Solar rights – Genesis Energy has acquired the rights to develop an advanced solar project in Waikato, the New Zealand gentailer said in a stock exchange notice Thursday. The 271 MW development in Rangiriri will be close to the battery storage currently under construction at the coal-fired Huntly Power Station. It is estimated to cost around NZ$487 mln ($280.5 mln), which will be financed by the company’s balance sheet, Genesis said, with a final investment decision to be taken in mid-FY 2027. This acquisition boosts the company’s solar pipeline to 700 MW – above its 500 MW target, which is designed to displace gas-burn, it said. Earlier this year, Genesis began operations at New Zealand’s largest solar site in the South Island.

A carbon removal (CDR) registry has certified a new methodology update that expands the scope of its feedstock accounting rules and adds new methods for demonstrating eligibility. 

G20 countries, which represent 85% of global GDP, lack credible plans to ramp up carbon removals in their UN climate pledges, according to leading climate institutes.

The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative has proposed a major overhaul of its framework that would significantly roll back signatory commitments, including the removal of all references to achieving net zero by 2050 and the elimination of requirements to set interim portfolio emissions targets.

The health threats of climate change have reached unprecedented levels - exposing more people to heatwaves, boosting the risk of wildfires and disease transmission, and increasingly straining the economy, with stronger adaptation measures urgently needed, said a medical journal report.

A voluntary carbon crediting scheme has partnered with a South Korean government agency to scale nature-based solutions (NbS) and advance high-integrity carbon markets, it announced Wednesday.

International climate adaptation finance flows currently amount to only 8% of developing countries’ estimated needs to adapt to the impacts of rising temperatures, according to the UN’s environment agency’s annual assessment, though countries are starting to put in place adaptation plans.

The world is on track for 2.6C warming, unless investment jumps 30% from current levels to average $4.3 trillion a year in clean energy between now and 2060, warned a report by Wood Mackenzie.

Market call - Bursa Malaysia has urged economies along the Belt and Road Initiative to engage with the ASEAN Common Carbon Framework, launched under Malaysia’s year-long chairmanship, in order to boost regional carbon market integration and sustainable finance. CEO Fad’l Mohamed said Beijing could act as a key demand driver for high-quality credits, noting that the exchange’s Shariah-compliant Bursa Carbon Exchange already provides a platform for trading credits and renewable-energy certificates underpinning the initiative.

Four in five of Australia’s biggest banks and investors want the country’s new sustainable finance taxonomy to include climate mitigation to cover adaptation and resilience, a shift they say would unlock more capital, according to a report released Wednesday.

NbS collaboration - Government-backed Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange (TCX) has signed an MoU with Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI), a government affiliate, to build an ecosystem for the development of natural carbon sinks, they announced Wednesday. The alliance will work on nature-based projects, talent development, and promote good industry practices. TFRI will also deepen its research on forestry methodologies under the domestic voluntary programme.

South Korea should set ambitious emissions reduction targets for its 2035 commitments to the Paris Agreement, particularly for the domestic industry, an environmental group has urged.

More talks needed - India raised concerns over the EU's CBAM levies during trade talks in Brussels, with both sides agreeing the issue needs further discussion due to its sensitivity, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. Minister Piyush Goyal and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic reaffirmed their goal of concluding a free trade pact by end-2025 while exploring “landing zones” on other outstanding matters. An EU technical team will visit India next week to continue work on potential solutions.

Reaffirmation - China has reiterated its intention to control both the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions by the end of this decade, according to a document shared this week by state news agency Xinhua, which outlines recommendations for the country's next five-year plan (2026-30). As previously announced, the government also plans to expand the coverage of its emissions trading scheme and voluntary market in the coming years, as well as refine the statistical and accounting systems for carbon emissions. China has set a target of peaking its emissions before 2030. The recommendations came after Beijing announced the country's 2035 NDC, which introduced absolute emission reduction targets for the first time.  

Expected shortage - Posco, one of the largest emitters in South Korea, may face a shortage of carbon permits from 2027, representing additional expense of hundreds of billions of won a year, due to the planned tightening of allocations, Chosun Biz reported. The government is set to soon announce the allowance allocation plan for the fourth planning period, which starts in 2026. While the steelmaker may be able to get through next year with banked permits, it sees a high possibility that it will have to buy permits thereafter, the report said.  

Uzbek renewables - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed $142 mln in loans to two special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) developing a combined 1 GW solar and 1,336 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Uzbekistan, in a step to advance Central Asia’s largest renewable-energy and storage deployment to date. The project also marks the first renewable energy and battery storage investment in Uzbekistan by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, Shikoku Electric Power Company, and Chubu Electric Power Company, which will jointly co-own the two project SPVs. The project supports Uzbekistan’s 25 GW renewables target by 2030 and will generate about 2,300 GWh of power annually, enough to supply 600,000 households.

Just four Global North countries, led by the US, have largely filled the gap to meet rising global oil and gas demand since 2015, contrary to their Paris Agreement pledges, according to an NGO.

Delayed - Vietnam will pilot its first carbon credit exchange by late 2026, a year later than planned, as it works to operationalise a national carbon market, Netzero VN reported, citing National Assembly General Secretary Le Quang Manh. The exchange will trade emission quotas and carbon credits under a draft decree being finalised this year. The government is also building a national registry for carbon credits.

Indigenous opportunities - The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Indigenous Business Australia have signed an MoU to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, businesses, and communities, including in renewables and carbon projects, they announced. Under the MoU, the two entities will work together to strengthen organisation capabilities, co-develop innovative financial solutions, and expand access to finance for First Nations customers. Focus areas include supporting the participation of Indigenous businesses and communities in Australia's transition to net zero by co-funding renewables and carbon initiatives, they said.

Vanuatu will this week release a draft resolution for the UN to adopt and operationalise the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change, climate minister Ralph Regenvanu said on Wednesday.

Yes to some renewables – New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office has approved Yinson Renewables’ plans to develop 1GW of clean energy, the government and the Malaysian-headquartered company announced on Wednesday. Yinson has been investing in New Zealand’s wind energy sector for the past four years, the company said.

Australia’s carbon integrity body has called on the government to make changes to the its proposed landfill gas method, and is seeking more information to feed its review into the 2021 soil organic carbon method.

Funding for resilience – The Australian federal and Queensland state governments have committed A$60 mln ($39.6 mln) to build resilience in primary producers and regional communities, the they announced on Wednesday. The cash will be used to deliver the Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) Program and the Farm Business Resilience Program (FBRP), building on the development of 14 regional drought resilience plans across the state. The government said more than A$26 mln has been committed to Phase 2 of the RDRP over four years, while more than A$33.6 mln will support the second phase of the FBRP.

Baby steps – Brunei has signed an MoU with an unidentified neighbouring country to explore Article 6.2 opportunities, it said in its third NDC, published Tuesday. Its 2035 target remained unchanged from its 2030 – for a 20% reduction in GHG emissions, against BAU forecasted emissions of 30.8 MtCO2e by 2035. It noted that this target is conditional and contingent on international support, including finance, technology developments, and capacity building. Planned actions include expanding renewable energy, increasing forest cover, reducing industrial emissions, and cutting emissions from the waste and land transport sectors.

The world’s wealthiest people are generating more carbon pollution in a single day than the poorest half of humanity produce in an entire year, according to a new report warning that the high-carbon lifestyles and investments of the super-rich are driving the planet towards climate disaster.

Nvidia's effort to decarbonise its supply chain is falling behind its peers in the AI sector, amid rising concerns over the climate impact of chip production, according to a new report.