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TOP STORIES
Major insurers still lagging on climate, nature commitments despite mounting risks -report
The world’s largest insurers continue to underwrite and invest in activities driving climate change and biodiversity loss, despite mounting evidence that these same risks are making large parts of the world increasingly difficult to insure, according to a report published on Tuesday.
Regenerative farming company, UK bank launch nature-positive fund
A regenerative food and farming company has partnered with a UK-headquartered bank to launch a fund aimed at advancing the nature-positive transition in the agricultural sector.
INTERNATIONAL
Conservation projects gain access to Airbus’ satellite monitoring technology
The Airbus Foundation and the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF) have selected wildlife conservation and restoration projects across Asia, Africa, and Latin America to receive access to advanced satellite technology, the organisations announced on Tuesday.
Experts draft global ocean carbon removals framework due in 2027
International marine science experts are drawing up a global framework to assess ocean-based climate interventions, such as marine carbon removal (mCDR), with the work due to be completed by mid-2027.
ERW boosts carbon storage in young broadleaf woodland by up to 27%, study finds
Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) increased aboveground carbon storage in young native broadleaf woodland plots by up to 27% over four years, while soil microbiome enrichment delivered a smaller and less consistent early growth boost, a major UK study has found.
NGOs propose global ‘no-go’ mining framework for environmentally and culturally sensitive areas
A coalition of civil society organisations has proposed a framework identifying areas that should be permanently off-limits to mining, arguing that stronger safeguards are needed to prevent irreversible environmental damage and human rights violations as demand for critical minerals accelerates.
Amazon to buy 2 mln South African carbon credits in long-term Spekboom restoration deal
Amazon will buy 1.95 million carbon removal credits from a large-scale ecosystem restoration project in South Africa, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, as part of a an initiative that has also secured innovative financing through a $120 mln World Bank outcome bond.
EMEA
EU risks litigation if it drops binding forestry climate goal, WWF warns
The EU risks exposing itself to legal challenges if it weakens or abandons binding targets for carbon removals from forestry and land use as part of its post-2030 climate framework, according to a new legal analysis commissioned by WWF and published on Tuesday.
QBE, partners launch UK nature restoration consortium with 50-year commitment
Insurance company QBE and seven businesses from its supply chain are partnering for a collective commitment of 50 years to fund rewilding and carbon credit generation in the United Kingdom, they announced on Tuesday.
Germany-backed CDR programme coordinates plan to scale up research
Researchers from a carbon removal (CDR) initiative backed by around €33 million from the German government are advancing work into scaling up engineered and land-based removals, the programme has announced.
Nordic asset manager flags biodiversity risks under TNFD framework
A Nordic asset management firm has released a sustainability report aligned with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), outlining steps to mitigate its impacts on biodiversity.
Lithuanian soil carbon firm secures €120 mln facility to expand farm lending
A Vilnius-based soil carbon firm has secured a €120 million senior secured credit facility to expand transition financing for European small and medium-sized agricultural businesses, it announced Tuesday.
Researchers outline four actions to strengthen protection of Europe’s primary, old-growth forests
Europe could do more to protect its remaining primary and old-growth forests using existing provisions in the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR), according to a new perspective paper.
ASIA PACIFIC
Malaysian govt agency seeks partners for pilot carbon offset projects
The Malaysia Forest Fund (MFF), a federal government agency, has called for partners to pilot two new methodologies under its Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) Programme, with a focus on urban forestry and agroforestry, it announced.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
Research lab – Sweden-headquartered furniture giant Ikea is funding a research lab seeking to advance reforestation efforts in Malaysia, Eco-Business reported. The Living Rainforest Restoration Lab, supported by the Malaysian government-backed Sabah Foundation, will finance projects led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and other institutions. Ikea has promoted the restoration of degraded forests in the state of Sabah for the past 25 years, it said.
Three more – The Natural Capital Alliance has announced that the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont have joined as new members. ADB and IDB had previously collaborated with NatCap in Asia and Latin America, respectively. Meanwhile, Taylor Ricketts, director of the Gund Institute, was one of the co-founders of the alliance while at WWF.
Call for feedback – The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) has launched a survey aiming to enhance nature-related corporate disclosures. The survey, which will remain open until Aug. 14, targets experts involved in the assessment and reporting of nature-related issues within companies or financial institutions. The overall aim is to track global market progress and gain insights into the applications and implementation of nature-related assessment and reporting, TNFD said.
Fresh funding – The Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) has awarded funding to 12 projects through its latest Collaborative Fund round, it was announced Monday. The initiative said the projects will bring together partners from across its network to address biodiversity challenges while fostering collaboration across disciplines and institutions. Among the 2026 portfolio is a project to develop aligned principles for the responsible use of AI in conservation, bringing together CCI partners with computer scientists, AI engineers, technologists, and sustainability experts.
Wildlife consensus – For the first time, more than 280 scientists from six continents have jointly endorsed a Scientific Consensus on Wildlife and Climate, Inside Ecology reported. The experts formally aligned on wording that sets out the role of wildlife in climate mitigation and ecosystem resilience. The agreement was announced at a press conference during UNFCCC SB64, in Bonn last week. While scientists have long called for greater recognition of wildlife in climate policy, this marks the first coordinated, cross-disciplinary effort to establish a shared scientific framing. The agreement came after African leaders advanced discussions at COP30 on a proposed Wildlife for Climate Declaration.
EMEA
Moving fast – The Carbon Accelerator Programme for the Environment (CAPE) has opened applications for its second cohort, seeking high-integrity, nature-based carbon projects across Africa. Launched in 2024 by Finance Earth and the African Natural Capital Alliance, the programme supports landscape-scale projects where carbon revenue is the primary investment driver, while delivering biodiversity, community, and ecosystem benefits. The initiative aims to improve project investment readiness and strengthen financing channels for nature-positive investments. Cohort 1 includes projects in Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Stage 0 applications for the second cohort close on July 17, 2026, with submissions reviewed on a rolling basis.
Trees at risk – London could lose most of its trees by 2090 due to climate change, according to the Kew Gardens tree collections and arboriculture team at Kew Gardens. In collaboration with the Greater London Authority, the researchers found that 72% of the capital’s urban canopy could be at risk due to heat and drought driven by global warming. Some 62% of the city’s 1.2 mln trees have low suitability to warmer urban environments, while 10% are already vulnerable. It follows last week’s record heatwave in the capital where parts of the city reached 36C, and where the value of trees was especially evident in helping to cool streets and absorbing excess stormwater. Kew Gardens said it will work to choose more suitable urban trees with higher survival rates. Many British native trees such as the common beech, silver birch, holly, face highest risk of failure, with knock-on effects for other species such as fungi, lichens, and birds. (The Standard)
Moldova’s needs – The European Commission is assessing how much investment Moldova will need to align its environmental standards with EU legislation, with a clearer estimate expected by year-end, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said. According to Roswall, the accession candidate will require “serious funding” backed by political commitment to finance decarbonisation, ecosystem restoration, circular economy measures, and the administrative capacity needed to implement EU environmental rules, Informat.ro reported.
Soil MRV boost – Berlin-based digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) platform Seqana has raised €3.2 mln in funding to advance its soil MRV technology, the company announced on June 17. With the funding, Seqana will expand its platform’s coverage to a broader set of soil health indicators in addition to carbon measurement. The company co-authored the newest version of Verra’s VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management, which completed its public consultation in March, as well as Gold Standard’s Soil Organic Carbon Model Guidelines for quantifying carbon stock changes in agricultural soils.
Mediterranean conservation training – The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN Med) has brought together 30 representatives from civil society organisations and public institutions across Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia for a three-day regional training on species conservation. The programme combined theory, fieldwork, and practical design, enabling participants to apply training directly to conservation planning. It also strengthened capacity to design nature-based solutions aligned with the IUCN Global Standard, improving biodiversity planning, measurement, and monitoring.
ASIA PACIFIC
Carbon custodians – The Satoyama Mace Initiative, a transnational climate action and sustainability platform hosted at Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University and endorsed by the International Partnership for the Satoyama Initiative, has formally onboarded Bombay’s Indigenous Peoples Association (BIPA), which represents the East Indian/Mobaim Mulvasi Indigenous community in Mumbai, into the Global Indigenous Partnership for Climate Action (GIPCA). The move marks GIPCA’s first South Asian regional partnership and creates a collaboration focused on Indigenous stewardship, biodiversity conservation, and nature-based climate solutions, with BIPA contributing traditional ecological knowledge and field networks while the initiative provides carbon accounting, remote sensing, monitoring, and access to climate finance systems.
ERW supply – Mati Carbon has received its first credits, a total of 717 CORCs, under the Puro Standard’s enhanced rock weathering (ERW) methodology for a project in Chhattisgarh, India. The issuance credits the company’s use of basalt-based enhanced rock weathering on smallholder rice paddy farms, where crushed basalt is applied to soils to accelerate natural carbon sequestration.
AMERICAS
Concluding obligations – Ocensa, the largest oil pipeline in Colombia, has fully complied with the forced investment required by authorities for the use of water resources through the credits issued by a habitat bank, the operator Terrasos CEO Mariana Sarmiento said Monday on LinkedIn. The obligation, which requires projects to invest at least 1% of total capital in environmental projects, was not fulfilled for 20 years, Sarmiento said. Since Ocensa partnered with Terrasos five years ago, it bought 205.55 habitat bank credits (Spanish: cupos), equivalent to one ha managed for 30 years, to comply with its environmental obligations.
Market currents – Water Ledger has announced it will roll out a series of updates to Virginia’s SWaN platform, including new market intelligence features, DEQ permit data, and broader geographic coverage. It is also launching a quarterly report tracking developments in mitigation and nutrient markets. SWaN – whihc stands for Stream, Wetland, and Nutrient exchange – is a platform for trading and tracking wetland mitigation credits.
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