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TOP STORY
First review of global biodiversity agreement finds countries off track for 2030 targets
National efforts to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) fall short of the ambition needed to achieve its 2030 targets, according to the first review of progress published by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
POLICY
BRIEFING: Nature takes hit as EU sustainability reporting rules inch towards adoption
Brussels shared final drafts of its slimmed-down European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) this week, proposing a few additional changes that could create challenges for corporate nature disclosures, according to observers.
BRIEFING: African leaders push to price nature into national accounts
African officials have urged the integration of natural capital into national accounts, saying that improved valuation of ecosystems is key to unlocking climate and nature finance.
BRIEFING: Bring finance ministers to Yerevan, stakeholders urge
Biodiversity finance should be elevated beyond environment ministries and embed nature considerations across economic policymaking, speakers urged governments at an online event Tuesday ahead of COP17 in Yerevan.
GBF Fund approves $20 mln for biodiversity projects in Asia Pacific
The Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) will allocate $20.5 million to two projects aimed at advancing nature conservation in the Asia Pacific region.
EU’s proposed funding plan sparks concerns over nature protections
A proposed funding mechanism that would account for nearly half of the EU’s next long-term budget could leave nature conservation and restoration without dedicated funding, according to environmental groups.
Papua New Guinea unveils enhanced NDC, secures €2.1 mln in EU climate funding
Papua New Guinea has set a pathway to reach net zero emissions by 2030 and become net-negative by 2035 under a near-final update to its national climate pledge, while simultaneously securing new EU funding to strengthen climate finance, forest monitoring, and biodiversity governance.
Ocean finance has risen sharply but remains far below levels needed for climate and conservation goals -analysis
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.
Centralised renewables planning cuts biodiversity conflicts in China, but shifts risks to drylands -study
China’s renewable energy expansion could produce sharply different biodiversity impacts depending on whether projects are planned nationally or at the provincial level, with neither approach capable of avoiding all ecological trade-offs, according to new research.
MEPs dispute leather exclusion from EU anti-deforestation law ahead of sign-off
The European Commission held the line on its plan to exclude leather from the much-delayed EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), despite drawing pushback from a number of Parliament members on Tuesday.
Canada announces C$130 mln for forest sector transformation projects
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) has awarded C$130 million ($93.6 mln) in federal funding to 56 forestry innovation projects, ranging from new low-carbon wood technologies, to supporting Indigenous participation and forest-sector businesses.
NATURE-BASED CARBON
INTERVIEW: Verra sees Misiones approval as slingshot for new wave of jurisdictional REDD+ programmes
Several governments across Latin America and the Caribbean are studying how to replicate Argentina’s Misiones programme after it became the first jurisdictional REDD+ initiative approved under Verra’s Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) Framework, the standard’s regional representative told Carbon Pulse.
IETA proposes hybrid Article 6 model for Brazil, retaining half of mitigation outcomes at home
Brazil should consider an Article 6 strategy that allows the export of carbon credits while retaining 50% of mitigation outcomes for domestic climate targets, carbon trading industry group IETA said in a new report.
EU carbon farming rules face backlash as biodiversity safeguards watered down
The European Commission is facing mounting criticism over its forthcoming rulebook for certifying carbon farming activities, with campaigners warning that the framework risks undermining environmental integrity just as the EU seeks to expand carbon removals alongside its emissions trading and carbon border policies.
Federal, policy roadmap shows US incentives needed to unlock 1 mln tonnes mCDR
Flagging waning federal investment in marine carbon removal (mCDR), a non-profit published a roadmap on Monday with policy and regulatory changes the US needs to implement to advance to the million-tonne scale of deployment.
Carbon removal registry seeks to certify credits under EU’s CRCF
A major carbon removal (CDR) registry will evolve to issue three different classes of credits, it said Tuesday, after announcing plans to certify units under the EU’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) scheme.
Benin eyes carbon markets to help deliver new Paris climate plan
Benin has raised its climate ambition under a newly submitted Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions by one-third over the next decade while positioning itself to tap international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Offsets firm founder sentenced to 14 years in US prison over $248 mln fraud scheme
A co-founder of a California-based carbon offsets developer and fintech startup has been sentenced to 14 years in a US prison after admitting to a years-long fraud scheme that prosecutors said caused $248 million in losses to lenders and investors.
Carbon removals vulnerable to uncertain demand, concentration -report
Concentration among a handful of buyers, weakening prices, and policy uncertainty are threatening the scale-up of carbon removal (CDR) despite recent growth in the sector, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Carbon standard, forestry researchers partner to strengthen nature-based crediting
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.
F1 racing engineers play a role in soil carbon measurement breakthrough
A developer of enhanced rock weathering projects has worked with Formula 1 racing engineers on a new soil carbon measurement process that significantly reduces sampling time and associated emissions.
Japan-led JCM faces hurdles, but NbS may offer a path forward, paper says
The effectiveness of the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) remains constrained by institutional complexity and insufficient partner engagement, but Tokyo’s move to scale up nature-based projects may address the issue of limited credit issuance, a new paper argued.
NATURE & BIODIVERSITY MARKET
UK’s National Grid seeks nature, carbon suppliers to support environmental goals
The London-headquartered energy company National Grid launched an initiative this week, calling for carbon and nature developers – including those providing offsite biodiversity net gain (BNG) – to join its new supplier pool.
EU-backed French biodiversity certificates pilot enters second phase
A European Commission-backed pilot seeking to generate biodiversity certificates from wetland conservation in northern France has entered its second phase, a public executive said on Wednesday.
Financing supports expansion of US stream and wetland restoration platform
A US mitigation banking platform has secured financing to support the expansion of its portfolio of stream and wetland restoration assets.
CORPORATE
Insurance shifting towards prevention of nature-related risks, says trade body
Insurance companies are increasingly moving beyond paying claims after damage occurs to helping clients prevent nature-related risks, a trade body representative has said.
Cement sector seen keen to support the EU deliver its nature restoration goals
The cement sector can be an important ally in supporting delivery of the EU’s National Restoration Plans (NRPs) given its experience with biodiversity schemes alongside extraction, according to industry experts.
Google frames water stewardship as it looks to expand data centre capacity
Google launched new guidelines for water management as it expands its data centre footprint, alongside a $17-million boost to its water replenishment initiative.
SCIENCE & TECH
AI drives rising water, land, carbon footprints -UN report
The surge in AI is driving growing water, land, and carbon footprints, which are set to increase, said a report by the UN University published on Wednesday.
FAO guidance seeks alignment on tree crop mapping data
New guidance published this week seeks to improve the consistency and transparency of spatial data used to monitor deforestation-linked commodity supply chains.
Disturbed peatlands release millennia-old carbon, study finds
Drainage and repeated fires released large stores of ancient carbon from tropical peatlands in Indonesia over less than two decades, with the estimated loss reaching 30-41 kg of carbon per square metre of affected peatland, researchers have found.
Mining drives 34 times more offsite forest loss than direct clearing in sub-Saharan Africa -study
Mining activities across sub-Saharan Africa have triggered far more deforestation beyond mine boundaries than within them, with every hectare of forest directly cleared for mining associated with nearly 34 additional hectares of offsite forest loss, according to a new study.
Machine learning-guided composting could turn global organic waste sector into carbon sink -researchers
Optimising composting practices using machine learning could transform the global organic waste sector from a net greenhouse gas emitter into a carbon sink while conserving nutrients for agriculture, according to a new study.
North American organic fertiliser emissions below IPCC defaults, but swine manure emerges as hotspot -study
Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from North American agricultural soils amended with organic fertilisers are substantially lower on average than the default factors used in international greenhouse gas inventories, though certain manure types and management practices remain significant emissions hotspots, according to a new study.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
CORPORATE
Cashew cash – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $50 mln sustainability-linked loan with ETC Group to support the procurement, market access, and export of coffee and cashew from around 5,700 smallholder farmers in India and Vietnam, it was announced Thursday. The financing will provide working capital while helping farmers obtain sustainability certification, secure fair contracts, and access more stable incomes. ADB will also provide $850,000 in technical assistance to strengthen farmers’ resilience to extreme weather through measures including regenerative agroforestry.
New TNFD guide – The TNFD has published a new guide designed to support chief financial officers in assessing corporate nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. Prepared in partnership with Accounting for Sustainability, the document highlighted risks linked to nature loss, including stranded assets, operational disruptions, higher costs, increased insurance premiums, and lower asset values.
India’s first blue bond – State-owned Sagarmala Finance Corporation is set to launch India’s first blue bond, with plans to raise about $105 mln to fund maritime and coastal infrastructure focused on the environment, Reuters reported. While the exact tenor and rate are yet to be decided, the company plans to use the bond issue for longer-term borrowing.
Transition framework – The Finance for Biodiversity Foundation announced Thursday it has launched a new working group to develop a framework aimed at helping financial institutions identify companies making credible progress on nature transition. The initiative, co-chaired by BNP Paribas Asset Management’s Robert-Alexandre Poujade and Storebrand Asset Management’s Emine Isciel, will focus on developing a framework to help channel finance towards firms reducing pressures on nature and aligning with the global goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. The foundation said the framework will build on existing climate and nature guidance and emerging practices from Finance for Biodiversity and the wider finance community.
Off the grid – NatureGrid, a data management platform developed by Open Forest Protocol, was launched this week, with the aim of helping NbS projects organise field data, manage workflows, and consolidate data for reports. The platform was designed as a single source of truth for managing project documentation across regenerative agriculture, conservation, and ecosystem restoration projects alike. Open Forest Protocol added that the new platform is to make it easier to collect, validate, and monitor field data, as well as to share impact.
POLICY
Elephant strategy – The South African government has published a framework to improve the conservation of elephants. The National Elephant Heritage Strategy was developed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment in collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute and South African National Parks. It aims to establish a unified national approach to elephant conservation, ensuring that initiatives across different provinces, protected areas, and conservation organisations are aligned with a shared vision. (Devdiscourse)
Partnership – Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency (EAD) has partnered with IUCN to support species recovery, ecosystem protection, and nature-positive development, the Abu Dhabi media office said on Wednesday. Under the agreement, which builds on the outcomes of the eighth IUCN World Conservation Congress held in Abu Dhabi in October, EAD will contribute to the organisation’s global conservation agenda over the next four years.
Concerns – The Queensland government has passed legislation giving the state’s deputy premier the power to override environmental and heritage regulations for projects deemed strategically significant, the Kyabram Free Press reported. The law is expected to be used for projects such as petroleum exploration in the Taroom Trough on Queensland’s Western Downs, according to media. Conservation groups have opposed the proposal, arguing that it could give mining companies access to prime agricultural land.
Planting push – More than C$355 mln in combined provincial and federal funding will be used to plant over 125 mln trees across British Columbia, supporting reforestation, habitat restoration, and wildfire recovery efforts, it was announced Tuesday. The British Columbia government said it will contribute C$155 mln, alongside more than C$200 mln from Ottawa. The programme includes C$56 mln in support for the BC Aggregation 2 Billion Trees (2BT) Project, C$1 mln for riparian recovery initiatives, and C$99 mln earmarked for large-scale reforestation through the BC Forest Investment Program. Indigenous-led projects are eligible for up to C$13.3 mln in federal funding.
Popular protection – The latest Eurobarometer survey showed strong public support for biodiversity protection across the EU, with more than 90% of respondents saying nature conservation is essential for health, food security, clean water, climate resilience, and economic prosperity. Support was also high for protected areas and EU nature-focused legislation, while pollution, industrial accidents, and land conversion were identified as the leading threats to nature. Awareness of the EU Natura 2000 protected areas network reached 42%, up 12% from the previous survey.
Ocean watch – The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled OceanEye, an initiative that aims to make the EU the world’s leading provider of ocean intelligence by contributing 35% of the global ocean observing system and capturing 35% of the ocean observation technology market by 2035. The strategy is built around four pillars – better governance, international partnerships, digital innovation, and societal engagement. Brussels said it will mobilise €92 mln from Horizon Europe to launch the initiative, including €50 mln for ocean observation, €12 mln for global ocean data systems, and €30 mln for innovation.
Taking the initiative – Intergovernmental organisation the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the government of Indonesia have launched a new phase of the Green Indonesia Future Initiative (GIFT), running from 2026-30, the Korea-based group said in a press release. This builds on work done so far under this partnership, which has delivered an estimated 183.5 MtCO2e of emissions reductions, mobilised $776.5 mln of green investment across the economy, and created 271,095 jobs, GGGI said, in sectors such as forestry, blue carbon, and energy. Under the next chapter, GIFT is aiming to mobilise $2 bln of green investment by 2030 – more than doubling what it has so far delivered – as the country seeks to make progress on its Paris Agreement NDC and the Indonesian Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.
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