Joint carbon accounting - Global business, finance, and climate leaders coordinated by London-based Systemiq issued Friday a joint statement calling for stronger and more unified carbon accounting standards to accelerate decarbonisation, warning against fragmentation into parallel frameworks. The signatories said globally consistent, decision-useful GHG accounting across full corporate value chains, including Scope 3 emissions, is critical for risk management, investor decision-making, and credible transition planning. The statement urged policymakers to strengthen and evolve existing global frameworks such as the GHG Protocol and ISO standards, rather than prioritising product-level approaches that could undermine corporate accountability. It said reinforcing current systems would improve comparability, reduce costs, and support faster progress toward net zero.

Combining drone data with satellite metrics can significantly improve carbon stock monitoring in tropical forests where field plots are limited, according to a peer-reviewed study published Friday.

Natural gas demand stagnated in 2025, growing by less than 1% globally, while production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased by almost 7%, with around three-quarters of the growth concentrated in the second half of the year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The rising “shadow fleet” in global shipping lanes threatens to torpedo the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) already precarious plans for reaching net zero, an analyst group has warned.

Consumers can be a pillar of the electric transition, including through electric vehicle (EV) batteries supporting the grid and overall acceptance of the shift, said experts at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced a new direction for its Trillion Trees (1t.org) project this week, transforming it into a broader alliance aimed at encouraging the private sector to invest in forests.

Record-low cost of green technology, particularly solar, is helping India leapfrog the fossil-fuel heavy development path taken by China and Western economies, according to a new report.

Permits in China's emissions market continued to trade around RMB 78 ($11.19) over the past week, and analysts expecting allowance prices to hover around the same level in the short term amid a relatively optimistic outlook.

Nepal has become the first Asian country to sign an agreement with the LEAF Coalition, unlocking up to $55 million in results-based climate finance for forest protection in a major step towards the use of jurisdictional REDD+ credits in international compliance markets.

Indonesia biodiesel – Indonesia aims to end diesel imports in 2026 as it ramps up mandatory biodiesel blending, the energy ministry said on Friday. Southeast Asia's largest economy's biodiesel mandate has been rising, lifting domestic consumption to 14.2 mln kilolitres last year, exceeding official targets and cutting diesel imports by about 3.3 mln kilolitres. Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said higher blending levels, alongside expanded refining capacity, have created a diesel surplus of around 1.4 mln kilolitres. Indonesia is also planning to stop importing medium- and high-octane gasoline by 2027, while surplus diesel will be redirected to produce aviation fuel.

The government is being called on to better resource the development of Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) methodologies, as well as prioritising those that integrate biodiversity, as part of an ongoing review of the scheme.

Taiwan is seeking to accelerate the development of an emissions reduction project through its Article 6 partnership with Paraguay this year, according to the island's environment ministry.

The coming year will see a plethora of sentiment-shifting events and milestones in Australia’s carbon market; however, experts have pointed to the mid-year review of the Safeguard Mechanism as the flagship agenda item that will shape the scheme in the years to come.

Wind-ing road - Three offshore wind projects in Western Australia have been awarded final feasibility licences, the federal government announced Friday. The three projects could deliver around 4 GW of renewable electricity into the South West Interconnected System, the government said, with Bunbury Offshore Wind being offered licences for two projects and Westward Wind being offered one. Acceptance of these offers will allow proponents to commence detailed feasibility investigations and consultation under the framework, the government said. Canberra is struggling to attract feasibility licence applications in other offshore wind zones in Australia, with the one bid in the Illawarra zone being withdrawn by its proponent and bids in the Bass Strait being deemed uncompetitive, according to the government.

Solar shining - The Australian government has published its outcomes paper on the core design principles of its Solar Sharer Offer, it announced Friday. The program is designed so that energy retailers offer households with smart metres at least 3 hours of free electricity in middle of the day when solar generation is at its peak. The government said the programme will be optional and enable more Australians to access abundant clean energy, which is frequently forced to be curtailed, in the middle of the day. Outcomes from the consultation held last year include tailoring the free-power period to local conditions and enhancing system efficiency overall. The scheme will begin on July 1 and be made available in South Australia, New South Wales, and South East Queensland.

Upcoming webinar - Verra will host a webinar on Feb. 24 at 1000 ET/1500 GMT to provide an overview of its ABACUS label, a designation launched in 2024 with an Amazon-led working group that identifies carbon credits generated under Verra’s Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation methodology (VM0047) that exceed baseline methodological requirements. The session will cover label eligibility criteria, validation and verification requirements, insights from applying the label, and next steps for its further development, alongside responses to frequently asked questions. A representative from Amazon will join the discussion to share perspectives on market demand and pricing dynamics for labelled credits. Register here.

Ratings tie-up - Calyx Global, a rating agency, and Climate Impact X (CIX), an exchange, have struck a strategic partnership, which will give users of the exchange evaluations of credits integrity.  Calyx Global said it has over 1,000 GHG and 500 SDG ratings that assess the quality and integrity of carbon credits. Calyx co-Founder Duncan van Bergen said, by integrating our independent ratings into the CIX platform, the partners were giving the participants the necessary tools to "distinguish real impact from noise".