The global impact investment arm of a major philanthropic network has invested in an agriculture-focused venture capital fund, it announced.

Farmers round – In Brazil, the state of Para has concluded another step in its ongoing free, prior, and informed consultations (FPICs) for its jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) programme. Last Wednesday, the state government held the first consultation with family farmers, bringing together producers from more than 35 municipalities around the capital, Belem. Six additional meetings are scheduled to take place.

CORSIA carbon futures continued to slump as the supply of credits crept higher and the conflict in Iran pushed up jet fuel prices, leading to expectations of a possible downturn in demand from the aviation sector.

After a difficult three years for nature-based voluntary carbon projects, Latin American standards, developers, governments, and multilateral partners are pouring support into forest carbon.

Researchers from ETH Zurich have suggested that strategically located reforestation efforts would achieve the same planetary cooling effect as more randomly situated projects, even if fewer trees were planted.

Japan-Cambodia JCM - Japan and Cambodia adopted revisions to rules and guidelines for their bilateral Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement during the seventh joint committee meeting held on Mar. 5, including new guidance for REDD+ and afforestation and reforestation projects. The committee also approved one new project idea note (PIN), granted PIN exemptions for six existing projects, adopted one cookstove methodology, and authorised the issuance of 1,039 credits from a LED streetlight project. Participants also discussed the pipeline of upcoming projects and confirmed plans to update bilateral documents to enable the mechanism to continue operating beyond 2030.

Biochar module expansion - Isometric is consulting on a major expansion to its distributed biochar module until Apr. 15. The update significantly expands the Biochar Production in Distributed and Small Scale Projects Module - opening it to more projects by accommodating more kiln types and project structures. Distributed biochar projects will now be held to the same bar for quality and rigour as industrial biochar, in recognition of the meaningful co-benefits such projects bring to the environment and local communities. The module includes new additions such as better guidance on community engagement and benefit sharing, and allowing the use of new technologies to automate data gathering. Stakeholders are invited to submit comments here for the next 30 days.

Agri credits - Japan-based project developer Faeger has last month signed an MoU with rice milling equipment manufacturer Satake Asia to collaborate on developing agricultural projects in Southeast Asia. The partnership will focus on reducing GHG emissions from farming activities while creating additional revenue streams for farmers and rice milling businesses through carbon credit generation. The initiative will explore the use of locally available resources such as rice husk biochar and aims to establish systems that return environmental value to agricultural communities while supporting more sustainable farming practices, the firms said.

Green priorities - Brunei has allocated $480 mln for infrastructure and development projects under its 12th National Development Plan (RKN12), which outlines 305 projects worth about $4 bln through 2029. The plan includes funding for forest conservation and the development of carbon trading, alongside initiatives to improve tourism sites and restore natural areas such as Kampong Ayer and Pulau Selirong Forest Recreation Park. The investments are part of the government’s broader efforts to support sustainable development while diversifying the country’s economy.

A regenerative system combining improved grazing management and pasture composition can increase soil carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on livestock farms, but the economic benefits depend more on productivity and climate conditions than carbon revenues, a recent study found.

Methane absorbers - Forest soils are increasingly taking up methane from the atmosphere, according a new study from Germany's University of Göttingen and the Baden-Württemberg Forest Research Institute (FVA). Their absorption capacity even increases under certain climate conditions, which could occur more often in future, it found. Forest soils are absorbing an average of 3% more methane per year, according to repeated measurements at 13 forest sites in southwestern Germany over periods of up to 24 years. The scientists attributed this to climate change as lower rainfall leads to drier soils, into which methane penetrates more easily, while microorganisms break down methane more quickly at higher temperatures. This counteracts a study from the US that found declining methane uptake due to climate change. (Top agrar)    

A UK construction materials firm and a London real estate developer last week announced they had produced the country’s first net zero concrete, using biochar made from spent coffee grounds and wood residues.

Colombia’s Emissions Trading System (Spanish: PNCTE) is one of the oldest planned cap-and-trade initiatives in Latin America – but it should serve as a warning rather than a model for others, due to weak policy foundations, scarce data, and poor stakeholder coordination, experts told Carbon Pulse.

Nepal has launched a national carbon registry as it steps up efforts to participate in international carbon markets under the Paris Agreement.

The Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (VCM) in Saudi Arabia will imminently launch a pilot programme for carbon trading at Islamic banks, Carbon Pulse heard from its chief executive – without abandoning its core exchange, auctioning, or regional project development mission.