BRIEFING: UNEA-7 lands 11-point package on minerals, chemicals and ecosystems, major decisions pushed
This week’s seventh UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) concluded with modest progress on minerals, metals, chemicals, waste, and strategic ecosystems, but a lack of ambitious measures means many of the defining decisions are now delayed to 2026.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Researchers warn of major hydropower over-crediting as Verra rejects parallels with troubled Kariba REDD+ project
Verra has defended its continued issuance of hydropower offsets after US-based researchers accused the standards body of knowingly generating a large pool of potentially non-additional units that could rival or exceed the scale of excess crediting observed at Zimbabwe’s embattled Kariba REDD+ project.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Nature markets could be “gigantic” with regulation
Nature markets in areas such as the EU could raise significant sums of money for biodiversity with appropriate regulatory drivers, an environmental economist said on Tuesday.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Verra launches review into large Amazon REDD carbon project in wake of public scrutiny
Verra has launched a review into the verification and validation assessments of a large avoided deforestation project in the Brazilian Amazon following accusations that it has generated millions of carbon credits from land inside federally-protected areas.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Congress weakens environmental licensing in Brazil, govt considers going to court
Right after Brazil hosted the UN Climate Conference, its National Congress approved two bills that ease environmental licencing in the country and threaten to reverse decades of progress in environmental law.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Huge sovereign forest carbon deals go dark as Dubai-based Blue Carbon slips into the shadows
A series of high-profile sovereign forest carbon project agreements covering vast swathes of land, struck between Dubai-based Blue Carbon LLC and multiple developing nation governments in 2023-24, have stalled or could now be void as the company appears to have ceased operations, according to sources and media reports.
Read MoreBRIEFING: Stakeholders weigh in on federal budget outlook for nature projects in Canada
Environmental organisations are split on Canada’s 2025 federal budget, with some critical of its implications for nature and others suggesting it creates a window of opportunity for developing more credible afforestation, reforestation, and restoration (ARR) projects in Canada while reducing the burden on taxpayers.
Read MoreCOP30: BRIEFING – UN Refugee Agency targets $30 mln to pilot carbon credit projects at Uganda, Rwanda camps
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched a fund this week, targeting about $30 million for three pilot projects that aim to connect displaced communities in Uganda and Rwanda with revenue from global carbon markets.
Read MoreCOP30: BRIEFING – Marine carbon removal company targets commercialisation, but experts warn it’s a premature sector
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.
Read MoreCOP30: BRIEFING – Uncertainty dominates forest fund talks, with eyes on Germany, China, MDBs to keep momentum
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.
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