A US carbon registry and crediting platform approved a methodology for quantifying, monitoring, reporting, and verifying GHG emission reductions from the destruction of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in household appliances for refrigeration and air conditioning.

Hollowed out – New Zealand’s historic Zero Carbon Act has been hollowed out by the coalition government, analysis by RNZ found. Despite passing in 2019 with bipartisan support, the National-led coalition government has repealed, defunded, or delayed dozens of initiatives which would have helped deliver on its goals, the broadcaster said, including removing the ban on oil and gas exploration. Instead, the government is relying heavily on a stronger NZ ETS, a doubling of renewable energy, new tech for agricultural emissions, and carbon capture investments –  plans which the Climate Change Commission last month warned will be insufficient to meet the country’s longer-term goals.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) future settlements declined week-on-week, as traders commented on the waning weather heading into the next quarterly auction.

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) has launched an online toolkit to guide emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) governments in generating and selling carbon credits, and has also published a programme evaluation showing how it has supported countries participate in carbon markets.

Just the beginning – Weeks after a team of independent scientists assembled by the US DOE published a report casting doubt on established climate science, one of the scientists said the assault on the science is only the beginning. Steve Koonin, one of five main contributors, told E&E News last week that the document is a precursor to a sustained assault on mainstream climate science. The group also has plans to write a line-by-line rebuttal of the National Climate Assessment and prepare a counterattack against the climate scientists critical of the recent report. This includes the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defense Fund, which filed a lawsuit last week against the DOE and EPA alleging that the report was created by an unlawfully formed committee.

A growing queue – Renewable energy developers in California are questioning the amount of time the California Energy Commission is taking to process permit applications, even after legislation was passed three years ago to whittle down wait times. The 2022 law, AB 205, was designed to shave wait times down to 270 days and help large projects sidestep local opposition, Politico reported. But it has taken more than 650 days for the agency to make a final ruling on the application submitted by Fountain Wind, the first project that completed its application, a prime example of California’s sluggishness when it comes to expediting clean energy infrastructure.

A bankruptcy court judge has approved the conversion of a US-based carbon offsets company’s reorganisation cases to liquidation proceedings, allowing a purchase agreement to proceed that will see the indebted firm's assets transferred to a new entity.

A Washington-based electrolysis company has partnered with a Midwest ethanol plant to build a demonstration project that will showcase its ability to recycle CO2 into carbon-neutral molecules.

A California-based company, in partnership with a community council, has submitted the forest baseline for its jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) programme in Colombia to Verra this week.

CO2 solution – Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new enhanced oil recovery method that uses formate solutions made from CO2 to improve both oil production and carbon storage. In modelling studies of Permian Basin reservoirs, the approach increased oil output by nearly 20% and stored up to 18% more carbon than conventional methods, while also reducing the risk of CO2 leakage. The study's results suggest the technology could offer a safer, more efficient path for CCS, though large-scale formate production and supportive policy will be needed before commercial use.

The New Zealand government has announced its decision on the country’s latest ETS price controls and settings, making the critical decision of leaving auction volumes at their current rates, sending the NZU price higher.

Brazil needs to establish a solid governance structure for its carbon market and design a robust regulatory framework that ensures interoperability with the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and international carbon trading, lawyers said at an event in Sao Paulo last week.

Hearing halted - A motion hearing for Dib et al. v. Apple, originally set for Aug. 27, was vacated on Friday. The halt is related to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), US-based non-profit advocacy organisation, asking California federal court in July for permission to file an amicus curiae brief supporting Apple’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the company of misleading “carbon neutral” claims. The EDF argued Apple followed corporate best practices by cutting most emissions first and then offsetting the remainder with high-quality, third-party verified carbon credits. The group said that allowing the case to proceed could halter legitimate corporate climate action, discourage transparency, and undermine voluntary carbon markets.

An international investment firm has bought a co-controlling stake in a carbon, capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) platform by a Rome-headquartered fossil fuel producer, according to a Monday press release.

Denouncing EV(il) mandates - Alberta's Minister of Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) issued a statement declaring that the province will not accept the federal government's EV mandate, which is set to take effect in 2026. The mandate requires that 20% of light-duty vehicles offered for sale be zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), increasing to 60% and 100% in 2030 and 2035, respectively. Alberta's statement claimed the availability of EVs in Canada in 2024 was 25,000, far lower than what is required to reach the mandate. However, the EPA failed to recognise that ZEVs include electric, hydrogen, and hybrid powered cars, of which 264,000 were sold in Canada in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.

A temporary restraining order has been granted by a US court blocking two firms from pursuing emergency arbitration in a dispute over a collapsed carbon credit investment pool, according to legal documents reviewed by Carbon Pulse.

Italy is toying with the idea of putting its last coal plants in reserve, but the idea is not currently technically feasible and contradicts its own national climate commitment and international pledges, an NGO said.

Default option - South African banks are scaling back on lending as rising climate-related disasters increase the risk of defaults, according to a study released Monday by the South African Reserve Bank. The research, which analysed 38 banks from 2009 to 2024, showed that credit expansion slowed after major climate shocks such as floods and droughts, as well as following the introduction of the country’s carbon tax in 2019. These results mirror patterns seen in Europe, the US, and Brazil, where banks are also contending with the financial strain of climate change and policies aimed at cutting carbon emissions. The report noted that this tightening in lending is occurring just as businesses face growing demand for capital to adapt to climate risks and transition to a low-carbon economy. (Reuters)

European carbon prices ended Monday markedly higher after a late surge of buying in reaction to news headlines ahead of Monday evening's meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, while energy markets failed to take much direction ahead of the talks, and after an inconclusive US-Russia summit in Alaska on Friday.

Prices for credits from US registries surged last week to fresh highs as the ICVCM approved more methodologies for its CORE Carbon principle (CCP) label, but the rest of the avoidance complex largely slipped lower.

The head of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde warned cutting the scope of the EU's sustainability reporting directives could weaken the EU's central banking system, in a letter addressed to members of the European Parliament on Friday.

An expert body working on recommendations for methodologies under the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) will meet in the first week of September in a bid to make a breakthrough on a controversial standard on addressing reversal risk in carbon removal projects.

Climate experts are calling for carbon pricing policies that place a heavier burden on the world’s wealthiest polluters, arguing that targeting high earners is both more effective and more equitable than broad-based measures.

Sunshine state scrutiny - Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by CFO Blaise Ingoglia, is auditing city and county climate programmes, demanding details on spending for EVs, solar, and sustainable buildings, E&E News reported. Created by Govenor Ron DeSantis (R) in February, the state's DOGE has already reviewed several local governments and can now compel compliance under threat of $1,000 daily fines.

Cost of clean - The CEO of energy company E.ON, Leonhard Birnbaum, has welcomed the German government’s efforts to make cost efficiency a greater priority in its energy transition plans, arguing that the growth of new renewable power installations in the past years has led to higher costs for consumers. Green energy itself is not expensive, Birnbaum wrote in a guest article for newspaper Die Welt, adding that it becomes expensive when this energy does not arrive at households or companies or only at disproportionate costs. The economy ministry's upcoming and controversial energy transition 'reality check' monitoring report is set to put fresh numbers on Germany's expected power demand in future and prospectively guide updated renewable and grid expansion targets. Birnbaum said this was important for efficient and demand-focused planning. (Clean Energy Wire)

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is inviting the carmaking sector to pilot its draft Automotive Sector Net-Zero Standard, the standard setter announced Monday.

A clean water project aiming to cut emissions in Rwanda, has made strides towards trading carbon credits internationally under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the company announced Monday.

The last month saw six new approvals from host countries for activities transitioning from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), the highest number across a 30-day period to date, new data shows.

Engineered carbon removal (CDR) credits risk overstating climate benefits as projects often fail to deduct the large embodied emissions from building facilities, creating a debt that can leave buyers with “phantom removals”, a new report has found.

RfPs for resilience - The ClimateWorks Foundation has launched the Adaptation & Resilience Fund with two new RfPs aimed at strengthening resilience to extreme heat in urban areas across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Backed by the Howden Foundation, Laudes Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation, the fund will provide up to $9 mln in total support. Eligible applicants include city governments, civil society organisations, financial innovators, and grassroots groups working on urban climate resilience, adaptation finance, and institutional capacity building. The programme is structured around two main tracks. The first focuses on innovative finance for urban resilience, including approaches such as bonds, debt swaps, microfinance, and insurance. The second emphasises strengthening institutions and civil society by embedding resilience into urban planning and policy, amplifying local voices, and improving the capacity of city administrations to respond to climate-related challenges.

We can't do this alone - In an interview with Focus, Thyssenkrupp CEO Miguel Lopez warned that Germany cannot produce green electricity domestically at competitive prices. He noted that only two European regions, Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula, currently offer green power cheap enough to support industrial competitiveness. Lopez emphasised that Germany will need to import large volumes of affordable renewable electricity from these regions if its industry is to remain viable. He argued that electricity prices must fall to around three cents per kWh to prevent companies from relocating abroad. For core industries such as steelmaking and green hydrogen production, Lopez stressed that this challenge cannot be solved by Germany alone. Instead, it requires a pan-European approach that integrates low-cost renewable energy across national borders to secure the competitiveness of heavy industry and ensure progress toward the continent’s broader climate and economic goals. (Clean Energy Wire)

A London-headquartered carbon insurance startup has announced its entry into the green credit insurance market with a suite of products designed to de-risk capital earmarked for climate solutions.

With radical changes, the global plastics industry could potentially be turned from a carbon source to a carbon sink, a study released this week found.

The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Al Nouf Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, which set to become the UAE’s largest single-site 'carbon-capture-ready' gas-fired power plant, the company said last week.

A bank has completed what it claims is Thailand’s first-ever carbon credit forward transaction in a deal that referenced Verra-certified units, it announced Monday.

EU GHG emissions rose 3.4% year-on-year to 900 mln tonnes of CO2 in the first quarter of 2025, the second straight quarterly increase following a year of declines, according to official data from the EU’s statistical office released last week.

Get ready - South Korea's environment ministry has invited tenders to conduct research on building the country's measures in response to the emergence of carbon border adjustment systems, according to a notice published Monday. The bid winner will have to investigate and analyse the impact of the CBAMs around the world on domestic industries and propose response strategies. It should also review the feasibility of introducing a Korean version of CBAM, the notice said.

Further cooperation - Japan's environment ministry has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with its Cambodian counterpart for cooperation in the field of climate change mitigation, it announced Monday. Under the LoI, Japan will share its experience in preparing a GHG inventory and biennial transparency report to help Cambodia develop its own GHG inventory and report. The two countries also aim to support the formation of voluntary projects under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM).

Congo Basin carbon credits could reach as high as $30 per tonne by the end of the decade, according to a team of investment advisors.

The Philippines' energy regulator is set to meet stakeholders this week to gather feedback on a carbon credit policy for the energy sector.

Floods adaptation - Europe has significantly reduced flood impacts through adaptation measures like early warning systems, emergency planning, and building regulations. A new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) found that, since 1950, such measures have cut economic losses by 63% and fatalities by 52%. The researchers showed that absolute losses nearly doubled - but relative to GDP, damages fell to one-third of 1950s levels. Western and Southern Europe improved protection more than eastern and northern regions, though vulnerability has declined continent-wide. Still, adaptation has limits. Severe floods in recent years highlight the need for continued monitoring and stronger efforts to cut emissions, warned the authors.

An Australian startup on Monday launched a A$16-million ($10 mln) pilot plant in Western Australia to test its liquid hydrogen storage technology, which it said could slash costs and simplify transport of the clean fuel.

Tool update - Land managers in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) can now estimate abatement more easily following an update to the Landscape Options and Opportunities for Carbon abatement Calculator (LOOC-C) tool, the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) said. In July, the NSW government added the Plantation Forestry 2022 method as an option for NSW users. The tool can be used by land managers to select an area of interest on a map and access information on carbon abatement opportunities, including ACCU Scheme methods available for that area and potential carbon credit estimates. While the tool provides estimates based on general assumptions, plantation forestry projects under the ACCU Scheme must meet strict requirements, and participants should carefully consider costs, risks, abatement calculations, and compliance obligations such as monitoring, record keeping, and reporting, the CER said.

China is planning to add four methodologies to its national voluntary carbon credit programme in order to help drive down emissions in the energy sector.