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TOP STORY
Green Climate Fund approves projects set to remove nearly 20 mln tonnes of CO2
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) on Thursday approved at least four projects spanning Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and South Asia that are expected to collectively deliver almost 19.4 million tonnes of CO2e in emissions reductions or removals, while channelling more than $311 mln into climate-resilient agriculture and forest restoration.
EMEA
EU lawmakers endorse dedicated funding for biodiversity in next budget
The EU lawmakers on Thursday formally endorsed a 10% target for biodiversity spending in the bloc’s next long-term budget, on top of a proposed 35% target for environmental action.
UK BNG nears £100 mln market value -report
The UK’s Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) market has almost tripled in value over the past year to an estimated £93 million, with northern England emerging as the country’s largest source of biodiversity unit transactions despite hosting relatively few habitat banks, according to a report.
EU countries urged to step up Mediterranean seagrass restoration efforts
EU member states need to step up efforts to recover Mediterranean seagrass meadows, including by allocating long-term funding and improving restoration planning, according to a report.
Carbon standard finalises new bioCCS methodology in bid to align with EU carbon removal framework
Rainbow has finalised a methodology for biogenic carbon capture and storage (bioCCS) that directly incorporates requirements from the EU’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation, marking one of the first voluntary carbon market methodologies explicitly designed around the bloc’s emerging carbon removal certification framework.
AMERICAS
US EPA preparing supplemental rulemaking for WOTUS Rule
The Trump administration appears to be re-drafting its proposed rule for defining waters under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Isometric issues first reforestation credits for Brazilian developer with Google, Microsoft deals
Isometric has issued nearly 22,000 reforestation carbon credits to an Amazonian project from a Sao Paulo-based developer, the first such credits for both companies, they announced on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Indian developer, Thai non-profit partner on nature‑based carbon projects in Southeast Asia
An Indian project developer and Thai non-profit have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on nature-based solutions (NbS) project development in Southeast Asia.
INTERNATIONAL
Ecosystem function depends on complex species interactions, especially predator roles -study
Healthy ecosystems rely less on the number of species they contain and more on how those species interact, particularly the presence of predators, according to a new research published in Nature on Thursday.
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BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
EMEA
Partnering for change – FSD Africa, FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), and Germany’s development agency GIZ have signed a three-year partnership to help channel investment into Africa’s real economy, the institutions announced on Wednesday. The collaboration will focus on developing investment opportunities, mobilising capital, and strengthening financial markets supporting climate, nature, carbon markets, and financial inclusion across the continent.
Slashed funding – The UK government has dampened a multi-million pound fund to save the world’s second-largest rainforest – it’s cut funding to the Congo Basin Forest Action Programme (CBFAP) by 79% to £18.8 mln, according to a LinkedIn post by Adam Vaughan, environment editor at The Times. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson originally pledged millions to protect the Congo Basin, home to elephants, chimps, and gorillas at COP26 in Glasgow five years ago. A total of £90 mln was allocated via the scheme to preserve the rainforest, which is known as the ‘lungs of Africa’ – second only to the Amazon in size but locks away more CO2 each year than its South American counterpart. The cuts are reportedly understood to be due to wider cuts to UK foreign aid spend.
Mozambique credits – Developer Terrasos has begun advising the Blue Future mangrove project in Mozambique on long-term financing options, assessing whether biodiversity credits for the regulated conservation banks market could be generated, it said in a social media post this week. The work, conducted with non-profit Wildlife Conservation Society, aims to determine the most suitable conservation model for the Memba-Mosuril area while evaluating results-based payments as a future financing mechanism for biodiversity markets.
INTERNATIONAL
Nature numbers – The Institute for Sustainable Finance has published a report aimed at improving the use of nature-related data by financial institutions. It proposes a three-step framework intended to bridge the gap between data produced by companies and the information needs of financial institutions, without creating new metrics. The report also identifies more than 40 operational tools and databases intended to support nature-related reporting.
Guiding CFOs – The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), in partnership with Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), published on Thursday a guidance to help chief financial officers assess how nature-related risks, dependencies, impacts, and opportunities could affect business performance. The guide outlines questions for finance teams to incorporate nature considerations into risk management, capital allocation, valuation, financial planning, and strategic decision-making, the organisations said.
Certification scheme – The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a certification scheme focused on hotels’ environmental claims, aligned with the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive. Building on the Hotel Sustainability Basics scheme, it will provide third-party verification of the hotels’ environmental performance, in an attempt to improve transparency for travellers, investors, and businesses, according to the WTTC.
Deforestation reduction – In a ceremony, the governments of Peru, Norway, Germany, and the UK formalised the beginning of the Joint Declaration of Intent (DCI) 2026-2030, aimed at supporting efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon, Peru’s Ministry of Environment (Minam) announced on Wednesday. At the same event, officials also confirmed the approval of the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Protocol between Peru and Norway under the Amazon REDD+ National Programme.
ASIA PACIFIC
NbS pipeline – Value Network Ventures has teamed up with Mae Fah Luang Foundation to establish a framework for nature-based solutions (NbS) across Southeast Asia. The initiative aims to build a pipeline of ARR, REDD+, blue carbon, and biodiversity projects in the region, while advancing engagement with governments and other stakeholders.
Finance guide – The UN-backed Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) has published a new guidebook for implementing payments for ecosystem services to bridge the biodiversity finance gap in Sri Lanka, it announced this week. The guideline uses examples from tea states protecting watersheds and tourism-led landscape investments.
Inclusive finance – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Golomt Bank Joint Stock Company (Golomt Bank) have signed a $64 mln loan agreement. The financing is aimed at supporting sustainable finance in Mongolia. It will also expand lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, focusing on women-owned businesses. The package includes $60 mln from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and $4 mln in concessional funding from the Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CANPA).
AMERICAS
Connecticut NbS evaluation – The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) on Wednesday released an evaluation of its NbS initiatives. The evaluation analysed 10 different NbS best practices, showing how they are integrated into nearly 50 state programmes administered by multiple state agencies. DEEP’s evaluation found that NbS are generally well-integrated into its programmes. The evaluation also included recommendations that mirrored those of the draft evaluation, including: expanding natural and working lands modeling in GHG inventories; reviewing and integrating existing resilience funding and finance mechanisms; restoring support to discontinued NbS programmes; and developing a statewide NbS implementation roadmap and soil health plan.
Field work – Parks Canada announced this week it has opened a C$10.7 mln ($7.5 mln) research and monitoring field station in Wood Buffalo National Park, as the federal government rolls out C$90 mln in its Force of Nature funding to support ecosystem restoration and the recovery of wood bison populations along the Alberta-Northwest Territories border. The facility, developed in collaboration with Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation, and Mikisew Cree First Nation, will support community-based environmental monitoring, stewardship, and research in the Peace-Athabasca Delta.
Payments for conservation – The government of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, launched a public call worth R$3 mln ($576,900) to support conservation efforts across 20 Indigenous territories. The initiative is part of the Forest Guardians Payment for Environmental Services Programme, which already benefits 22 territories. The programme aims to provide financial compensation to Indigenous communities for voluntary conservation activities carried out on Indigenous lands, particularly those overlapping with state conservation units or located within their buffer zones.
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