A Sydney-based investment manager and forestry firm launched its first global natural capital strategy fund, which will invest across forestry, agriculture, carbon, and biodiversity markets.

Investors react sharply when an asset's carbon footprint becomes a prominent public issue, but do not systematically price changes in underlying emissions, according to new research using cryptocurrency markets as a natural experiment.

Guidance underpinning the rapidly expanding blue carbon sector frequently overlooks key tenure rights and international obligations to Indigenous peoples, coastal communities, and small-scale fishers, potentially exposing local groups to dispossession and exclusion from project benefits, researchers have warned.

Oil demand in China may have fallen faster than expected as the US-Israeli war against Iran passed the 100-day mark, Reuters reported Friday, in an indication that demand destruction may be advancing rapidly across some global regions, which would see a reduction in emissions across key carbon pricing schemes.

Nature-based solutions deserve stronger support in the newly released Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0, though they still have a clear pathway to scale, according to some carbon market stakeholders, who pointed to the standard's prioritisation of engineered removals to help companies tackle hard-to-abate emissions later down the line.

A coalition of civil society organisations from Turkiye, Australia, and the Pacific has urged the incoming COP31 presidency team to use this year’s UN climate summit to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

Climate policies are overlooking up to 15% of global warming because they focus on a decades-old "basket" of greenhouse gases while ignoring other pollutants that indirectly heat the planet, according to a new paper.

Verra has issued a number of corrections and clarification for version 2.2 of its VM0042 methodology for Improved Land Management that was released in October.

China's carbon allowance prices have maintained their position above the RMB 80 ($11.81) threshold for a fourth consecutive week, yet upward momentum is stalling as block trade activity softens and the market awaits the finalised power sector allocation plan.

Observers have praised the relationship between Australian and Turkiye as they lead the Bonn intersessional in their novel role-sharing arrangement, however the real challenge will come when they assume full responsibilities in November.

The provincial government of Southwest Papua is working on a jurisdiction-based carbon programme in preparation for future directions from Jakarta, local media reported Friday.

South Korea is seeking to fast-track its bilateral partnerships under the Paris Agreement, with approvals for new GHG reduction projects expected in the coming months.

Vietnam energy drive- Foxconn and global investment firm Brookfield are set to jointly develop up to 1 GW of utility-scale wind, solar, and battery capacity in Vietnam to support the former’s operations and supply chain in the country, TNGlobal reported. US-based Brookfield will leverage its Catalytic Transition Fund for the collaboration. Both parties will collaborate on investment and asset management of targeted projects.

From sea to land - The Western Australian government has granted an aquaculture licence to SeaStock to grow asparagopsis seaweed at scale at an onshore facility in Perth currently under construction, it announced. The government said SeaStock has developed an innovative onshore cultivation technique that provides consistent, quality biomass and high yield. The facility will be the state's first commercial-scale seaweed production facility, with the asparagopsis being fed to livestock to reduce methane emissions, among other uses. The federal government recently tapped Meat and Livestock Australia to develop a new beef herd management method under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme to include feed additive technologies as an eligible activity for crediting.

Singapore has signed cooperation agreements with carbon credit standards Verra and Gold Standard to expand the city-state's role in project validation and verification, according to an announcement made Friday.

A US‑based finance firm set up a carbon stream vehicle to back voluntary carbon market projects in Central Asia, targeting high‑integrity credits across land‑use and nature‑based categories.

Pedalling credits - Pakistan's Punjab province has earmarked half of the carbon credits expected from a new PKR 8.1 bln ($29 mln) electric bike-sharing scheme for the provincial horticulture agency, according to project details cited by The Nation. The initiative will deploy 50,000 e-bikes across Lahore over the next 18 months and is expected to cut CO2 emissions by around 5,000 tonnes annually. The project, financed entirely by private investment, will also generate operational revenue to be shared among government agencies. The province, Pakistan’s most populous, is also targeting the launch of a subnational ETS by mid-2027 while developing a pipeline of Article 6 and voluntary carbon market projects spanning forestry, transport, waste, energy, and clean water.

South Korea's emissions market has maintained firm support above the KRW 20,000 ($13.16) level over the past two weeks, with both spot prices and the latest KAU-25 auction result holding well above that threshold despite sharp price fluctuations.

Steel yourself - Rio Tinto and China Baowu have completed industrial-scale pelletisation and shaft furnace trials in China using the former's Pilbara Blend iron ore, as part of a partnership study looking to reduce steelmaking emissions, they announced. Under the trials, China Baowu used a hydrogen-based shaft furnace to produce direct reduced iron (DRI) from pellets comprising one-third Pilbara Blend ore. The DRI was then successfully converted into steel in an industrial-scale basic oxygen furnace and was also tested in a small-scale electric smelting furnace. Rio said the trials show mid-grade ores mined in Western Australia can be used for hydrogen-based direct reduction feedstock and could be a future source for low-carbon steelmaking when combined with electric smelting furnace technology. Expanding feedstock and fuel options for direct reduction shaft furnace production is a key industry focus, and the work delivers on a key milestone under a 2023 MoU between Baowu and Rio to explore options to decarbonise the steel value chain. Both companies continue to work together on other projects under the MoU, they said.

The New Zealand government is looking to keep its ETS price controls and settings as is, in line with advice from the Climate Change Commission (CCC), according to a consultation published Friday.