Verde with envy - US-based biochar developer Verde Resources announced on Wednesday the next stage in the pursuit of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its biochar-integrated asphalt. Verde is undertaking a life cycle assessment for its carbon sequestering road infrastructure product, BioAsphalt, via consulting firm WAP Sustainability. Verde seeks to obtain the first EPD for fully-integrated engineered biochar within asphalt, which would disclose BioAsphalt’s environmental impact and durable carbon storage benefits across its full lifecycle through a third party. The developer completed BioAsphalt’s proof of concept in Dec. 2024, and has since developed a live roadway demonstration, which resulted in eight tonnes of verified CDR credits issued by Puro.earth. Verde announced a deal in March to supply up to 38,500 t of biochar through the US manufacturer Biochar Solutions.

Large-scale, capital-intensive carbon removal (CDR) projects would likely be the hardest hit by a potential Microsoft purchase slowdown, according to a Wednesday analysis by a carbon data company.

Wildfires are still an underestimated risk among carbon project developers, despite increasingly sophisticated satellite data that can warn developers about where risk is likeliest to occur and alert them as soon as any fire breaks out, experts said at a conference Wednesday.

A senior European Commission official said that the EU will favour a centralised purchasing framework to acquire international carbon credits to help meet its 2040 climate target, rather than rely on individual companies to procure them directly.

Carbon sensitive chocolate  - Food producer Olam Food Ingredients (Ofi) and corporation Mars have announced a new five-year strategic collaboration is helping to reduce the carbon footprint for cocoa in Ecuador, extending a 10-year deal. More than 960 farmers across major cocoa growing regions in the South American country are expected to implement climate-smart and regenerative agriculture such as agroforestry and biochar, across more than 9,000 hectares of farmland, an area roughly the size of the Greek island of Santorini. Farmers will also be equipped with tools to use low carbon fertilisers, improved crop residue management, and biochar applications, according to a press release. Mars plans to achieve net zero emissions across its full value chain by 2050.

British body BSI has unveiled a revised version of its environmental management systems (EMS) standard, with the ISO also updating its international version, aiming to help organisations better align with rising climate commitments, ESG priorities, and tightening regulatory requirements.

A US-based forest carbon project developer has announced the sale of 100% of the credits from its biomass burial carbon removal (CDR) project in Montana.

Switzerland-based Gold Standard has launched a public consultation on a new analytical tool designed to tackle the risk of lock-in to high-emission or suboptimal technologies under its carbon crediting framework.

Airlines preparing for compliance under the UN's international aviation offsetting scheme are running into a shortage of host country approvals needed to use carbon credits, even as project supply continues to grow.

Technology developers have launched a 12-month pilot of a methane removal system aboard a bulk carrier, marking what the companies say is the first deployment of the technology under normal commercial shipping conditions, with ambitions to generate Gold Standard-certified carbon credits from the mitigation.

Inconsistent methodologies and uneven data for calculating national greenhouse gas inventories are emerging as a constraint for the development of international carbon markets, a UN technical expert warned.

New estimates from a ratings agency evaluating 15 Brazilian REDD+ projects transitioning to Verra’s updated VM0048 methodology could see credit issuance fall by up to 90%, while increasing chances of being rated BBB and above.