EV subsidies – The UK government is expected to announce a £1.3 bln boost to the UK’s Electric Car Grant scheme in next week’s Budget, up from an initial £650 mln, the BBC reported. A further £200 mln is also expected for expanding public chargepoints, aimed at improving access for households without off-street parking. The grant provides up to £3,750 per vehicle, though early research suggested it has yet to draw in new EV buyers or expand EVs’ share of new registrations. Ministers are also considering long-term road-tax options as fuel-duty revenue declines, including a potential per-mile charge.

China pressed the EU in a tense pre-dawn standoff at COP30 on Saturday, offering to support tougher language on ambition and adaptation in the final outcome text in exchange for Brussels agreeing to kill its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), according to sources.

Red tape bureaucracy should be cut in the UK to speed up nuclear power expansion, according to an independent taskforce commissioned by the government.

Countries and civil society welcomed the Brazilian presidency's pledge to establish two roadmaps on transitioning away from fossil fuels and ending deforestation, even as several have described it only as a consolation prize after a reference to the two issues failed to make it into the main COP30 decisions.

Brazil's international coalition could be uniquely positioned to facilitate mutual recognition of credits and knowledge exchange between countries amid a global explosion of carbon pricing systems - if certain steps are taken, experts said during COP30 in Belem.

As the world lags behind 2030 restoration targets, nine governments announced a new coalition which will coordinate planting 1 billion native trees on World Environment Day.

Negotiators at COP30 in Belem on Saturday accepted a final decision concerning the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), distilling the list of indicators, nixing any new funding commitments, and reiterating the GGA’s non-prescriptive nature.

As the Brazilian presidency on Saturday gavelled through a Mutirao text and several negotiated decisions, officials and civil society offered mixed reactions – generally supporting COP30 policy advances and the spirit of multilateralism, while alternately welcoming or decrying efforts to secure climate finance.

Countries failed to strengthen international efforts to drive an energy transition after two fraught weeks of COP30 negotiations, beyond doubling down on an existing 2023 pledge, agreeing to speed up decarbonisation targets, and reaffirming last year's goal to boost climate finance.

Day 12 at COP30 in Belem. The final day, as most expect, with Brazil frantically organising huddles throughout the night to push forward on the Belem Package deal. Meanwhile, possible 'quorum', whereby not enough parties are present to seal a deal, was also looming over negotiations, leaving the presidency to scramble to achieve consensus with time fast running out.

Forest surface fuel biochar offers a cost-effective wildfire mitigation alternative that can deliver substantial carbon sequestration, soil-health improvements, and pollution-control benefits, according to new research.

Australia and Turkiye have drafted a partnership arrangement that would see them share various roles of the presidency at COP31 next year in Antalya.

Draft text for an international plan to forge a just transition towards a low-carbon future includes words to "develop" a transition mechanism, much to the delight of civil society, however observers are concerned that the language remains weak and lacks a reference to shifting away from fossil fuels.

Ethiopia is finalising its first memorandum of understanding (MoU) under Article 6.2 with Singapore, while also beginning discussions with a group of priority buyer countries and finishing its national carbon market regulation, a senior official told Carbon Pulse.

A recent analysis by the energy research and intelligence firm Rystad Energy finds that, contrary to popular belief, oil and gas majors’ low carbon spending does not correlate to lower shareholder return.

Governments attending high-level G20 meetings this week placed renewed attention on clean cooking and energy access as central issues, reflecting ongoing efforts to close a major infrastructure and public health gap across Africa.

Qatar has strengthened its Paris Agreement pledge with a new climate plan that abandons a relative, business-as-usual (BAU) emissions target in favour of quantifiable, project-based cuts totalling 42 million tonnes of CO2e by 2040, while expanding the scope of measures across its gas-heavy economy.

Inflation over the next 10 years could erode a huge share of the $300 billion that rich countries have pledged to mobilise for developing countries each year by 2035, Carbon Pulse analysis of projected inflation rates indicates. 

Switzerland and Zambia signed a bilateral cooperation agreement under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement this week at COP30 in Belem.

African countries face a strategic choice between exporting low-cost carbon credits to foreign buyers or prioritising domestic climate targets through sovereign carbon markets, according to an analysis by a think tank.

The European Commission has adopted the first piece of secondary legislation under the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation, marking the initial step toward putting the EU’s new voluntary framework for certifying carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products into operation.

UK electricity exempted from EU CBAM? – The EU is considering reducing the costs of its upcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) for UK electricity producers, following industry concerns that the levy could threaten the viability of power interconnectors and drive up emissions, the FT reports. Brussels is reportedly working with London to factor in the UK ETS as part of a broader review due on Dec. 10. That would include allowing importers of electricity from the UK to apply default values that take into account the carbon price paid by British electricity operators, as well as the amount of renewable energy they produce, according to sources cited by the paper.

Recycling gains – A multi-country lifecycle analysis finds that recycled concrete aggregates can reduce global warming impacts by up to 97% compared with natural aggregate production in regions with mature construction-waste recycling systems. The study, covering Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Mainland China, and Spain, shows that these benefits drop sharply in less-developed markets where long transport distances or inefficient processing offset advantages, underscoring that the sustainability value of construction and demolition waste recycling remains highly context-dependent and that establishing uniform global guidelines is challenging due to regional disparities

National governments from across the globe have launched Friday at COP30 a coalition led by Switzerland, meant to push forward voluntary mitigation efforts under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The Federal Council approved a new law to advance carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) on Friday, despite scepticism about deploying the technology at gas-fired power plants.

The Brazilian-led tropical forest fund should support carbon markets by reducing regulatory risk to attract private capital, and providing more funds to forest preservation, observers have said, though there is also risk that carbon project additionality gets undermined.

European carbon allowances recorded their first weekly decline in a month after prices dropped back to test a major support level amid a wave of macro-related selling across the entire energy complex, while forecasts for milder weather and speculation around a new peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine conflict added to the weight on prices.

Some 24 countries have signed the Belem Declaration to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels on Friday, spearheaded by Colombia and the Netherlands, with a date set for the first international conference on the subject to be held next year.

Europe has ramped up its efforts to support clean energy in Africa, announcing more than €15.1 billion in combined pledges from the EU and its 27 member states as part of a year-long campaign led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Parties in Belem agreed not to significantly change existing decisions made on Article 6 and to channel nearly $30 million to the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) from the Kyoto Protocol-era Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), as part of decisions made at COP30 on Friday.

Dutch aviation emissions are projected to exceed the sector’s 2030 target, according to research published Friday.

European fuel producers and automotive industry groups have urged EU policymakers to recognise renewable fuels in the bloc’s forthcoming revision of CO2 emission standards for passenger cars, due next month.

Bio-based building materials – Russia’s carbon unit registry administrator, Kontur, has opened a public consultation on a draft methodology for crediting the climate benefits of bio-based building materials. Stakeholders have one month, until Dec. 22, to submit comments, which will be published once included in Kontur’s database, the registry operator said. Interested stakeholders may submit comments on the methodology via an online form.

Millions of UK households will see a small increase in energy bills this winter to cover policy changes and operating costs linked to the energy transition, including funding for a new nuclear power station, the UK energy regulator said on Friday.

The European Commission launched formal infringement proceedings on Friday against Estonia, Italy, and Hungary for failing to stop financial incentives for the installation of stand-alone fossil fuel boilers, in a move aimed at accelerating the decarbonisation of Europe’s building sector.

Day 11 in Belem, and the last scheduled day of negotiations. Less than 12 hours after COP30 talks were suspended, and the venue evacuated, after a fire erupted in the pavilion area, the Brazilian presidency dropped its Belem Package of texts.

Tech for supply security - The UK government has published its response to its annual open letter that invited views on new generating technologies that could contribute to security of supply by way of the capacity market auctions. The responses identified new innovations in hydrogen to power (H2P) through thermal plasma electrolysis (TPE) as more efficient than other methods, whilst demand side response (DSR) or consumer-led flexibility also featured in several responses. A new technology class of flexible compute capacity (FCC) was proposed, which is a form of DSR whose response uses existing cryptocurrency mining infrastructure, turning that off at times of system stress. The potential for offshore hybrid assets - including multi-purpose interconnectors and non-standard interconnectors combined with offshore wind - was also flagged by participants, who asked for greater clarity on how they could participate in the capacity market. The govt said it will continue to evaluate these emerging technologies with the National Electricity System Operator (NESO), and explore how best to address concerns around technical feasibility and appropriate regulatory changes. The next annual letter will be published in Autumn 2026.    

Climate pledges are increasingly placing emphasis on biodiversity, but they will remain ineffective unless they incorporate spatial data, an expert has told Carbon Pulse.

The call to kickstart a roadmap away from fossil fuels has dropped out of the latest COP30 negotiating text, quickly triggering pushback from over two dozen developed and developing countries who said they wouldn't accept it.

The European Commission on Thursday published new rules detailing the competence and independence requirements for verifiers under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), setting standards for how CBAM auditors and their teams are accredited to check emissions reports for imported goods.