Singapore and Japan signed a framework on Sunday seeking to enhance cooperation in low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production, carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), nuclear energy, LNG, and cross-border electricity imports, they announced.

Tool fix, grid mix - Verra is seeking funders, technical contributors, and independent expert reviewers to help revise VT0011, its tool for estimating grid electricity emission factors used across Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) methodologies. The proposed revision would consolidate the tool into a standalone document, removing its current reliance on the Clean Development Mechanism's TOOL07, and would merge it with the related VT0010 tool to reduce cross-referencing. Verra also plans to introduce simplified calculation procedures, improved quantification approaches, and potentially an hourly marginal emission factor. The revision is currently at the methodology idea note stage.

Capturing outback - Dutch direct air capture (DAC) company Skytree entered the Australian market, as its CEO, Rob van Straten, participated in a two-week trade mission and delivering a keynote at the Energy Exchange Australia conference in Perth. The company said Australia's abundant solar and wind resources create conditions for low-cost DAC operations, with target markets including synthetic aviation fuel production, greenhouse horticulture, beverage carbonation, and geological carbon storage. Skytree appointed a Sydney-based project development manager for the Asia-Pacific region as part of the expansion. The company said its modular technology aligns with Australia's Safeguard Mechanism and its emissions reduction target of 62-70% below 2005 levels by 2035.

Bank's carbon homework - Deutsche Bank purchased and retired just under 101,600 tonnes of CO2e in voluntary carbon credits in 2025, sourced from projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, according to its annual report. Some 83% of the credits came from emissions reduction projects, with the remaining 17% from removal projects including biochar and nature-based solutions. By standard, 75% were issued under Verra, 12% under Gold Standard, 8% under Global C-Sink Registry, and 5% under Puro.earth. The German lender said credits are used only to offset residual Scope 1, Scope 2, and business travel emissions that cannot be eliminated through efficiency or renewable energy measures. Separately, Deutsche Bank signed a letter of intent at COP30 with Honduras and Suriname to develop sovereign rainforest carbon credits under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

The Australian government should use the ongoing review of its carbon market to set a list of priority methods that would help it achieve its 2035 emissions reduction target, according to the head of the market’s integrity body.

Enhanced weathering (EW) could remove hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 each year, though major uncertainties remain around how much carbon ultimately reaches long-term storage, according to a new study.

Rising attendance has driven a 26-fold increase in emissions from air travel to United Nations climate negotiations over the past three decades, with delegate flights generating more than 710,000 tonnes of CO2e since the mid-1990s, according to a new study.

The government of Indonesia will pilot a new global framework for standardising carbon credit data as part of efforts to strengthen transparency and interoperability in carbon markets, according to an announcement Friday.

China's newly announced roadmap for the next five years has somewhat provided clarity on the fundamentals of the national emissions trading system, but worries remain as to whether the latest target will allow the country's CO2 output to grow.

Allowance prices in China's national emissions market continued to rise over the past week amid increased liquidity, as the country unveiled its development roadmap for the next five years.

A Perth-based energy company has agreed to acquire up to 6.6 million carbon credits from forestry and mangrove restoration projects in Mexico and Indonesia, a US law firm that advised on the transaction announced on Thursday.

Stronger demand signals such as low-carbon product mandates are needed in Australia to get clean industrial projects over the line to a final investment decision (FID), according to a policy briefing paper published this week.

Pre-emptive move - China, the world's biggest oil importer ‌and ⁠a major fuel exporter, has ordered an immediate ban on refined ​fuel exports in March in a further step to secure local supply amidst global supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. According to the report, the halt applies to cargoes that had yet to clear customs as of Mar. 11. The restriction also goes beyond last week's move by Beijing urging refiners not to agree to new exports and to try to cancel committed shipments. The war in the Middle East is driving a “scarcity premium” for energy prices and highlights the importance of energy independence, with pricing carbon “the single most important thing we can do” to tackle climate change,  John Kerry, former US envoy for climate, said this week.

Flawed proposal - Proposed amendments to South Korea's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) rules are likely insufficient to support Lee Jae-myung Administration's renewable energy output targets, Seoul-based Plan 1.5 said this week. The non-profit raised concerns over discounting private power companies and loopholes in purchase obligations. The share of private power generators in the total RPS mandated supply increased to around 24.2% in 2026 from 19% in 2021. It will be challenging for the country to reach its renewable energy supply target if private power companies are excluded from the obligation to supply power. The government aims to expand renewable energy installation capacity to 100 GW by 2030 and achieve at least 30% renewable energy generation by 2035.    

South Korea is seeking to turn abandoned mines into new sites for onshore carbon sequestration projects, through collaboration with steelmaking major Posco.

Cables for data - Miner Rio Tinto and cable manufacturer Prysmian are working together on an industrial trial to produce low carbon aluminium cables for the growing data centre market, according to an announcement. The project uses aluminium from Rio Tinto’s hydropowered smelter in Quebec along with aluminium made using ELYSIS technology, which eliminates direct GHG emissions from the smelting process and releases oxygen instead. Building on a five-year supply agreement signed in 2023, the partnership aims to accelerate lower-carbon aluminium solutions for applications such as energy transmission and data-centre infrastructure, helping customers reduce the carbon footprint of critical IT systems.

New data tool - Carbon market intelligence platform Clever Offsets announced Thursday the launch of its Enterprise Module, which it said provides market participants with structured data and analytical tools to assess delivery risk across categories and portfolios at scale. The new offering is meant to empower market participants to apply their own underwriting frameworks, diversify exposure, and engage with greater confidence, aiming to meet institutional risk appetites and support broader financial participation. 

Climate-AI fellows - Environmental disclosure non-profit CDP has announced a Google.org Fellowship. The fellowship team will support CDP in building an AI-powered tool to transform how cities, states, and regions use CDP’s environmental dataset to help them reduce risk and drive action for the future.