricity demand from AI data centres.

Verra should invite the Kariba REDD carbon project back into its registry to enable the proponent to pay back a debt of over 15 million units using future issuances, according to the former head of South Pole, after the standard demanded compensation due to past over-crediting.

The European Commission has clarified several provisions in an updated draft implementing regulation for the EU’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) certification framework, tightening oversight of certification schemes and auditors – but attracting criticism over weak conflict-of-interest rules.

Nuclear revival - The government led by Japan's new prime minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to push for the revival of nuclear power to tackle inflation, according to Reuters. Ryosei Akazawa, the country's newly appointed industry minister, on Wednesday said the government aims to proceed with nuclear restarts, in order to maximise power sources that contribute to energy security and decarbonisation. Imported fossil fuels, covering 60-70% of Japan's electricity generation, are considered a source of inflation that has undermined support for the ruling party.

The volume of renewable hydrogen produced in Australia increased in 2024, however the number of new developments has fallen, while expenditure on CO2 storage exploration has risen to nearly A$1 billion ($650 mln), according to a government agency report published Thursday.

More power - Singaporean electricity company PacificLight Power on Thursday tapped Japan’s Mitsubishi Power and local firm Jurong Engineering to build a 670 MW gas-fired power plant on Jurong Island. The facility, due to start in 2029, will be Singapore’s largest and most efficient combined-cycle unit and the first to include large-scale battery storage, according to a press release. It will have the ability to operate on 30% hydrogen and will be capable of shifting to run entirely on hydrogen in future. PacificLight will own the plant, Mitsubishi Power will supply the turbines, and Jurong Engineering will handle construction.

Korea's energy reshuffle - The reorganisation of South Korea's energy committee has raised worries about a lack of expertise, as the proportion of environmental and civic group representatives among the candidates is excessively high, Electimes reported. The government has reportedly finalised the candidates for the committee, which guides the national electricity and energy policy, with a total of 19 members nominated. Seven of the known members are from or affiliated with environmental and civic groups, according to the report.

A European carbon capture and storage (CCS) association has unveiled a vision for Europe’s 2040 low-carbon economy, calling for urgent and coordinated action to scale up technologies to boost CO2 transport infrastructure, and create stronger market demand for clean materials.

Africa’s regional carbon market alliances are helping countries prepare and set the terms for the rise of international trading under Article 6, while avoiding the Kyoto Protocol-era pitfalls that still haunt the continent, according to speakers in Johannesburg. 

Showing interest - Renewable energy developer Vena Group has expressed its intention to invest KRW 20 trillion ($14 billion) in South Korea-based projects to develop renewable energy solutions and build an AI data centre, Yonhap reported. It has submitted a letter of intent (LOI) for its planned investment, including a 500-MW offshore wind power project, to the Korean government.

First in Thailand - Japan’s Mitsui has joined a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at the Arthit Gas Field in Thailand via its subsidiary Mitsui Energy Development Co., it announced. The project is Thailand's first CCS project and is targeting annual storage of up to 1 MtCO2e when operations begin in 2028. The Arthit gas field supplies approximately 8% of Thailand's domestic natural gas demand, with the CCS component expected to help the kingdom reach its 2050 goal of net zero, Mitsui said.

Global carbon and timber asset manager New Forests saw a dramatic drop in carbon credits issued to it last financial year, according to its latest sustainability report published Thursday.

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has cut the emissions intensity of its investment portfolio by more than it was aiming for, and has nearly eradicated the potential emissions from fossil fuel reserves associated with it.

A growing number of companies are reducing their emissions intensity in line with a 1.5C sectoral target, found a new report – but the majority are failing to disclose capital allocation to back up plans.

Soaring costs – Air New Zealand’s CORSIA compliance cost has doubled, it said in a stock exchange update on Wednesday, with a further NZ$10 mln ($5.7 mln) of costs expected. In its climate statement in August, the carrier said it expected to spend around NZ$6 mln for compliance with the sectoral programme for 2024 and NZ$4 mln for the first half of 2025. The airline said on Wednesday that the extra outlay will lead to increased fuel costs.

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) expects more Australian carbon projects to be pulled from the scheme in the coming months, it said in a compliance update Thursday.

Disappointment disclosed – The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) has criticised the New Zealand government’s weakening of the country’s climate disclosure regime, saying in a press release that the move creates uncertainty and weakens climate governance, especially as companies have already invested in reporting capacity. Furthermore, the IGCC warned that the changes would leave New Zealand isolated from international best practice, pointing out that Australia, the EU, and the UK are moving towards more comprehensive reporting regimes. The group called on the government to reverse course, saying investors need transparency and accountability to manage climate risk and support New Zealand businesses for the future. (IGCC)