Ecuador's Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAE) has approved new rules governing the authorisation, registration, traceability, and transfer of mitigation outcomes under Article 6, creating the country's first dedicated framework for participating in international carbon markets despite longstanding legal uncertainty surrounding carbon credit trading.

Global wildfire activity in 2025 produced the second-lowest burned area and third-lowest CO2 emissions since satellite records began in 2002, but a growing concentration of destructive fires in populated and carbon-rich regions continued to generate severe human and economic impacts, according to a review published this week.

A forest restoration initiative in Brazil has secured new public financing from Brazil's national development bank to rehabilitate Atlantic Forest ecosystems while generating carbon credits and biodiversity benefits.

Vietnam’s environment ministry has launched a blue carbon partnership to help mobilise finance for the sustainable management of coastal and marine ecosystems, in collaboration with the UN and UK government. 

A Thai state agency and an agribusiness and food conglomerate announed last week they have launched a rubber plantation project that aims to generate up to 1 million carbon credits across 80,000 hectares in northeastern Thailand.

ESG support – Brazilian bank Banco do Brasil (BB) and climate consultancy WayCarbon are preparing to launch an ESG advisory service next month to help 100 small and medium-sized Brazilian municipalities develop climate mitigation and adaptation projects. The Municipal Climate Management service, announced on May 20, developed with support from Brazil’s National Treasury Secretariat, is currently in testing and expected to become available in June. It will use artificial intelligence, monitoring technology, territorial diagnostics, and financial management tools to help local governments identify climate vulnerabilities, design adaptation measures, and structure projects suitable for fundraising. The service will be offered free of charge to participating municipalities, using resources provided under National Treasury Normative Ordinance STN/MF No. 808, BB said in a press release.

An Australian biochar developer has begun harvesting and pyrolysis trials at a project in North Queensland that aims to convert invasive woody biomass into biochar-based carbon removals (CDR).

The developer of the world’s largest direct air capture (DAC) facility has received backing to develop a new plant in North America alongside a mix of other carbon removal (CDR) projects.

Carbon credit registry and certification body Isometric has certified Version 2.1 of its standard, introducing a more streamlined validation process designed to accelerate the issuance of carbon removal credits.

A US-based land management company has secured just over $4 million from the sale of carbon credits generated from an improved forest management (IFM) project in Tennessee, it announced last week.

A French carbon standard last week opened a public consultation on a new module that would allow carbon credits to be issued from the use of bio-oil as a lower-carbon substitute for fossil-based asphalt binder.

Blue shift – A mangrove conservation project in Mexico developed by MarVivo has been archived on the US carbon offset platform Wren’s registry after its proponents shifted priorities away from carbon and towards community-driven educational efforts. The project description said the initiative aimed to protect nearly 15,000 hectares of mangrove forest in Baja California Sur, Mexico, through a proposed conservation arrangement intended to prevent activities such as aquaculture and mining in the area. Under a REDD+ framework, the project aimed to mobilise carbon finance to strengthen forest governance, support conservation activities, and fund community initiatives, following the guidelines set out by VM0007 - REDD+ Methodology Framework (REDD+ MF), v1.6.

Australia's plans to keep pumping out gas while reaching net zero emissions rely on unrealistic assumptions about the future availability of carbon removals, hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies, according to a new report.

A Thailand-based digital services firm last week announced plans to issue a digital token in the third quarter of 2026, raising up to THB 480 million ($14.7 mln) for a mangrove reforestation project tied to 400,000 carbon credits.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) trust fund has approved $144.3 million for 16 climate and nature-positive projects around the world that are expected to mobilise more than $828 mln in co-financing.

Chile’s efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation have received a positive assessment from UN climate experts, who concluded that the country’s reported forest-sector emissions reductions are largely transparent, consistent, and in line with international reporting requirements.

A nature intelligence startup is working with Angolan land stewards to develop large-scale agroforestry initiatives in the country, using its technology to screen potential projects and reduce the risk of early-stage investment, just as the government begins building its carbon market framework.

For now, technology-driven activities dominate Latin America’s Article 6.2 Letters of Authorisation (LoAs), in a departure from the REDD-heavy profile of the local voluntary market (VCM) – but jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) is poised to flood both systems, Carbon Pulse has reported.