Colombia-based carbon standard Cercarbono announced on Wednesday the final update of its methodology for afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) projects, following a public consultation launched in July last year.

Demand arising - 2026 could be the year where an effective demand signal arises for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the EU, particularly bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) and direct air capture and storage (DACS), said Mark Taylor, co-founder and chief product officer at Sightline Climate on a webinar Thursday. He referenced plans to integrate domestic and permanent carbon removals in the EU ETS as helping to drive the incentive for companies to invest and potentially generate revenue from doing so, as well as the EU target for 50 mln tonnes of CO2 injection capacity by 2030 and the under-subscribed Northern Lights project. However, Sightline's Co-Founder and CEO Kim Zou countered that the opportunity could be capped, particularly for BECCS, given limited biomass feedstock and competition for it from other industries such as synthetic fuels. They both spoke on a webinar presenting the company's report looking back at climate tech VC investment in 2025, which marked an 8% increase in year-on-year from fewer, larger, and later-stage bets focused particularly on energy security, adaptation, and supporting AI growth.

SBTi governance - The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has been approved as an ISEAL Community Member and opened applications for the next term of its independent Technical Council, in steps it says will further boost its governance and oversight. ISEAL is a global membership organization that defines and promotes good practices for sustainability systems and standards. By becoming a community member, SBTi will participate in its learning, collaboration, and innovation activities. SBTi has also launched applications for the next term of its Technical Council for the 2026-2029 period - the technical decision-making body responsible for reviewing and approving its standards and other documents. Candidates are sought with extensive climate mitigation and sustainability expertise and are appointed for a three-year term. The deadline to apply is Feb. 26, 2026.

US airlines were responsible for over 55 Mt of emissions in 2024 that are subject to CORSIA offsetting requirements, data recently published by UN agency ICAO shows, even as analysts highlight ongoing uncertainty around their participation in the scheme.

A voluntary carbon asset management platform and an infrastructure provider have announced a strategic partnership aimed at improving how carbon credits are sourced, evaluated, and transacted across the market.

Carbon removal (CDR) experienced bumper growth in 2025 with a burst of new contracts, although Microsoft continues to dominate the market, according to a report released by a portfolio manager this week.

Japan and Azerbaijan are close to finalising a carbon trading deal under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, with credits set to come from a project to decarbonise the Caspian country's largest oil and gas terminal, an executive told Carbon Forward Middle East on Thursday. 

Malaysia’s palm oil industry could generate significant volumes of carbon credits, but structural challenges in the country’s carbon market such as low liquidity, high costs, and regulatory uncertainty continue to constrain progress, according to experts.

An Indonesian lender has teamed up with a carbon project developer to roll out what the Jakarta-based partners said is the country’s first dedicated financing facility for forestry-based carbon credits, on Thursday.

Bids requested - UNDP last week launched a tender seeking a consulting firm to conduct a mapping and baseline study on Vietnam’s blue carbon potential, according to procurement documents. The assignment, running from Jan. to Mar. 2026, will assess mangroves, seagrass, and tidal marshes, alongside policy frameworks, financing flows, and investment gaps. Findings will inform Vietnam’s National Blue Carbon Action Partnership and a forthcoming national roadmap, the documents said. UNDP said women-owned firms are encouraged to bid, with preference given where technical scores are equal.

US-based tech giant Microsoft has signed a carbon removal (CDR) offtake agreement with an Indian project developer, marking its first durable CDR purchase in Asia, according to an announcement Thursday.

Sold out - Tokyo-based Green Carbon has sold out around 65,000 domestically issued J-Credits from rice projects, amid rising domestic demand. Inquiries from corporate clients have been on the rise, driven by the policy progress about Japan's mandatory carbon market, the developer said. Green Carbon said it had begun accepting reservations for J-Credits scheduled for approval from June 2026 onwards.    

Seeded - Indian climate technology startup RenewCred has raised INR 42.5 mln ($0.51 mln) in a seed funding round to build what it said in a press release is the country’s first technology-native carbon credit standard and registry for the voluntary carbon market. The round was led by Campus Angels Network, with participation from Kairos Early Opportunity Fund and several angel and institutional investors, the company said. RenewCred is developing a fully digital platform offering continuous monitoring, reporting and verification, aiming to cut verification timelines by 75% and transaction costs by more than half. The company plans to focus on non-nature-based credits, including biochar, electric vehicle fleets, renewable energy, and industrial decarbonisation, and expects to issue its first credits this quarter.

Microsoft will purchase 2.85 million soil carbon removal (CDR) credits from a US-based agtech firm as part of a new 12-year deal, it was announced on Thursday, marking the third transaction between the two companies.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are moving ahead with plans to create compliance markets in the coming years, market-makers told Carbon Forward Middle East, providing fresh confirmation to international speculation. 

The rapid expansion of the forward offtake market in the voluntary carbon market may be here to stay, and could determine credit pricing dynamics in the years ahead, according to analysis from a carbon data firm and rating agency.