Papua New Guinea has been progressing its Article 6 implementation agreement with Singapore, as it aims to slowly “road test” its newly established carbon markets to ensure they provide value to landholders.

Two blueprints vying to unite Southeast Asian countries under a common carbon market framework on Thursday pitched near-identical endgames while insisting their approach is most ideal to turn nature and tech projects in the region into bankable, high-integrity carbon credits.

Parties are not expected to reopen adopted texts governing the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), despite strong interventions in talks earlier this week at COP30 made by countries raising concerns with a permanence standard affecting new Article 6 carbon projects.

Electrification outage – New York State agreed in a federal court filing on Wednesday to delay implementing its All-Electric Buildings Law until the Second Circuit rules on an industry challenge, despite previously arguing that postponement would cause “irreparable harm” to residents. The move drew sharp criticism from non-profit environmental legal firm Earthjustice, which said the decision undercuts Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) stated commitments on energy affordability and climate policy. The law, passed in 2023, requires new low-rise buildings to be fully electric starting in 2026 and expands the mandate to all new construction by 2029.

An autonomous region of Spain has opened a call for expressions of interest to launch its voluntary carbon market, marking the next step in implementing Spain's first regional carbon trading system.

A Canadian net zero nickel project has been added to Prime Minster Mark Carney’s nation-building projects list, marking an important milestone for the carbon removal (CDR) sector. 

Not a great look - G7 countries are outpacing Canada in reducing their emissions, according to a new insight by 440 Megatonnes. The data platform, by Canadian climate think tank the Canadian Climate Institute, said COP30 is a good time to put Canada’s emissions reduction progress into a global context – especially considering it was the 10th-largest emitter in 2024 and among the highest in per-capita terms. While Canada has reduced its emissions by nearly 9% since 2005, the average reduction is more than 30% among its partners, including the US which beat out Canada for the second-last spot at 17%.

Jet fuel boon - US-based alternative fuels tech company, LanzaJet, has announced its LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Soperton, Georgia is fully operational – marking both the world's first production of jet fuel using ethanol as a feedstock at a commercial-scale plant, and the first non-oil-based renewable solution compatible with modern aircraft. The company said the development is the culmination of 15 years of research and development.

Investment pitch - The Indonesian province of East Java on Thursday pitched its carbon trading ambitions and investment prospects to Singapore, highlighting opportunities in carbon credits, education, health, and wider economic cooperation, RRI reported. The two sides also discussed expanding collaboration, including on sustainability and skills development, during the province governor's visit to Singapore.

Turkiye's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will go ahead, but not before 2029, the CEO of the country's energy exchange said on Thursday. 

Washington state regulators on Thursday outlined proposed changes to how electric utilities receive and use no-cost carbon allowances under its cap-and-invest programme, including revised allocation calculations, updated administrative-cost relief, and potential consignment requirements for the next compliance period.

As a marine CO2 removal (mCDR) company scopes out sites to capture up to 50,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, experts on the sidelines of COP30 emphasised the gaps in science and governance of the sector at large.

A New York-based green hydrogen company announced this week that it is suspending activities related to a $1.7 billion US DOE loan and halting work on six hydrogen facilities as it pivots to serving the growing data centre market.

The Brazilian-led tropical forest fund has been clouded by uncertainty at COP30, despite receiving over $5 billion in pledges upon its launch ahead of the annual UN climate summit, with hopes now pinned on Germany, China, and multilateral development banks (MDBs) to keep the flagship initiative moving forward.

South Korea is accelerating work to build what it describes as a high-integrity global voluntary carbon market (GVCM) aligned with the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), with plans to establish a credit issuance body next year.

The African Development Bank is looking for a government or organisation to host an initiative designed to entice polluters to buy certifications for the benefits generated from climate adaptation projects – outside of carbon markets.

Climate ties – Pakistan and Canada moved to strengthen collaboration on climate resilience and sustainable agriculture during a meeting between Climate Minister Musadik Malik and Canadian High Commissioner Tarik Ali Khan, APP reported Thursday. Talks centred on climate-adaptive agriculture, community welfare, and sustainable economic growth, with Canada offering support on climate-smart technologies through G2G channels. Malik cited Canada’s balanced clean-energy and carbon-management approach as useful for Pakistan’s green transition and outlined the Green Clusters initiative to spur youth-led innovation. Khan welcomed Pakistan’s facilitation of canola oil imports, and both sides agreed to maintain structured dialogue on climate and development cooperation.

Regulation ramifications – A working paper by IETA and consulting firm EOS published this week found requiring potential future sales of ITMOs by Brazil come only achievement of NDC targets would mean that national carbon markets would be curtailed in their economic, social, and environmental potential. Instead, the study found that revenues obtained from the cooperative implementation of NDCs, if reinvested in greater climate ambition, could more than double emissions reductions in the country. Feedback was requested on the working paper, which authors said would be refined.

Iraq on Thursday submitted its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, establishing clear and specific goals for engaging Article 6.2 and the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM).

Goias has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with non-profit Emergent to explore future sales of jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD) credits to the LEAF Coalition, becoming the latest Brazilian state to signal its intent to access large-scale forest finance under the initiative.

Brazil is in "advanced talks" with Switzerland and Singapore for Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement and could announce agreements during COP30, government sources told Carbon Pulse.

A Canadian-headquartered carbon credit financier has swung to a quarterly profit after sweeping cost cuts and cash recovered from disputed projects, though the company continues to grapple with stalled, abandoned, or contested carbon streams across its portfolio.

China's energy system has the potential to achieve net zero emissions around mid-century, but more ambitious policy actions are needed to drive the transformation, according to a government-backed think tank.

New data shows major Canadian corporates have made incremental progress across most climate disclosure indicators, with more detailed transition plans emerging even as most were developed without input from workers, communities, or Indigenous rights holders.

Projects that remove super pollutants from the atmosphere represent the biggest short-term opportunity to tackle emissions – even if they will have to be replaced with permanent removals in the long term, according to a large corporate carbon removals buyer.

Analysts project the EU ETS cap to range between 201-407 Mt in 2040, corresponding to an 80-90% reduction in GHG emissions from traded sectors compared to 2005 levels, in a new report.

SBTi explainer launched - A consultancy and data provider, Abatable, has published an explainer report to help companies navigate the new draft of the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) Corporate Net Zero Standard V2 (CNVS V2). The guide addresses eight key questions in the revised draft standard including how CNVS2 change the use of carbon credits and removals. It also tackles what the new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) framework means for carbon credit use to address ongoing emissions, and how corporate demand for credits evolve under the new standard. The latest draft of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard (Version 2) takes a step forward on climate finance transparency, and makes an effort to clearly recognise companies that buy quality carbon credits, according to stakeholders in the market. But there is criticism that it will fail to help drive near-term investment towards removals.

Less than two months from the deadline to approve transitions from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, only 7% of projects and programmes have received approval, the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre wrote in its monthly update.

European carbon prices set a new nine-month high before falling away amid a combination of technical, equities- and energy-related selling, while the daily EUA auction saw the largest discount in more than three months, and energy markets weakened after Wednesday's adjustment to crude oil supply projections by the IEA.

Differences in financing terms can more than double the price of carbon removal (CDR), a climate expert said this week.

A New York-based carbon removal (CDR) asset management company is kicking off its expansion into biochar with a sale of 3,000 ex-post credits valued at $154-$160 per tonne of CO2 equivalent.

The Alberta government will invest nearly C$30 million ($21.4 mln) from its Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund into two programmes aimed at reducing methane emissions from the province's oil and gas sector.

Carbon pricing data from 79 countries, covering 82% of global GHG output, shows increasingly diverse and flexible market signals, tracked through effective carbon rates (ECRs), with adoption spreading across new jurisdictions and sectors, a report released on Thursday has found.

An oil major is investing in a cookstove project in Rwanda that is expected to avoid 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 over the next decade, and will pursue Article 6.2 authorization under the Paris Agreement.

The UK has seen an exponential increase in demand for grid connections over the past year to serve the data centres behind artificial intelligence (AI), most of which won't get built because the country lacks the firm generation to power them, said a grid expert at an industry conference in London.

A Colorado-based measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) company will partner with a UK-based carbon market consultancy to accelerate high-integrity soil carbon projects out of Central Asia.

Indonesia and Norway on Thursday signed a “mutual expression of intent” that paves the way for Norway to buy carbon credits from Indonesia’s grid-connected renewable energy projects under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.

Low-carbon hydrogen backed by carbon capture and storage (CCS) will be needed to keep Poland’s heavy industry competitive as demand rises and EU deadlines approach, according to a US-based non-profit.

Brazil can take the lead in scaling up the global nature-based solutions (NbS) sector, though further efforts must be made to align existing instruments with investor needs, an expert told Carbon Pulse.

ICAO has approved six of Isometric's methodologies for engineered removals under the UN's CORSIA aviation offsetting system, backing a wider suite of CCS, direct air capture (DAC), and biochar methodologies.

Australian environmental, Indigenous, and investor groups, as well as unions, are calling for an end to the stalemate around the bid to host next year's COP31, urging parties to ensure next year’s talks are held in Asia Pacific.

No deal on EU energy taxation directive – European Union countries on Thursday failed to reach agreement on the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive. The Danish EU Council Presidency, which led talks among the 27 EU member states, came to the conclusion that an agreement wouldn’t be possible due to the long list of outstanding open issues, and requests from EU countries. This comes as a disappointment for Denmark, which put forward a compromise text extending tax exemptions on fossil fuels used by the aviation, maritime and fishing sectors until 2035 in a bid to reach an agreement. The file now remains open, with no clear timetable for its adoption. Taxation is not an EU competence and requires unanimity among the EU27.

Equitable Earth on Thursday launched a new REDD+ methodology on the sidelines of COP30 in Belem, aiming to accelerate the certification of high-integrity, community-led forest conservation projects across multiple continents.

Cote d’Ivoire has signed a purchase agreement worth $23 million with a US non-profit to commercialise verified jurisdictional REDD+ emission reductions and removals issued under the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).

The Council of the European Union on Thursday approved the start of negotiations with the United Kingdom on a landmark agreement to link their emissions trading systems (ETS).

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) – The Carbon to Sea Initiative and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation have launched a call for research proposals to study how ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) could affect commercially and culturally important marine species. The partners plan to fund two 24-month projects of up to $300K each for hypothesis-driven experiments on valued invertebrates and fish across the water column. Proposals should focus on biological and ecological responses, including potential co-benefits like reducing harm from ocean acidification, and align with emerging best practice frameworks for mCDR and community engagement. Applications are due by Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, with decisions expected by March and projects starting from May 1, 2026.

Northern Lights phase 2 – Northern Lights, Norway’s government-backed carbon capture and storage (CCS) project, is entering its second phase that will see storage capacity expand to 5 million tonnes a year, a bank announced Thursday. The joint venture between Equinor, Shell, and TotalEnergies injected its first CO2 volumes under the North Sea in August. The first phase of the project offers 1.5 mln tonnes of storage a year, and customers have already booked the full capacity. BBVA Corporate & Investment Banking said Thursday it has acted as one of the key banking partners for the second phase to expand capacity to 5 mln tonnes a year. “The scalability and commercial viability of Northern Lights set a precedent for the future of CCUS as a key enabler in the energy transition,” said Carlos Zuloaga, Global Sector Head of Energy in BBVA CIB.

The European Parliament scrapped a requirement for large companies to produce mandatory climate transition plans, as MEPs voted on Thursday to simplify EU corporate sustainability reporting rules.

Ambitious storage – India’s Adani Group has unveiled plans to build what would be India’s largest battery energy storage system (BESS), featuring a power capacity of 1,126 MW, at its renewable-energy complex in Gujarat’s Khavda district. The facility is slated for completion by Mar. 2026 and would rank among the world’s largest single-location storage installations. The project will incorporate advanced lithium-ion battery containers and energy-management systems and form part of its plan to scale storage to 50 GWh over the next five years, the Group said. (The Economic Times)

A Japanese agtech startup has suspended plans to generate carbon credits from rice paddies in regions where severe drought will make mid-season drainage impossible in fiscal year 2025, it announced on Monday.

The European Parliament on Thursday voted in favour of plans to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 90% below 1990 levels by 2040, clearing the way for talks with EU member states to finalise a deal before the end of the year.

A US-based philanthropy has announced $5.4 million for strengthening the resilience of food systems by funding farmers producing food for school meals, focused initially on Brazilian initiatives.

Day 4 at COP30 in Belem. A brief presidency update, calmer rain and cooler protests, and a flurry of (more) announcements from Brazil kept the week ticking along on Wednesday. Closed-door talks continue on Thursday on climate finance, trade concerns, and other contentious matter, as delegates will now have to wait until Saturday for a formal update on the state of negotiations. 

NZU prices came under renewed pressure on Thursday, with participants pointing to last week’s surprise news about changes to the New Zealand ETS as continuing to weigh on minds.

Australia’s Liberal opposition party has decided to ditch its net zero target by 2050, ending the bipartisan consensus on climate change with the current government led by Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

A soil carbon project in India has received a $30 million investment from a Paris-based investor, with the initiative set to generate carbon credits from smallholder farmers adopting regenerative practices.

Amped for storage – Australian independent power producer Ampyr is teaming up with Green Gold Energy to take over the Davenport battery energy storage system in South Australia, they announced in a press release Thursday. Construction at the newly-renamed Northern Battery is expected to start next year, and will provide up to eight hours of storage through a 270 MW battery. Situated at the site of the former Port Augusta coal mine, the power company said the development will transform it into a pillar of the state’s renewable energy future.

A proposed mechanism to coordinate and support the global just transition has proven to be a flashpoint at COP30, with the G77+China facing off against developed countries including the UK over it.

A regional Brazilian development bank and two states have provided over R$178 million ($33.6 mln) in funding to support forest restoration in the Northeast region of the country, it was announced at COP30 on Wednesday.

Car registration – Singapore-based Saxon Renewables has registered a first-of-its-kind-for-Asia EV project with Verra’s VCS, the project developer told Carbon Pulse. The EVolve Grouped Electric Vehicle project will claim emissions reductions from the rollout of EV chargers in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, and is expected to cut emissions by 300,000 tCO2e in its first seven-year crediting period (2024-31). It is aiming to deploy and integrate 30,000 EV charge points by 2030, it said. Saxon is also eyeing Singapore’s carbon tax and CORSIA as other possible sources of demand for the resultant emissions units, it said.

Digging in – Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has written to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to reaffirm the country’s desire to host next year’s COP31, the PM told the ABC on Thursday. The letter was received in the past 24 hours, he added. Albanese has been in contact with Pacific leaders about the development, he said. This comes after representatives from the Pacific Islands have offered to help negotiate an agreement and end the stalemate over next year’s hosting duties.

Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025, reaching a record 38.1 billion tonnes, according to a report published Thursday, despite recent UN predictions that the world is about to peak its GHGs.

Experts forecast fossil fuel generation will remain flat for 2025 – the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic – with clean power growth led by China and India through the year so far, according to new analysis published Wednesday.

Global ambition to limit warming below 1.5C has barely shifted, despite a new round of 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with projections remaining roughly unchanged at 2.6C of warming by end of the century, according to a new report launched at COP30.