A state in southern India has invited bids to develop a biochar project inside a major tiger reserve, aiming to generate carbon credits by converting invasive plant species into biochar.

Get to work - Indonesia and Japan have approved two Indian firms as accredited third-party entities to verify carbon projects under their bilateral Joint Crediting Mechanism. The joint committee overseeing the scheme designated Galaxy Certification Services, a certification and inspection firm, and 4K Earth Science, a climate and geospatial analytics company. Third-party entities are responsible for validating project designs and verifying emissions reductions before credits are issued.

Blue carbon bet - Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan has invested in US agri-tech firm Symbrosia, which cultivates red seaweed to absorb CO2 from marine ecosystems, as it tests a carbon capture and utilisation business model in North America, the company said in a press release. The investment was made via Idemitsu’s US subsidiary, Idemitsu Americas Holdings, it said on Tuesday. Symbrosia’s seaweed cultivation is used as biomass to produce livestock feed additives aimed at cutting agricultural emissions.

Biomass credits - Tokyo-based Linkhola, a project developer, said on Tuesday that a wood biomass project in Iwate prefecture has issued 749 carbon credits, marking what it described as the country’s first ESCO-type scheme of its kind. The credits were generated by Environmental Energy Diffusion, which installed biomass facilities at two elderly care sites using resources from a local forest, according to the press release.

New Zealand’s Supreme Court has dismissed an application to hear an appeal against a lower court ruling in a lawsuit over advice which fed into the South Pacific country's first emissions reduction plan and budget.

Cash for communities – New Zealand has contributed an additional FJ $5 mln ($2.2 mln) to Fiji’s Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund, the Fijian environment and climate ministry said on social media on Friday. The cash will support the Pacific Island nation’s relocation programme for communities facing severe climate risk, including access to resources to shift when all adaptation measures have been exhausted, the ministry said. It emphasised that relocation is a last resort measure.

Diet on trial – Around 450 citizens are suing Japan’s central government over its unconstitutional inaction on climate change, in a first for the country, reported The Japan Times last week. Describing the country’s efforts on climate as grossly inadequate, the plaintiffs are seeking damages of JPY 1,000 ($6.40) each, with lead lawyer Akihiro Shima saying the aim of the suit is to focus on Japan’s responsibility to fight climate change and not the money. Past climate litigation in Japan has focused on companies and coal plants, whereas this is the first case to seek compensation from the state for climate change, the paper reported.

Fertiliser use on peatlands can either accelerate climate gains or make little measurable difference, depending on land use and hydrology, according to new findings from long-term field measurements in Finland and Malaysia that span afforestation, oil palm cultivation, and contrasting greenhouse gas pathways.