EU member states have approved the long-awaited rules governing how the bloc’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will operate from 2026, adopting a more stringent framework than those in draft texts leaked last month and raising the cost exposure for importers across steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, and hydrogen.

High capital costs and protracted diligence timelines are forcing nature-based project developers to rely on internal funds and equity for early-stage financing, new survey data shows.

A Netherlands-headquartered nature-based solutions (NbS) developer signed a binding sales agreement with a large international buyer for the future delivery of up to 100,000 carbon credits from an energy-efficient cookstoves project in Kenya, according to a company announcement.

Cleaning up cocoa – Olam Food Ingredients, a global food and beverage supplier, announced Wednesday that it reduced GHG emissions for cocoa farming in 2024 by 12% per tonne of output relative to its 2018 baseline. Meanwhile, it also reached its 2030 cocoa living income target with 155,000 cocoa farmers earning a living income, representing 45% of farmers within its global cocoa sustainability programmes, according to its latest Cocoa Compass Impact Report. The report marks the halfway point between the 2018 baseline and its 2030 climate target, which is to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% and Scope 3 emissions by 30%.

The UK’s upcoming carbon border fee will be downrated based on the quantity of free allowances domestic industries receive each quarter, provisions within the government’s finance bill reveal.

If there’s one overarching takeaway from Brazil’s COP30 climate summit, it’s that it was a particularly strange and messy one, reflecting the challenges of negotiating real, immediate efforts to fulfil the Paris Agreement – and the pressing need to change how the annual talks are run. 

Nepal has formally launched its first national carbon trading framework, creating a state-controlled system for carbon credit exports and private participation in the domestic market, according to the regulations published in the official gazette this week.

Latin eyes on REDD+ – Representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries that participate in the REDD+ mechanism are meeting in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, from 9-12 Dec. The meeting is organised by the UNFCCC Secretariat and hosted by the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The event aims to strengthen knowledge-sharing among specialists, with discussions on national strategies, Forest Reference Levels (FRLs/FRELs), safeguards information systems and the interaction between REDD+ and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Increasing transparency for results-based finance, such as from the Green Climate Fund, and enhancing future collaboration among Parties is also under discussion, according to Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA).

A new report by a Canadian think tank suggests Canada’s push to deploy LNG could be leveraged for international emissions credits, but another warned the country's emergent gas-producing province should be cautious of using all of its renewable energy generation towards new terminals. 

EU member states and the European Parliament struck a deal late on Tuesday to introduce a binding 2040 goal of 90% net emissions reductions compared to 1990 levels.

Not a curve – Bolivia’s latest climate submission underscores the country’s continued failure to curb deforestation, despite commitments set out in its updated NDC, negotiators told local media La Region. While the government claims progress across several sectors, primary forest loss has surged to 1.48 million ha in 2024 – the world’s second-highest total – with officials acknowledging that targets to cut deforestation have instead reversed. Experts warned the country lacks financing, monitoring systems, and political willingness to halt forest clearing.