The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is unlikely to get over its "midlife crisis" in the short-term, stakeholders said at the North American Carbon World 2026 conference Wednesday.

Colombia has debuted its first biochar-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits, as the issuer expands beyond its traditional stronghold in neighbouring Bolivia.

Warming-driven soil carbon losses could be significantly amplified under drought conditions, while wetter climates may instead see gains, according to new research that highlights a key but underrepresented driver of land-based emissions in climate models.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape how voluntary carbon markets function – from project design and monitoring to certification and pricing – but its growing role is exposing both new efficiencies and new integrity risks.

Regulations for Mexico’s long-delayed ETS could be put on the back burner until the recent global energy crisis subsides and a trade agreement review with the US is concluded, a national carbon industry representative said this week during North American Carbon World (NACW).

Ethanol expansion – Gevo announced this week it is planning a major expansion of its North Dakota ethanol facility that could double output and boost carbon capture volumes, as it eyes growing demand for low-carbon fuels. The US-based company said it will add a second plant at its Richardton site, targeting up to 75 mln gallons per year of additional capacity alongside an existing expansion already underway. Combined, the projects could lift total output at the site to around 150 mln gallons annually and enable capture of more than 400,000 tCO2, supported by revenues from voluntary carbon markets and low-carbon fuel programmes.

Superfund stalls - Illinois lawmakers did not advance a proposed “climate superfund” bill this session, as opposition from business and labour groups prevented the measure from gaining traction in the Democratic-controlled legislature, E&E News reported. The proposal, backed by House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel (D), would have required major fossil fuel producers and refiners to contribute to a state fund supporting climate adaptation projects such as flood protection and cooling in schools, but it failed to receive a hearing. The outcome leaves Illinois behind states such as Vermont and New York that have enacted similar laws, though Gabel said the effort was intended to gauge opposition and build momentum for future legislative attempts.

Michigan moves - Michigan has filed a federal climate lawsuit accusing major oil companies of violating antitrust law by allegedly acting as a “cartel” to suppress clean energy, diverging from other states’ consumer protection claims, while the US Department of Justice argued the move shows its efforts to limit such cases are working, E&E News reported. Legal experts say the strategy may avoid delays tied to a pending SCOTUS review, but warn the case faces steep hurdles in proving coordinated conduct and linking it to market impacts.

TIER today – Canadian carbon market intelligence firm Carbon Assessors launched a daily spot index for Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) market on Wednesday, expanding its existing monthly benchmark. The company said the new index will draw on transaction and indicative data from brokers including Tradition Financial Services and OX CO2 to improve price discovery and reflect real market activity. It aims to give compliance entities and traders clearer visibility on day-to-day price movements, supporting timing decisions, valuation, and risk management in the Alberta carbon market. The daily index is available from Apr. 1 via the firm’s platform, with additional analytics and reporting tools expected later this year.

The new, far-right government of Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast has approved renewable energy projects worth just over $1 billion in investment – even as it rescinds other mitigation measures, subject to further review.

Market confidence in soil organic carbon (SOC) is building as standards agencies get behind the project type, accelerating carbon removal approach into a new era of trust and growth, credit managers and developers said Tuesday.

Argentina has registered its first domestically-focused agricultural land management (ALM) carbon project under Verra, marking a further expansion of land-based crediting activities in the country’s growing voluntary carbon market.

Cuba’s proposed benchmark for forest-sector emissions has been revised upward following a UN technical assessment, with reviewers commending improvements to transparency and scope but flagging data gaps that could affect the country’s eligibility for results-based payments under REDD+.

A carbon project developer reported $0.2 mln in net income for 2025, while advancing credit issuance across its portfolio, with initial CORSIA-linked sales were completed by a project partner in early 2026.

Old UN certified credits under the soon to close Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are changing hands in large volumes for as little as $0.20, an exchange has revealed.

A large volume of food waste carbon credits that have been certified by Verra are soon to be sold on the CBL platform.

Efforts to scale technologies that remove CO2 from the atmosphere are being held back by financing issues, a paper released this week has found.

A new framework to assess the environmental performance and costs of direct air capture (DAC) projects could improve comparability and support investment decisions, a recent report found.

Renewable power capacity increased by 15.5% last year to reach more than 5,000 GW globally, led by solar PV, but 2025 also saw a sharp rebound in non-renewables additions, which nearly doubled compared to 2024, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

A coalition of buyers has launched a second procurement round for nature-based (NbS) carbon removals, introducing a rolling application process and piloting a pre-purchase mechanism, it announced Tuesday.

A major prediction market operator has launched a suite of contracts on which voluntary carbon standard will face the next integrity controversy, with sub-markets created to bet on the affected project category, country, and reversal type.

A project developer’s choice of methodology – once the cornerstone of commoditised carbon markets – is now just one of several rounds of bespoke due diligence processes, an expert said on Tuesday while providing recommendations on how to quicken the process.