India on Saturday formally launched its long-awaited carbon market portal, taking a step in rolling out the country’s domestic carbon credit trading scheme.

Patchy protection – Developing countries, despite contributing relatively little to global GHG emissions, have become increasingly active participants in multilateral environmental agreements while climate risks intensify for these regions, a study published in Journal of the Knowledge Economy on Friday said. Using panel data from 72 countries between 1995 and 2018, it found that such agreements generally reduce climate vulnerability, though they can worsen outcomes in food and health sectors. The impact also varies by region, with vulnerability increasing in African countries but declining in Asia, Europe, and more rapidly developing or oil-producing economies.

The UK government’s decision not to extend its planned carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to cover refined oil products has triggered warnings from industry that the country’s remaining refineries face an increased risk of closure, potentially accelerating reliance on imported fuels.

Voice of reason - Understanding more about how carbon removals can bring the world back from the 1.5C temperature overshoot likely to happen in coming years will be a key topic addressed in the IPCC'S next set of reports - AR7 - due to be released between 2028-29, said the organisation's chair Jim Skea. He spoke to Bloomberg about the more challenging environment the IPCC now operates in due to climate misinformation and the US withdrawal. Some 50 US scientists are involved in the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) who are funded by philanthropic bodies. The IPCC is resilient and continues to operate despite the challenges, said Skea. The first report of the cycle - the special report on climate change in cities - will be released by Mar. 2027. Under current policies, the world is on track for about 3C of warming by 2100, but implementing all the NDCs would reduce the temperature rise to 2.5-3C, he said. Higher warming levels would entail negative effects including reduced agricultural productivity leading to higher food prices. "The decisions that are taken or are not taken in the next few years will influence where we are," - "the gap lies in action", not science, said Skea. The biggest challenges ahead lie in engaging much larger numbers of people on actions such as reducing consumption and changing land use, which will be harder than the emissions reductions achieved so far through electrification and renewables.

As governments tighten their grip on carbon credit supply to align developers with national climate strategies, analysts say this shift will drive a surge in Article 6 activity under the Paris Agreement.

Peru has authorised its first bilateral deal for selling carbon credits internationally under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement after striking a deal with Switzerland.

A sustainable aviation trade body in the UK has committed to support the purchase of more than £2 million worth of carbon removals to help close the sector's net zero gap, as an industry taskforce urged for policy intervention to avoid a looming supply shortfall.