According to an update from the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, a total 65%, or 129 of 198 countries, have now taken steps towards Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) participation by appointing their Designated National Authorities (DNAs).

EU Hydrogen Bank – The European Commission has published draft terms for a fourth hydrogen auction under its European Hydrogen Bank, with the call due to be launched by the end of 2026. The IF26 Hydrogen Auction will channel up to €500 million from the ETS-funded Innovation Fund to support production of RFNBOs (€350 mln) and electrolytic low-carbon hydrogen (€150 mln). The scheme will again use a pay-as-bid, fixed-premium design with 10-year support and a €4/kg bid cap, following three heavily oversubscribed rounds that drew 250 bids requesting nearly €24 bln. Member states can once more tap the “auctions-as-a-service” feature to add national money while relying on the EU-wide mechanism for project selection.

Lawmakers from three major political groups in the European Parliament have written separate letters to the EU executive in recent days, backing a “strong and stable” EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) as Brussels prepares to unveil a major overhaul of the bloc’s carbon market on July 17.

Kenya is working to launch a carbon credit exchange serving the domestic and wider East African market within the next 12 months, media reported Friday.

European carbon allowance prices moved in a narrow range on Friday morning, ending the session little-changed as traders chose to sit on their hands with just one week until the European Commission unveils its proposed ETS reform package, while energy markets drifted as the United States and Iran continued their dialogue despite a flare-up in military action during the week.

Keep it green - Sweden has urged the EU not to weaken its flagship climate legislation as Brussels pursues a broader drive to simplify regulation and boost industrial competitiveness, Politico has reported. While Stockholm supports cutting unnecessary administrative burdens for businesses, it argues that the bloc should preserve the core objectives of the European Green Deal and avoid reopening major environmental laws simply to reduce compliance costs. In a paper circulated to EU governments ahead of discussions on the Commission’s simplification agenda, Sweden warned that frequent revisions create uncertainty for companies and risk undermining investment in the green transition. Instead, it called for stable, predictable rules that give businesses confidence to invest in low-carbon technologies while allowing targeted improvements where implementation has proved overly burdensome. The intervention contrasts with calls from some member states and industry groups for deeper rollbacks of environmental legislation. Sweden argued that competitiveness and decarbonisation should reinforce rather than undermine one another, warning against dismantling climate policies central to the EU’s long-term economic strategy.

Countries that allow carbon-taxed entities to offset their liabilities with UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits could absorb some of these phased-out units, even repurposing them to address Paris climate targets or for use against the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Methane proposal - The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) has opened a call for proposals for a $700,000 project aimed at cutting methane emissions from Indonesia’s waste sector and advancing circular economy solutions, according to a LinkedIn post. The initiative will support the environment ministry in improving organic waste management, landfill operations, and methane capture, while strengthening emissions monitoring. The project is expected to pilot solutions in three to five cities across Bali and Jakarta, with applications from eligible non-profit organisations closing on Aug. 14.

South Korea, the world’s third‑largest steel exporter, faces several bottlenecks in its industrial transition, with a new report warning that its weak green steel standards could leave the sector exposed to risks from global trade rules such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

A European impact fund is positioning itself to be a first big developer of forestry and carbon projects in one of Africa’s lesser known host countries, the Republic of Congo – and is helping the government build its market infrastructure along the way. 

New biochar book - A new book exploring biochar’s potential to support economic development and climate action was launched this week during an online event hosted by the Minnesota Biochar Initiative. "Biochar: Fueling a new economy in the developing world" is co-authored by Patrick Pineda, vice president of business development and sustainability at Florida Crystals and former CEO of The Next 150, and Sara Duarte, co-founder and chief science officer at SuperBiochar and former biochar research and development leader at The Next 150. Drawing on peer-reviewed research and practical experience, the book examines how biochar can support entrepreneurship, farming communities, financial resilience, sustainable resource management, and climate change mitigation.

A group of 12 oil and gas majors has Tuesday published the methodology it will use to report members’ aggregated performance against their collective 2025 carbon and methane intensity ambitions, with the results due in October.

Transition credits continue to be seen as a risky proposition in Asian countries despite existing methodologies, due to a confluence of factors including government priorities, perceived risks, and a tangled web of policy structures.

Australian first - Victoria's State Electricity Commission (SEC) has announced it will build a 20 MW closed-loop compressed CO2 battery, describing it as the first battery of its kind to be deployed in Australia. The state government said the technology will be able to hold three times the electricity of a large-scale lithium-ion battery, delivered by Energy Dome. The investment is part of Labor’s Victorian Energy Jobs Plan, which is delivering more than A$18 bln ($12.5 bln) in wages to regional Victorian workers by 2040, according to the government.

In a market flooded with diverse transaction methods, from digital marketplaces and RFP platforms to brokers and exchanges, old-fashioned relationship-building is still the most common way to close a deal, according to a report. 

Launched -  Indonesia has officially launched its new Carbon Unit Registry System (SRUK). The environment ministry said 49 mitigation projects spanning the energy, waste, forestry, and agriculture sectors are in the pipeline under Indonesia’s domestic SPEI certification scheme, with estimated emissions reduction potential of 5.85 MtCO2e annually. The registry was built using Climate Data Steering Committee data-model standards and is designed to connect with IDXCarbon and international registry systems.

Hundreds of carbon projects left outside the Paris Agreement’s new crediting mechanism face an uncertain future, with developers weighing a patchwork of options ranging from voluntary markets and domestic compliance schemes to simply shutting down ageing programmes.

EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) revenues should be channelled towards closing the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) cost gap and supporting next-generation fuels that are currently commercially unviable, according to a policy briefing from researchers at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence.

Prices in China’s emissions market climbed to the RMB 85 ($12.51) level this past week with robust trading activity, while CCER prices fluctuated significantly amid the limited credit issuance. 

EU governments should sharply increase spending from the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) for industrial decarbonisation, based on stricter conditionality rules, more targeted spending, and greater transparency, argues a new paper by the Jacques Delors Energy Centre.

While Japan and Singapore are currently leading the procurement of CORSIA-eligible credits, demand signals across the broader Asia-Pacific region remain relatively weak, according to a conference panel on Thursday.

Up to a good CALSTART - The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) selected on Thursday global non-profit CALSTART and its partners as a provisional Community Climate Investment (CCI) entity in its Climate Protection Program, designed to reduce GHG emissions from fossil fuels. The appointment culminated a 10-week process to select organisations to participate as CCI entities. The CCI will fund GHG pollution reduction projects in the state. CALSTART and its partners have demonstrated expertise in reducing emissions in transportation and buildings, while prioritising equitable outcomes for lower income communities, which aligns with the DEQ programme. DEQ plans to develop an agreement with CALSTART on financial and administrative oversight for the funds for its decarbonisation projects, to be finalised by the end of 2026. Once CALSTART is an approved CCI entity, companies regulated by the Climate Protection Program can choose to make contributions to their projects, earning CCI credits in return.

An American forest carbon scientist has founded a new credit ratings agency committed to transparency and re-building market trust through enhanced and customisable scoring metrics. 

Verra opened a one-month public consultation process on Thursday for a major revision of its cookstove methodology in its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) programme.

Carbon removal (CDR) buyers apart from Microsoft committed to a record-high volume of quarterly purchases, according to analysis published by a CDR portfolio manager on Thursday.