There is no evidence that the use of voluntary carbon market (VCM) credits drives stronger corporate climate ambition, according to a study published Tuesday, that challenged a narrative promoted by market participants.

Overseas SAF production – Engineering company Samsung E&A signed an MoU with Korean Air Lines on Thursday to outline a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) partnership. The companies will identify and review overseas SAF production projects, support long-term offtake agreements, explore investment opportunities in new SAF technologies and projects, and expand Samsung E&A’s SAF Technology Alliance. Samsung will be entering the US SAF market through the partnership, Korea IT Times reported, as the companies target the country due to its feedstock availability, advanced technology, and available infrastructure. Samsung E&A will be responsible for procuring and building SAF production facilities, while Korean Air will consider being a long-term offtaker, establishing a stable demand for the project.

Asian collaboration – Japan’s Carbon EX has signed an MoU with Indonesian state-owned utility PLN to cooperate on RECs and carbon credits, EcoBiz reported. The MoU, signed at COP30 in Belem, will strengthen Indonesia’s participation in the VCM while also positioning it for Article 6 opportunities, the outlet reported Evy Haryadi, director of technology, engineering, and sustainability at PLN, as saying. Under the agreement, the two partners will develop a commercial framework for scalable and transparent REC and carbon credit trading, capacity building, and strengthening cross-border trade. PLN reportedly said the two aim to start transactions next year.

Go to the woods – The world’s largest motorbike manufacturer, Yamaha Motor, has signed an agreement with three other private sector companies to implement a voluntary carbon project in Goto, Japan. In a press release on Friday, the Japanese company said the Goto Connecting Carbon Credits (Tsuna-Kure) project would conserve 815 ha of city-owned unmanaged forest on Kuga Island, Nagasaki Prefecture. The credits will be issued by the Natural Capital Credit Consortium (NCCC) – a Japanese association aiming to boost the country's carbon credit market, specifically NbS – and consistent with international standards, the motor vehicle manufacturer said, including for CO2 reductions and biodiversity benefits. The three partners are environmental services company iForest, forestry company Somarin, and environmental association Mitsumeru Tabi. The NCCC issued its first credits last year.

Verra released on Monday the final allocated deforestation risk maps for Peru, clearing the way for project developers in the country to request activity data needed to register REDD+ projects under its VM0048 methodology and associated VM0055 module.

Japan-Ukraine soil pact – Japan-based agri-tech firm Sagri has signed an MoU with Ukrainian grain producer Grain Alliance to develop digital MRV and soil carbon quantification across 57,000 hectares. The partnership aims to scale carbon farming and improve sustainability in Ukraine’s agriculture sector.

Tokyo firms selected – The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has appointed four companies to run programme-type projects that aggregate emissions cuts from activities like efficient boilers, solar panels, LED lighting, and rice farming practices, with the aim to generate J-Credits. The selected firms — Carbon EX, Creatura, Bywill, and Feiger — will coordinate credit issuance and return revenue to participating SMEs and farmers across the city.

Japanese fuel offsets – Japan-based Green Carbon and Cosmo Oil Marketing have completed the country’s first local fuel emissions offset using rice farming carbon credits, applying J-Credits from methane reductions in Fukushima’s Aizu region. The credits, generated by Green Carbon through mid-season drainage, were used to offset emissions from fuel trucks operated by Cosmo’s local distributor, Kita-Nihon Energy. Part of the revenue was returned to participating farmers, supporting a circular model that links agricultural decarbonisation with local credit use.

G20 leaders have promised to intensify their efforts to reach net zero emissions around mid-century, in a declaration that acknowledges the need to adapt to climate change, overhaul sustainable finance, and distribute clean cooking – but omits any mention of fossil fuels.

Prices were little moved last week amid what some saw as a disappointing COP30 in Belem, which also failed to give a strong signal to the voluntary market, while CORSIA fundamentals remain hazy despite the release of bullish demand-side data.

Only around one-fifth of climate disaster losses were covered by insurance in Asia and Latin America over the past decade, as rapid urbanisation in high-risk areas and more frequent extreme weather events widen the protection gap, a Spanish economic research group said in a report launched at COP30.

Go with the flow - Onnu, a UK-based pyrolysis company, has launched CarboFlow, its proprietary technology to convert agricultural waste into verified carbon credits. Developed in-house, CarboFlow is designed to make biomass projects viable, scalable, and profitable, at a cost and speed that were previously out of reach, the company said. In a new partnership with Agrotech Bioenergy in Malaysia, CarboFlow is now also being deployed at plantations in Sabah, converting previously underutilised agricultural residues and biomass into renewable energy, biochar, and carbon credits.

The COP30 UN climate summit wrapped up last week with a record $9.5 billion pledged for forests – yet nature at large took a back seat in the negotiation rooms, according to observers.

A Canadian industrial hemp firm has last week unveiled plans to raise up to C$2 million ($1.4 mln) through a non-brokered private placement and a share consolidation.

Analysts have raised their CORSIA demand forecasts in light of an October announcement by ICAO that signalled that the aviation sector had grown by more than expected in 2024.

The new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) is no longer just a theoretical part of Article 6 markets, according to an executive at a major project developer, but it will take time to fully assess the investment viability of different types of activities.

A UN-supported clean cooking body has published a new version of its cookstoves carbon methodology that can now be use as part of international trading under Article 6.2 and adopted by voluntary standards.

A review of options to cut costs in Australia’s energy sector has found that all key pathways are either aligned with, or independent of, the country’s net zero ambitions – countering claims that decarbonisation is driving up prices.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has launched a digital carbon credit registry to support the implementation of Article 6 and strengthen oversight of its environmental assets, its environmental ministry announced on Nov. 20 at COP30 in Belem.

South Korea's main stock exchange on Monday launched consignment trading services for allowances under the national emissions trading scheme (ETS), as the government seeks to expand third-party participation in the carbon market.

The UN has opened public consultation on the first global methodology for savanna fire management (SFM) under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement.

Mine plans to craft – The Australian federal government has agreed to spend A$5 mln ($3.2 mln), plus contributions from New South Wales, to develop plans for reusing land formerly home to mines, the Net Zero Economy Authority announced on Friday. The plans will address BHP’s Mt Arthur mine site in Muswellbrook and Glencore’s Macquarie Coal site in Lake Macquarie, with support from the NZEA as part of the agency’s work in the Hunter region. The outcome will also inform future mine site closures across NSW, to create a replicable model, NZEA added.

Sweet deal – The Global Carbon Council (GCC) has signed an MoU with the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) to strengthen the Asian country’s participation in carbon markets, the Doha-based standard said in a Sunday press release. Specifically, the two will partner on workshops, training, sector-specific capacity-building for project development, biofuel-specific methodologies, and advocate for the Indian government to adopt GCC’s standards and methodologies for compressed biogas, green hydrogen, and other bioenergy projects. ISMA will also support the government’s recognition of GCC credits for use in India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme and the issuance of letters of authorisation (LoAs) for eligible projects. Credits issued to projects registered with the GCC are eligible for compliance with Phase 1 (2024-26) of the aviation sector’s CORSIA system, as long as they are for emissions reductions which occurred by Dec. 31, 2026 and providing they have an LoA from the host country.