The New Zealand government has given the nod to lowering ETS annual charges for foresters, as well as introducing several new service fees, it announced Wednesday.

China’s emissions plateau continues, though CO2 output rose by 2% in the first quarter of 2026 as the country struggled to integrate new wind and solar capacity, a new analysis has found.

Ocean finance has grown over the past decade, but funding remains concentrated outside some of the sectors most directly tied to decarbonisation and climate resilience, according to a new analysis.

The climate ambition of host countries and the stability of their regulatory frameworks are increasingly emerging as factors that could influence the price of internationally-traded carbon credits, as buyers and proponents seek to manage sovereign risks beyond the control of project execution, legal experts said this week during the Latin America Climate Summit (LACS) in Mexico.

Minor modifications - Verra has published VMR0018 methodology (Methane Avoidance Through Separation of Solids from Wastewater or Manure Treatment Systems v1.0) under its VCS programme, it announced Wednesday. The voluntary carbon standard said this constitutes a minor revision to its CDM methodology AMS-III.Y. (Methane avoidance through separation of solids from wastewater or manure treatment systems, v4.0), which applies to project activities that avoid or reduce methane production from anaerobic wastewater treatment systems and anaerobic manure management systems through the removal of volatile solids from the wastewater or manure slurry stream. Updates are being made to: allow the use of separated solids from animal manure as bedding material in barns; provide quantification procedures for projects using biofiltration systems to separate the solids; and require the use of newer VCS tools to establish baseline scenarios. AMS-III.Y. will be inactivated as a standalone methodology on July 1, 2027, Verra noted.

New guidance published this week seeks to improve the consistency and transparency of spatial data used to monitor deforestation-linked commodity supply chains.

A Global South-focused carbon crediting standard is partnering with forestry researchers to strengthen the environmental integrity of nature-based credits in carbon markets, the two sides announced on Wednesday.

The bottleneck in host countries approving projects for CORSIA, the international aviation offsetting scheme, is holding back nearly 600 million eligible credits to date, a ratings agency has found.

A US carbon removal company has secured investment from a Japanese trading firm to expand a facility in Arkansas, while separately signing a credit purchase agreement with a major shipping group, it announced Wednesday.

Taiwan has successfully collected its inaugural carbon fees, with semiconductor giants shouldering the largest share of the payments.

Cement CCS pact - The Global Cement and Concrete Association and think tank Global CCS Institute signed an MoU to advance carbon capture and storage across the global cement and concrete sector on Wednesday. The two-year partnership will work to accelerate industrial decarbonisation through shared outreach, thought leadership, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement.

Solar waste gets funding- The Cook Labor Government will invest A$17.8 mln ($12.74 mln) in the 2026-27 State Budget to boost Western Australia’s recycling capacity for solar panels and embedded batteries, the WA Government said on Wednesday. As part of the investment, A$13 mln is earmarked to establish end-of-life solar panel collection and recycling pathways, A$3 mln is allocated for the rollout of embedded battery collection at local government facilities, and A$ 1.8 mln is set aside to support ongoing program delivery.

Buyers in the voluntary carbon market are paying more for biochar carbon credits when they are marketed with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) co‑benefits, according to a study.

Well stored - Several Japanese companies, including Itochu and Mitsubishi Estate, have started building a utility-scale battery energy storage facility in Japan's Fukuoka prefecture. The project, with a rated output of  67 MW,  is scheduled to commence commercial operation in FY2027. Itochu plans to deploy its energy storage system and AI-based optimal operation technology for the project.

Initial progress - Japanese beverage group Suntory Holdings and agritech startup Towing on Wednesday said their joint pilot programme for high-performance biochar development had delivered around 30% yield improvement. Based on the results, the two companies plan to scale up biochar production and establish a regional circulation model in the Kyushu region. Outside of Japan, they have been conducting a similar project in Thailand, where high-performance biochar produced from rice husks is applied to sugarcane fields.

Singapore-based intermediaries have a growing presence in Australia’s carbon market, according to data published by the Clean Energy Regulator, largely due to surrendering credits on behalf of clients. 

Rooftop renewable energy installations have reached record levels in the first quarter of the year, aided with the globally significant rollout of batteries across the country, according to a report from the Clean Energy Regulator, published Wednesday.

Tally-ho – Australian renewable fuels company Hamr Energy has launched a pilot project to trial the use of tallow-based biofuel for shipping. In partnership with BHP and the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, the pilot saw a tallow-based biodiesel-fuelled ship chartered by the mining giant depart Western Australia to deliver iron ore to China, Hamr said in a press release. The fuel was a B100 blend, made up of 50% waste tallow and 50% used cooking oil and is expected to produce 79% fewer lifecycle emissions on a well-to-wake basis. Hamr was recently shortlisted for the second round of the Australian government’s hydrogen funding programme as well as a fast-track investment pilot. In February, it closed its Series A funding, having raised A$10 mln ($7.2 mln).

New Zealand’s Climate Change Commission (CCC) is seeking feedback on how to update its advice on the country’s fourth emissions budget, covering 2036-40, following last year’s lowering of the biogenic methane target, it said on Wednesday.