Germany rebuffed reports that the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG) of countries was set to hold an internal vote on the COP31 host on Tuesday, in an effort to break the deadlock between Australia and Turkiye, as speculation continues over how the impasse will be resolved.

Despite strong interest in building up Article 6 supply, there are only a handful of sovereign buyers actively looking to procure credits for the period running to 2030, yet capacity building needs among host countries remains an even greater challenge for the near-term scaling of the market, experts and government officials told Carbon Pulse at COP30.

A G20-backed model aimed at harmonising data infrastructures of voluntary and international carbon markets will incorporate Article 6.4's Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) registry requirements when they are released, the developers said.

Development of credits for sale into the UN’s international aviation offsetting scheme (CORSIA) can doubly support countries’ achievement of their climate targets while raising carbon finance, according to an industry brief seen by Carbon Pulse, as part of a COP30 push for Paris Agreement parties to develop fresh supply.

Compared to fossil fuel phaseout, deforestation targets enshrined in the COP28 Global Stock Take (GST) have been relegated to a secondary role, according to observers at Brazil's 'mutirao' dialogues.

Up to 150 GW of coal-fired power capacity assessed in a new study could transition to clean technologies by the end of this decade, according to a report released Wednesday.

An Australian Indigenous carbon project developer on Tuesday launched a new members-based alliance marketing itself as offering carbon credits aligned with ESG and reconciliation standards.

Japan's top financial institutions are looking to embed the concept of avoided emissions in their assessment frameworks, as Tokyo attempts to take the lead in setting rules for such greenhouse gas output to encourage corporate disclosure.

Japan and Malaysia have signed an industry-led letter calling for host countries to expedite regulation to operationalise the Paris Agreement's Article 6, issue Letters of Authorisation (LoAs), and enable the release of CORSIA-Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs), in an effort to avoid a potential patchwork of measures enacted by jurisdictions frustrated with slow progress or perceived weak ambition within the ICAO international aviation offsetting scheme.

None of the world's largest emitting governments are compliant with the goals of the Paris Agreement, but Denmark was once again a standout performer, according to annual rankings published on Tuesday at COP30.

An initiative aimed at unlocking financing for peatland conservation and restoration has launched pilots in Peru and Uganda, it announced on Monday.

France and Brazil announced on Tuesday they are in favour of an ocean taskforce to help raise national efforts to conserve and restore marine habitats.

China has released its finalised allowance allocation plan to regulate emitters from the cement, steel, and aluminium sectors for 2024 and 2025 compliance under the national emission trading scheme.

Fifteen governments formally committed this week to recognise 160 million hectares of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and local community land.

A provision in the latest iteration of an Article 6.2 negotiating text, published Tuesday, would ban trading Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) associated with reports flagged during the Technical Expert Review (TER) process – while every report to date has come back with identified inconsistencies.

AI partnership – Singapore-based AI company Univers and Malaysian clean energy company Amcharge have signed an MoU to deploy AI-powered energy optimisation solutions for industrial and commercial customers in Malaysia and Thailand. The collaboration will combine Univers’ EnOS AIoT platform with Amcharge’s on-ground capabilities to help factories control energy costs, improve reliability, and integrate renewable energy. Up to four pilot manufacturing sites will be selected in 2025 to test AI-enabled maximum demand management, energy efficiency measures, and renewable integration, serving as reference projects for wider rollout. The partnership aims to accelerate progress towards national net zero goals and scale innovations developed through Univers’ Global Impact AI Lab, the companies said.

Cotton credits - The government of Uzbekistan has allocated 55,000 hectares to a regenerative cotton farming programme, designed to generate carbon credits, under a partnership with the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) and blockchain-platform company Bizpando. Under the programme, 98 farmers will be trained on carbon credit verification. The Ministry of Agriculture has begun identifying laboratories for carbon testing and certification, while Bizpando has started registering farmers to document emissions reductions and facilitate future credit payments.

Shifting timelines - India will submit its updated national climate targets to the UN by December, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said at COP30 in Belem, signalling the country’s intent to raise ambition ahead of global negotiations, The Hindu reported. India will also submit its Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) for the first time before the year ends, the minister added. The country remains the largest emitter which is yet to submit its updated climate plans, however, the delay does not mean that climate ambition has waned, according to experts at the ongoing climate summit.

Day 8 at COP30 in Belem. The Brazilian presidency is advancing fast on plans for an outcome at the summit, opening up two core goals, the first being a Belem Package, which will see a showdown on Wednesday on some of the most contentious issues at stake: finance, trade measures, and a lack of ambition in climate plans.

An NGO coalition has announced a three-year programme seeking to curb deforestation risk across the supply chains in over 30 landscapes.

Greens for trees – The Australian government has announced A$11 mln ($7.1 mln) in funding for new plantations, in a bid to grow its domestic timber supply. The cash, from its Support Plantation Establishment Program, will be split among seven projects, which collectively will establish 5,500 ha of new hardwood and softwood plantations, it said in a press release. The new disbursements brings the total money distributed under the programme to A$57 mln.

Chooose your SAF – Cathay Pacific is partnering with climate tech firm Chooose to enable its members to contribute to the airline’s use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), earning 1 Asia Mile for every HK$1 ($0.13) contributed. The integrations with Cathay’s Asia Miles programme is the first step of the partnership, which will also be rolled out to all customers, to enable Scope 3 emissions reduction claims, the tech platform said in a press release. The airline will also be able to streamline its SAF inventory management and liaise directly with suppliers, such as Phillips 66, via the platform.

Battery boost – The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded Li-S Energy A$7.86 mln ($5.1 mln), it said on Tuesday. The money will support Li-S to perform manufacturing optimisation, a feasibility study, and front-end engineering design for a proposed 1 GWh per year lithium-sulphur battery cell production site – 500 times the capacity of Li-S Energy’s current facility. ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the agency was helping accelerate the commercialisation of breakthrough battery technologies. ARENA added that lithium-sulphur batteries could potentially deliver double the energy density of conventional lithium-ion ones, which translates to longer range and lighter weight.

Several African countries are in a strong position to issue Letters of Authorisation (LoAs) for CORSIA, executives from a carbon standard said on Monday, adding that it expects to issue over 386 million units eligible for Phase 1 of the UN's international aviation offsetting scheme.

And the award goes to – New Zealand has been named the ignominious Fossil of the Day at COP30 on Monday. Awarded by CAN International, Monday’s selection of New Zealand was in recognition of the government’s move to reduce its biogenic methane targets, the NGO said in an emailed press release. Greenpeace Aotearoa said this was embarrassing but not a surprise, and decried the government’s bonfire of climate policies.

Singapore and Thailand published carbon credit programme and methodology lists under their Article 6.2 implementation agreement on Monday at COP30 in Belem.