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.

Standard approved – Ratings agency Calyx Global has added the BioCarbon Standard to its list of screened carbon crediting programmes, confirming it meets the platform’s minimum quality threshold, it announced via LinkedIn on Friday. The assessment followed a three-step process developed by Calyx’s GHG integrity panel, covering 31 criteria across governance, transparency, stakeholder engagement, auditing, and operational procedures. Of the 19 programmes evaluated to date, 15 have passed screening.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Landfill gas -  Verra on Friday launched a new landfill-gas methodology, VMR0016, to replace CDM approaches ACM0001 and AMS-III.G from Dec. 2026. The update introduces new Verra tools, a positive list for automatic additionality, and transition guidance for existing projects. Developers will be required to register or renew under the old CDM methods by end of Nov. 2026, after which all renewals must use VMR0016. The methodology, aligned with ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles, will be submitted for formal assessment, the standard said.

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.

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.

Zefiro quarterly earnings – Canadian methane abatement firm Zefiro reported record quarterly revenue of $12.1 mln for the fiscal quarter that ended on Sept. 30, 2025 (Q1 2026), a 21% increase from the previous year. The company also achieved a record EBITDA of $2.6 mln and reduced operating expenses by approximately $1.3 mln. Zefiro's ongoing projects, including a federally funded initiative in Ohio to plug 37 orphan wells and its first carbon credit sale in Aug. 2025 to Mercuria, contributed to its continued growth, the firm said on its website. The company reported a net income of $665,401 for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $1.67 mln in Q1 2025. Zefiro is focused on reducing debt and enhancing its financial flexibility as it enters Q2 2026.

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.