Global fossil fuel emissions reached an all-time high of 40.8 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024, while fire-related losses in tropical primary forest surged 370%, according to a climate report published a week before the start of the UN climate summit in Brazil.

While biodiversity credits are a nascent market in the US, project developers shared experiences with communicating co-benefits to prospective buyers, particularly ones in the same geographic region.

Panama’s Ministry of Environment has signed a letter of intent with a sustainable finance venture to develop long-term conservation and climate initiatives in the Darien region. 

COP30 kick-off – Brazil expects to receive 143 delegations for the Leaders’ Summit, to be held on Nov. 6-7 in Belem. A total of 57 heads of state and government and 39 ministers are expected to attend, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said during a press briefing on Friday. The UNFCCC negotiations are set to start on Nov. 10, with more than 170 delegations accredited. Argentina and the United States have not yet confirmed their attendance. In the briefing, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago reiterated his expectation that the conference will help strengthen the perception that carbon credits from forest restoration projects are of higher quality.

Paris has called for an 'emergency brake' to be included in the EU’s proposed 2040 climate target plan, citing doubts over the reliability of forests to absorb CO2 in the future and uncertainties about the potential of technical carbon sinks.

Singapore on Friday launched its second request for proposals (RFP) for Article 6-compliant carbon credits, which will be used to meet the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement through 2030.

Seagrass meadows and salt marshes along Germany’s coasts hold significant underground carbon stores that can help avoid future emissions but have little potential to contribute to new CO2 removal, according to research published this week.

The UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) has urged policymakers to integrate CO2 removals into compliance carbon markets and establish harmonised global standards, arguing that voluntary efforts alone cannot deliver the scale of removals required to meet mid-century climate targets.

More countries have embedded nature-based solutions within their national climate policies but human rights provisions are lacking, a report published this week said.

New financing - The World Bank has approved a $18.34 mln grant to Sierra Leone under the second phase of the West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP), aimed at boosting biodiversity protection, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience through nature-based solutions and climate-smart agriculture. The grant will back projects in integrated landscape management and biodiversity efforts, investing in research, innovation, and community training to boost food security and promote climate-smart as well as nature-based practices. With this additional grant, total FSRP financing for Sierra Leone now stands at $153.34 mln.

The ongoing political turmoil in Madagascar following a military takeover earlier this month, is not expected to disrupt carbon market-related activities or forest-based project implementation, government and private sector actors told Carbon Pulse.

Malaysia has identified a broad list of potential mitigation activities that could be authorised under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, including projects in renewable energy, carbon capture, waste management, and land-use sectors.