Phytoplankton-based carbon removal (CDR) holds potential for reaching climate-relevant scales but remains uncertain for deployment, with further research required, according to a new report on marine carbon removal (mCDR).

Clean cooking delivery - The Climate & Clean Air Coalition has funded the UK's Loughborough University to carry out a new project called 'Accelerating eCooking Uptake in Africa and South Asia' (ACUASA). The successful applicant will work with the university and the World Bank’s ESMAP - Energy Sector Management Assistance Program team to provide support on developing carbon finance mechanisms for clean cooking under two World Bank programmes, with potential application for Article 6. Closing deadline is Mar. 1, 2026. More info here.    

The engineered removals market saw a downturn in issuance and retirement volumes in January, month-on-month, but there were signs that the market was able to maintain momentum, with data showing that a healthy volume of forward deals and new investments were agreed.

Paraguay this week announced creation of the National Cadastre of Mitigation Projects, advancing detailed plans to transact the country’s first Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) this year, a senior official told Carbon Pulse.

The rate of atmospheric CO2 increase this year will remain too fast to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, according to Met Office scientists.

A Philippine coconut farmers’ organisation has signed an agreement with Swiss climate tech company EcoGuard Global to develop a digital platform enabling carbon credit issuance through real-time emissions tracking, the parties announced Wednesday.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) on Thursday announced a new set of decisions for the award of its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) quality labels, adding forestry and rice cultivation methodologies to its roster.

Keep it cool - Japan's Shiroki Corporation, which specialises in environmentally friendly building renovations, has developed what it claims to be the world's first carbon offset methodology for the use of heat-insulating paint. The methodology measures CO₂ emissions reductions achieved through the application of Miracool, which can lower indoor temperatures in the summer and thereby reduce energy consumption, the company announced Thursday. Carbon credits generated based on the methodology will be reviewed and issued by Earthstory, an offset issuance platform operated by Tokyo-based Linkhola.

The pace of energy transition across the Asia Pacific region will likely hinge on how policy updates shape the landscape of several major markets this year, a webinar heard this week.

A Vietnamese project developer said its improved cookstove project in Laos has been approved as eligible under the aviation sector’s global offsetting scheme, making them “among the first in Asia” to secure the designation.

Shaky or unclear sentiment in Australia's carbon market does not equate to an unwillingness to invest in emissions reduction or offsetting projects, the government’s green bank told Carbon Pulse.

Big batteries being built - Australia's New South Wales government has awarded contracts for six new long-duration projects to strengthen the state's energy grid, it announced. Through a tender run by ASL, the projects have been awarded contracts that provide a revenue underwriting, accelerating new energy infrastructure while protecting consumers, it said while not disclosing financial terms. It is the state’s largest tender for long-duration storage to date, both in terms of total storage capacity and the number of contracts. The projects' storage duration range from 9.1-11.5 hours, with the largest being Neoen Australia's 330 MW/3,500 MWh Great Western Battery. All six batteries are due to be completed by 2030. It follows the closure of the Eraring coal-fired power station being delayed until 2029 over energy security fears.

Fertilising reductions - Germany chemical-maker BASF and China’s state-linked fertiliser producer Yunnan Yuntianhua said they have extended their partnership on low-emissions fertilisers in China through 2030, targeting more than 1 MtCO2e emissions cuts by the end of the decade. The companies said verified emissions reductions from their "Limus urease inhibitor project" exceeded 120,000 tCO2e in 2025. The project uses stabilised urea fertilisers that reduce ammonia losses from conventional nitrogen fertilisers, a key source of agricultural emissions. Yuntianhua said it ran 31 field trials and more than 400 outreach events last year to promote adoption among farmers. BASF said it is exploring similar carbon reduction projects with fertiliser makers in other countries.

Recent exchanges between the New Zealand government and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) have injected fresh confidence into the country’s languishing emissions trading scheme (ETS), even if near‑term impacts remain limited, market observers said.

Adaptation push - France’s development agency Agence Francaise de Developpement has launched a tender to provide technical assistance to the State Bank of India, country's largest bank, to help deploy a climate adaptation tool and build a pipeline of climate-resilient projects, according to a procurement notice published this week. The consultancy will support SBI in meeting adaptation targets under a €100 mln AFD credit line signed in July 2025, which requires at least 30% of funds to go towards climate adaptation investments. The assignment, based within SBI’s ESG and Climate Finance unit in Mumbai, will focus on climate finance expertise and project identification aligned with AFD requirements. Bids are open to individual firms or multiple firms specialising in climate and green finance, with submissions due by Mar. 6, 2026.

Potential - Indonesia’s deputy energy minister said the country’s energy transition could unlock around IDR 1.68 ($109 bln) in investment and create more than 700,000 green jobs. He further said the clean energy push could cut emissions by 120-130 MtCO2, while supporting industrial growth across construction, operations, and manufacturing. Financing was flagged as the main constraint, with blended finance seen making projects bankable. The minister said the state budget alone would be insufficient for energy transition.

Losing ground - NGO Greenpeace East Asia warned that Hyundai-Kia risks getting left behind in Indonesia’s fast-growing electric vehicle market after its battery EV sales fell nearly 76% between 2023-25, even as national BEV sales surged sixfold. The group said Hyundai-Kia sold just 1,828 BEVs in 2025, down from 7,590 two years earlier, while Chinese rival BYD rapidly gained market leadership following its entry, as it has in many emerging markets it has entered, making the EV-maker world's largest by volumes sold. Greenpeace said the decline reflects Hyundai-Kia’s continued reliance on internal combustion models, warning that the absence of clear ICE phase-out targets in Southeast Asia threatens competitiveness and climate goals.

Green light - A green hydrogen project in New Zealand developed by Hiringa Energy has reached financial close, thanks to a NZ$20 mln ($11.6 mln) investment by the government, the company announced. The Kapuni project will use 25 MW of renewable energy to power a 5 MW electrolyser to produce up to 2 tonnes of green hydrogen per day. Hiringa said the hydrogen will be used to supply its fuel operations, as well as augment some of the natural gas feedstock used to manufacture ammonia at the Ballance Kapuni plant. The project will be the largest green hydrogen project in New Zealand so far, according to the company, and is expected begin production in 2027.

Macao International Carbon Emission Exchange (MEX) has partnered with an infrastructure provider for the global energy transition markets to expand connectivity across global environmental markets and enhance liquidity, it announced Thursday.

China’s clean energy economy continues to grow far more quickly than the wider economy, with relevant technologies contributing to over one-third of China's economic growth in 2025, a report published Thursday has found.