Better connectivity – Carbon Markets Club (CMC), a Thai industry network backed by energy conglomerate Bangchak, and the Macao International Carbon Emission Exchange (MEX) on Thursday signed a pact to link Thailand’s T-VER project pipeline with MEX’s trading infrastructure. The deal aims to expand cross-border carbon credit and REC flows, and support joint research and Article 6 capacity-building, Bangchak said in a press release. MEX said the partnership would open international access to Thai credits.

The Council of EU Member States’ position to delay the bloc’s increasingly precarious anti-deforestation law is likely to be echoed by the European Parliament when it convenes next week, an NGO said.

The first compliance phase of the CORSIA international aviation offsetting scheme could swing between a chronic shortage of credits to a hefty surplus, depending on the readiness of trade under the Paris Agreement's Article 6 over the next two years, according to analysts.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres threw his weight behind a new goal to triple finance for adaptation to climate change by 2030 on Thursday, as negotiators waited for the Brazilian presidency's latest, and possibly final, proposals for a COP30 deal.

Singapore and Malawi on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop carbon credit projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, marking the latest in a string of bilateral deals that is positioning the Asian city-state as a major buyer.

Airlines are struggling with market uncertainty and procedural challenges in planning for their compliance under UN international aviation sector offsetting scheme CORSIA, an industry representative said during panels at COP30.

Attempts to reopen standards adopted by the Supervisory Body for the new Article 6 carbon crediting mechanism, or revisit COP29 decisions on international trading to bolster transparency and reporting rules, look to have been quashed as clean and uncontroversial decision texts landed Thursday that would also see nearly $30 million channelled from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) towards operationalising Paris Agreement markets.

Day 10 at COP30 in Belem. Article 6 (should) also be cleaned up and pushed on Thursday, with overnight decision texts looking and uncontroversial, sources said. After this, the real battled in Belem will pivot to the meaty package Brazil wants to deliver, with the presidency now convening "shuttle diplomacy" to try bridge the unbridgeable gaps on climate finance and fossil fuel language.

Global progress on energy efficiency is expected to rise slightly to 1.8% in 2025 but remains far short of the pace needed to meet the global pledge to double the rate of improvements by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said in its latest report.

New Zealand’s quickening rollout of renewable energy will displace 70% of electricity sector demand for gas by 2030, a report said this week.

Only greater transparency, standardisation and financial-market discipline can unlock the potential of carbon as a true investable asset class, argues Bastien Declercq from Marex.

ASEAN power boost – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $470 mln for renewable energy projects and grid strengthening in Indonesia, it announced on Wednesday. ADB added that this will support the ASEAN Power Grid vision, by developing a robust grid that can integrate renewables at scale, and act as a foundational national power infrastructure. The results-based loan will support the roll out of wind and solar power projects over 2026-31 and avoid 2.5 MtCO2e emissions annually. In addition to the loan, the package also includes $30 mln from ADB-administered funds and a $3-mln grant from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) Energy Access and Transition Trust Fund, said the bank.

Compass set to 1.5C – Kiribati has urged leaders at COP30 to ensure the 1.5C goal stays alive and is unshakeable. In her statement during the High Level segment on Wednesday, Josephine Moote, deputy permanent representative of Kiribati to the UN, said that the climate crisis is accelerating, with insufficient finance, political hesitation, and weak enforcement to blame. The low-lying Pacific nation is already suffering some of the worst impacts of climate change, and Moote said that the 1.5C should be the scientific compass guiding COP decisions. (SPREP)

Germany will invest €1 billion in the forest fund proposed by the Brazilian government, it announced on Wednesday.

Singapore and Bhutan have launched a project application call for their bilateral implementation agreement on carbon credits cooperation.

Environment ministers from India and Japan on Wednesday said the two Asian giants will deepen cooperation on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), industrial decarbonisation, and technology transfer, as they work to align their goals under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Ice to work with you – Iceland and New Zealand have signed an agreement to deepen their collaboration on geothermal energy, the Beehive announced on Thursday. This will include joint research projects, workshops, and knowledge sharing, with a focus on superhot and supercritical geothermal systems. New Zealand is seeking to double its use of geothermal energy by 2040. The MoU was signed at COP30, in Belem.

The ongoing UN climate conference is the first of its kind to mention carbon removal in the action agenda, according to the trade association that helped organise the first CDR pavilion at COP.

Bangladesh on Wednesday announced its national carbon market framework in a "pre-launch" session, setting out rules for how the country will generate, authorise, and trade emission reductions under Article 6 mechanisms and the voluntary carbon market.