Canada’s pullback on climate policies in pursuit of energy and economic security doesn’t have to be at odds with its signal to ramp up its carbon removal (CDR) sector, industry players said at a recent event. 

Verra launched development of several new or revised standards, including a new methodology for avoiding super pollutant emissions from refrigeration systems.

A Mexican carbon project developer is betting that premium ratings, biodiversity credentials, and Indigenous community partnerships can help its forest credits stand out in an increasingly crowded voluntary carbon market (VCM), even as domestic demand remains limited and uncertainty around the country’s emissions trading system (ETS) persists.

Waste not - Researchers have converted waste cooking oil into bio-based surfactants and tested their effectiveness for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), finding that the waste-derived chemicals could significantly reduce oil-water interfacial tension, alter reservoir rock wettability, and improve oil production. The best-performing formulation - a blend of nonionic and anionic surfactants derived from waste cooking oil combined with isopropanol - increased total oil recovery to 79% in laboratory sand-pack flooding experiments. The study found that performance was strongest at a salinity of 100,000 ppm and a temperature of 50C, where stable Winsor Type III microemulsions formed and reservoir wettability shifted from strongly oil-wet to water-wet conditions. The authors argue that converting waste cooking oil into EOR surfactants could provide a lower-cost, more environmentally friendly alternative to conventional oilfield chemicals while creating a productive use for a problematic waste stream. (Scientific Reports)

Carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon said independent legal reviews have concluded its activities fall within the scope of the EU's new ESG Ratings Regulation, as the company prepares to seek recognition under the regime ahead of its July implementation.

Football's CO2 fever - The 2026 World Cup in North America will generate over 9 mln tonnes of GHG emissions - making it the 'most polluting World Cup of all time', according to research by Scientists for Global Responsibility, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Cool Down. That's equivalent to 6.5 mln cars being driven for a whole year, and Play the Game - an initiative by the Danish Institute for Sports Studies, goes even further, putting the event's carbon footprint as high as 70 mln tonnes. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) aims to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, and become net zero by 2040, but its words aren't backed up by action, wrote Carbon Market Watch (CMW). The analysts critique the 2026 tournament for expanding in size, and hence carbon emissions, and calls for a downsizing of these events to improve the sport's sustainability.

A standard-setting body has approved its methodology for cutting methane emissions from rice cultivation, saying it will expand the possibilities for high-integrity reductions from sustainable agriculture.

More 6.2 – Kenya and Norway have signed a Statement of Intent to negotiate a bilateral agreement under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. The deal was struck on the sidelines of the UNFCCC climate conference in Bonn, the Office of Kenya’s Special Envoy on Climate Change said on Linkedin. Pacifica Ogola, director of climate change at Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, has decided to set a 10-million cap on ITMO transfers through to 2030, she announced earlier.

Regulatory uncertainty is still weighing on the development of clear price signals for Phase 1 of CORSIA, but supply of credits should ramp up over next 12 months, a webinar heard Wednesday.

A cement producer has launched an industrial-scale carbon capture test platform in southern France to validate technologies under real-world cement plant conditions, it announced Wednesday.

Tech giant expands access to its carbon credit service to qualified companies in the UK, offering businesses a new way to invest in 'high-quality' offsets as part of their broader decarbonisation strategies.

As carbon markets undergo an integrity reset, treating women’s inclusion as a co-benefit is no longer enough – inclusive finance can help make their contributions measurable, verifiable, and central to the credibility of carbon projects.

Thailand's parliament is expected to pass its Climate Change Act sometime in 2027, but the planned emissions trading system (ETS) is unlikely to impose compliance obligations until close to 2030, according to a legal expert who said many important design features remain undecided.

New alliance - Carbon EX, which operates a voluntary marketplace, has formed a business alliance with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) for services regarding the creation and trading of domestically issued J-Credits. The two companies said they seek to support corporate clients' decarbonisation efforts and expand the supply of J-Credits. They are also working on a carbon project backed by the Tokyo metropolitan government, which bundles energy-saving equipment installations for smaller companies.  

A CO2 removal market that only a few years ago was dominated by climate-tech experimentation and future promises is entering a more mature, execution-focused phase, with investors, buyers, and policymakers increasingly prioritising delivery, financeability, and infrastructure over ambitious announcements, according to a new report.

Carbon finance has become the dominant driver of investment and growth in the clean cooking sector, according to a new industry assessment that suggests companies without crediting programmes are increasingly struggling to attract capital and scale operations.

Several Latin American countries crossed major milestones in the operationalisation of Article 6 markets last week, signalling a shift from years of institutional preparation towards the first wave of actual carbon transactions under the Paris Agreement.