Turkish COP31 President Designate Murat Kurum and Australian COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen published their first joint open letter on Thursday, pledging to continue the work of previous climate summit presidencies, support the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans, and expand climate finance globally.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) Authority has published its latest compliance report, showing a sharp decline in GHG emissions during the 2025 scheme year, driven largely by cuts in heavy industry and major changes at the Port Talbot steelworks.

The UN body overseeing implementation of the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) has approved a new methodology to reduce N2O emissions from nitric acid production.

European carbon allowance prices fluctuated in a familiar €1 range on Thursday, ending the day at the lower end of the recent price channel as the lacklustre price action and low liquidity continued to frustrate traders.

CDR hire - Residual, a carbon asset developer, has appointed Julien Jacob as Vice President of Finance to lead project finance and offtake strategy across the company's pipeline, which spans eight projects. Jacob joins from Puro.earth, where he spent four years as Head of Offtakes & Investments Before carbon, Jacob spent eight years in structured commodity finance across investment banks and capital-raising advisory firms.

Carbon removal (CDR) developers across Europe urged countries to create national strategies for the sector, including clear plans for transporting captured CO2 to storage sites, during workshop in Brussels held this week.

Developed countries increased their public and private finance for climate action for a third year in a row in 2024, with nearly two-thirds directed to emission reduction efforts, according to the OECD's annual assessment, published Thursday.

The forestry sector is well positioned to support biodiversity credit markets on the supply and demand sides, according to a report.

Bigger fall - UK inflation fell more than expected to 2.8% in April, pushed down partly due to the government's cap on household energy bills introduced last month. However, analysts expect inflation to resume in coming months as the effects of the Strait of Hormuz closure keep upward pressure on energy prices. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee kept interest rates unchanged at 3.75% last month, but its chief economist has urged for an immediate increase in borrowing costs to counter the inflation threat. The inflation data was released a day after figures showed renewed weakness in the labour market. The softer inflation and weaker labour activity buy the BoE more time before potentially delivering higher rates, according to JPMorgan. (FT)

The UK government is poised to set a legally binding goal to cut emissions by 87% by 2040, compared to 1990 levels, The Times reported on Thursday.

UK carbon prices are likely to outstrip those in the EU by 2029 if the two schemes remain unlinked due to higher underlying demand from British power and industrial sectors expected over the coming years, according to a trading and analytics firm. 

European Parliament members clashed sharply over the future of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) on Wednesday, laying bare a deep divide between those seeking to tighten the bloc’s carbon market and a powerful coalition on the right calling for its suspension, overhaul, or outright abolition.

Sealed the deal - Energy Aspects, a consultancy, has received regulatory approval to acquire satellite emissions data firm Kayrros. The deal gives clients a stronger real-time view of global energy markets, combining Energy Aspects' market expertise with Kayrros' ability to verify what is happening on the ground through satellite observation, according to a press release on Thursday. The companies said the deal is intended to broaden their suite of data-driven intelligence tools and strengthen the combined firm’s ability to provide timely insights across the energy value chain. Energy Aspects said the acquisition forms part its wider expansion strategy and follows previous purchases including OilX, INAS, and TankWatch. The planned deal had been announced in March, but was completed this week after it was rubber-stamped by regulators.

Accelerating innovation - The Swedish Energy Agency has selected seven new companies to join the Global Innovation Accelerator (GIA), which supports Swedish companies that offer sustainable energy solutions to expand internationally. The chosen companies are: Againity, which develops systems that convert low‑temperature waste heat into power and provides battery energy storage; Airpelago, which offers drone‑based inspections of power lines; JEMAC Sweden, which develops hardware and IoT technologies for industrial applications; Magstrom Nordic, which offers technology for magnetic balancing of generators, primarily in hydro to extend their lifespan; Qurrent, which has an AI platform for optimising battery storage, solar, and other energy assets; Rebasian Technologies, which offers digital tools and data platforms for distributed energy; and Yangi, which develops tech for fibre‑based packaging. The accelerator provides business and market development support, along with a financial contribution tailored to each company, said the release by the Swedish Energy Agency.

The aviation sector's international carbon offsetting scheme could face a shortage of eligible credits by 2028 under medium- and high-emissions scenarios, according to analysts, even though only a small portion of expected demand is currently covered by explicit non-compliance penalties. 

Developing countries should build clear domestic rules for carbon crediting while relying where possible on established international standards and infrastructure to avoid slowing market access, the World Bank said in a legal guide published this week.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has unveiled a new 2026-30 strategy that will see it pivot from a generalised approach to more tailored support across sectors and geographies for corporates aiming to reach net zero, with a direct reference in the plan to the possible use of 'high-integrity' carbon credits as a "complement" for emission reductions.

Direct air capture (DAC) is unlikely to reach a billion-tonne scale by 2050 unless governments move quickly to boost early capacity, according to a study published this month.

The European Commission should adopt a phased approach to regulating CO2 transport, and first focus on getting the required infrastructure up and running and boosting investment in the sector, a group of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage companies (CCUS) said on Thursday.

A large European airline has signed a multi-year offtake agreement with a Berlin-based broker, doubling the share of permanent carbon removals in its credit portfolio.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) has launched a new initiative to develop high‑integrity carbon removals in Africa, backed by funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and implemented by the development agency GIZ.

A carbon removals registry has certified a protocol for reducing landfill methane, the first of which it has published in the super pollutants category.

The European Commission and private sector players formally launched the EU's carbon removals buyers' club in Brussels this week, though the organisation's governance and legal structure remain to be clarified.

Redirecting planned coal-based steel investment before 2030 could avoid emissions at around half the cost of cutting the same amount of CO2 later through other sectors or carbon removals (CDR), according to a study released Thursday.

Lagging behind - Easyjet has said that its summer holiday bookings are behind where they were last year as the Iran war impacts consumer confidence and leaves holidaymakers holding off on booking trips. The budget airline spent an extra £25 mln on jet fuel in March after the conflict began, though has hedged 72% of its fuel needs for the next six months, and says it's not facing any disruption to fuel supplies in the near term. Customers should book with confidence, it said, adding that it doesn't expect to cancel any further flights this summer. The news comes as Easyjet reported a £552 mln pre-tax loss for the six months to Mar. 31 compared with a loss of £394 mln in the same period a year earlier. The airline typically makes money in the second half of the year, including the peak summer period. (the Guardian)

The UN's international aviation offsetting scheme is slowly growing, but has the potential to take off quickly if supply and demand fall into lockstep, the founder of a carbon markets analysis company told Carbon Pulse.

Project developers in developing countries face short-term economic strain as carbon credit methodologies are brought into line with the Core Carbon Principles (CCP), but the move is already yielding higher prices and renewed buyer confidence, said Amy Merrill, CEO of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM).

A carbon market assets company on Thursday announced a series of transactions aimed at turning carbon removals into longer-term financial assets.