Ocean-based research – Nonprofit research organisation [C]Worthy announced on Monday multi-year investments from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and the Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA) for an undisclosed amount to fund the group’s efforts to advance marine CDR (mCDR) research and governance. [C]Worthy develops community datasets within mCDR, as well as computational systems and datasets to quantify the impacts of removal technologies on CO2 budgets and marine ecosystems.

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.

A US-based agtech firm is expanding a partnership with Walmart that helps Arkansas rice farmers implement regenerative farming practices and reduce emissions, according to a Monday announcement.

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.

The European Commission on Friday adopted stricter conflict-of-interest and oversight rules for third parties accredited to verify carbon removals (CDR) certified in the European Union, but otherwise largely stuck to an earlier draft released in June, experts said.

Canada price corridor – Canada should establish a rising minimum price for industrial carbon credits to restore investor confidence and support low-carbon investment, experts from the Canadian Climate Institute said in an opinion piece. A “price corridor” approach is needed, with provinces maintaining a credit price floor alongside the existing ceiling, and the federal government updating its benchmark to harmonise standards, they said.

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.

German H2 and carbon capture – Germany-based manufacturer Busch Group has unveiled a suite of vacuum and overpressure technologies to support industrial hydrogen and carbon capture applications, including CO2 separation and fuel cell optimisation. Under its Busch Vacuum Solutions and Pfeiffer Vacuum brands, the firm is offering oil-free blowers for hydrogen recirculation, leak detection tools for fuel cell and pipeline integrity, and claw vacuum pumps for efficient CO2 extraction.

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.

Nearly 600,000 integrity-tagged cookstove carbon credits are to be issued by the end of the year, in addition to almost 200,000 units recently approved for use in CORSIA, to the same developer, it was announced Monday.

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.

Don't judge a book - A new Deloitte article, '11 Misconceptions About Carbon Credits', argued that despite growing criticism, they remain a valuable part of corporate climate strategies when used responsibly. The firm identified common misunderstandings, such as the belief that credits are merely a way to buy environmental progress, that the voluntary carbon market is too opaque to trust, or that all credits are low-quality. Deloitte emphasised in the new article that credits must complement, not replace, internal emissions reductions, but they can support high-integrity projects that deliver real CO2 mitigation and broader benefits, like biodiversity and community development. While acknowledging the market’s complexity, the report said companies can manage risks through careful project selection, robust due diligence and clear integration within net zero pathways. Dismissing the market entirely, Deloitte warned, could undermine climate finance and slow progress toward global goals. Instead, proactive, informed participation can give companies both environmental impact and strategic advantage.

A marketplace focused on carbon removals has launched a new call for expressions of interest for a government-backed bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project, it said Monday.

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.

A carbon removals registry has made updates to its biochar methodologies, as well as announcing new production modules for biochar developers, it announced on Monday. 

A San Francisco-headquartered enhanced rock weathering (ERW) developer operating in Brazil announced last week it aims to expand its deployment fivefold by the end of 2026.

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.

Two global corporations have struck a deal to invest in a regenerative agriculture scheme for rice farmers across Arkansas in the US, it was announced Monday.

A Zambian organisation has secured €1 million in funding from a Nordic-backed facility to expand access to clean electric cooking solutions, it announced last week.

A total €2 million has been awarded to fund research into how to best finance carbon removal (CDR) technology in the Nordic region, it was announced last week.

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.

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.