Seoul mates – Korea will contribute to the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF) next year, the Pacific Island Forum secretariat said in a press release following a meeting of foreign ministers in Seoul this week. The PIF ministers emphasised the urgency to act on climate change and to align with a 1.5C of warming trajectory. They also welcomed Korea’s initiative to co-host with Chile the 2028 UN Ocean Conference, saying it is an opportunity to drive further action and investment to safeguard oceans. The PRF is the first Pacific-owned and led investment vehicle to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is seeking to raise $500 mln in pledges by the end of next year; to date, it has secured $167 mln, including from the US and Japan. Part of the COP31 hosting agreement between Australia and Turkiye will see a session on climate finance for Small Island Developing States, which will provide a platform for PRF pledges.

Heed the McCall - Citadel has reportedly parted ways with Jay McCall, the founding member of its renewable fuels team and former head of North American environmental products trading. McCall has now resurfaced at Jain Global in San Francisco, efinancialcareers.com reports, where he is building a broader environmental products trading platform spanning carbon markets, renewable electricity, and renewable fuels. His new remit appears larger than the role he held at Citadel, and he seems to have moved without serving the firm’s typically lengthy non-compete period. The move comes amid intensified hiring across commodities teams in multi-manager hedge funds, with Verition recently doubling its commodities pods and adding energy traders. Jain Global has also been active, acquiring wholesale gas marketer Anahau Energy in September and recruiting several senior commodities specialists, though some hires have departed quickly. McCall had joined Citadel in 2021 from DTE Energy Trading alongside Erica Reicher, who continues to lead environmental products origination for Citadel in North America.

Skippers fire flares – Carbon market analysts from the Canadian Climate Institute have suggested the Alberta-Canada MoU could trigger a slippery slope for Canada’s climate policy landscape. In an op-ed first published in the Hill Times, the trio wrote the deal risks fracturing the foundation of Canada’s entire approach to tackling climate change and, with other provinces getting in line for their own special treatment, could kickstart a race to the bottom for Canadian climate policy.

Herding CO2 – Bison Low Carbon Ventures has completed commissioning operations of the first phase of its Meadowbrook Carbon Storage Hub near Legal, Alberta. The Phase 1 facility is licensed to inject up to 500,000 tCO2 per year. Bison said it hopes to scale the facility to 3 Mt per year. Meadowbrook is the first carbon capture and storage hub to enter service in Alberta, the company said. It’s partnered with Deep Sky Alpha.

Release the records – A federal judge has directed the US DOE to release records from the recently-disbanded Climate Working Group, after the Justice Department dropped its defence of claims that the agency violated federal transparency laws by assembling climate-sceptic advisers to support repealing the US EPA’s endangerment finding. Judge William Young of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ordered the DOE to provide the documents to the Environmental Defense Fund within two weeks, following a prior ruling that the task force was likely subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s openness requirements. (E&E News)

Budget backslide - A new report from US non-profit Environmental Integrity Project found that more than half of US states have cut their environmental agency budgets over the past 15 years, even as the Trump administration pursues major reductions to the US EPA. The report found 27 states reduced pollution-control funding and 31 cut staff, with the steepest reductions in Mississippi, South Dakota, and Connecticut, and significant cuts in Texas and Louisiana despite rapid industrial growth. The EPA’s inflation-adjusted budget has fallen 40% since 2010, with further cuts proposed for 2026. The report warned that weakened federal and state agencies could leave communities more exposed to air and water pollution.

Central American countries hold sizeable technical potential to reduce emissions from agriculture and livestock through sustainable land-use practices, yet remain at an early stage of readiness to leverage international carbon markets, according to a new study.

Corporates should be allowed to use Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) to count directly towards targets set by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a non-profit has urged, while another flagged concerns with the voluntary tiered approach and a lack of guidance for near-term carbon removals. 

EU member states have approved the long-awaited rules governing how the bloc’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will operate from 2026, adopting a more stringent framework than those in draft texts leaked last month and raising the cost exposure for importers across steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, and hydrogen.

Potential standard – BioCarbon Standard has formally entered the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s (ICVCM) assessment process, marking a key step toward demonstrating adherence to the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs), it announced Tuesday on LinkedIn. The review will determine whether the standard's carbon programme qualifies for CCP eligibility, enabling it to issue CCP-labelled credits once specific categories are validated. ICVCM will now evaluate the application, draft an assessment report, and forward recommendations to its Governing Board for a final decision.

High capital costs and protracted diligence timelines are forcing nature-based project developers to rely on internal funds and equity for early-stage financing, new survey data shows.

The incoming administration of Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger (D) faces multiple pathways to rejoin RGGI, with the timing and mechanism carrying implications for allowance distribution, prices, and the broader political balance between decarbonisation and consumer affordability concerns, experts told Carbon Pulse.

A Netherlands-headquartered nature-based solutions (NbS) developer signed a binding sales agreement with a large international buyer for the future delivery of up to 100,000 carbon credits from an energy-efficient cookstoves project in Kenya, according to a company announcement.

Charger surge – The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on Wednesday announced A$21 mln ($14 mln) to support the rollout of EV charging infrastructure. The majority of the cash – A$18.1 mln – is going to Flow Power’s project to develop and operate an ultrafast battery EV charging station network across Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, in collaboration with EV charging network company Gridserve. ARENA has awarded a further A$2.3 mln to Essential Energy for the rollout of public EV chargers in rural and regional New South Wales, and A$1.1 mln to support UTS & RACE for 2030 CRC in their quest to establish the country’s first Vehicle Grid Network in order to accelerate EV grid integration. The agency also noted that a previous recipient of funding, Zenobe, officially opened its first off-site electric truck charging depot in NSW on Wednesday.

Clean Canadian concrete – Canadian concrete decarbonisation company, alterBiota, announced Wednesday that its flagship product has officially entered its commercialisation phase. The product, known as deltaC, is a biochar-based admixture that reduces the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 30%, the company said. During the company’s summer commercialisation drive, over 100 cubic metres of deltaC was used in a range of commercial projects, from sidewalks to structural pads. In those applications, the product reduced carbon footprint levels by 10-22%.

Greenwash grind – A federal magistrate judge declined to throw out a proposed class action accusing US company Florida Crystals of misleading consumers with claims that its sugar is environmentally responsible, while directing the plaintiff to refine her allegations, E&E News reported. The US District Court for the Northern District of California said customer Macy Merrell may file a revised complaint by Jan. 9, after parts of her earlier filing were dismissed. Merrell argued the company’s branding as ‘climate-friendly’ contradicts its practice of pre-harvest sugarcane burning, which she said harms the environment. The judge found Merrell’s opposition brief created inconsistencies with her prior assertions, but allowed the case to proceed with a clarified complaint.

The Q4 Washington auction settled just above $70, marking the highest auction settlement price recorded in the history of Washington’s cap-and-invest programme.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested in a Qatar-based commercial bank's inaugural climate transition bond to channel capital into low-carbon and resilience projects, with a significant share earmarked for hard-to-abate sectors in Turkiye, it said this week.

Cleaning up cocoa – Olam Food Ingredients, a global food and beverage supplier, announced Wednesday that it reduced GHG emissions for cocoa farming in 2024 by 12% per tonne of output relative to its 2018 baseline. Meanwhile, it also reached its 2030 cocoa living income target with 155,000 cocoa farmers earning a living income, representing 45% of farmers within its global cocoa sustainability programmes, according to its latest Cocoa Compass Impact Report. The report marks the halfway point between the 2018 baseline and its 2030 climate target, which is to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% and Scope 3 emissions by 30%.

A Republican state senator has proposed repealing provisions of a foundational climate law requiring New York to establish rules for a cap-and-invest programme.

California regulator ARB has proposed rules to fund and implement the state’s corporate climate disclosure laws, while confirming that enforcement of its financial risk reporting statute remains paused due to litigation.

Business travel - Etihad Airways has added a carbon offset redemption option to its Etihad for Business platform, allowing corporate clients to use earned EYB credits to purchase offsets directly through the portal as the carrier expands its suite of digital travel management tools. The enhancement builds on Etihad’s existing collaboration with offsetting provider CarbonClick and is framed as a way to help companies meet voluntary climate-related objectives linked to business travel emissions.

Let's try this again - The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) revised Tuesday its publishing schedule of Commitments of Traders reports, which were initially delayed by the government shutdown from Oct. 1-Nov. 12. The agency will drop seven reports between now and the end of the year, and expects to return to a normal publishing schedule on Dec. 29.

The UK’s upcoming carbon border fee will be downrated based on the quantity of free allowances domestic industries receive each quarter, provisions within the government’s finance bill reveal.

ESG speech - The proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) filed a motion for summary judgment Tuesday in the federal case seeking to overturn a Texas law regulating proxy advisors’ ESG recommendations. The motion, filed 10 days before its first scheduled hearing, claims that the law (SB 2337) is “motivated by rank viewpoint discrimination” and only seeks to change ISS’ speech that the Texas Legislature doesn’t like – a clear violation of First Amendment rights. Defendants in the suit are the Texas Legislature and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who in September announced an investigation into proxy advisors for advancing voting recommendations that “advance radical political agendas.” ISS said in its Tuesday motion that the court should rule in its favour, given that “there is no set of facts under which defendants can win this case.” Meanwhile, the law has been temporarily blocked by the US district judge overseeing the case.

If there’s one overarching takeaway from Brazil’s COP30 climate summit, it’s that it was a particularly strange and messy one, reflecting the challenges of negotiating real, immediate efforts to fulfil the Paris Agreement – and the pressing need to change how the annual talks are run. 

EU carbon prices declined steadily ahead of the expiry of December options early on Wednesday afternoon before rallying to the close of business as longer-term bullishness resumed its position as the market's main driver, while Commitment of Traders data showed speculative traders set a new record last week for gross and long positions in EUAs.

Environmental NGOs have responded positively to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s request for ministers to present within 60 days a roadmap to move away from fossil fuels, while expressing concern about new plans for oil exploitation.

The EU is falling short of 21 out of the 28 targets it has set to curb climate change, adapt its economy, and restore nature, according to a report published Wednesday by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Canada has released a discussion paper launching consultations on planned amendments to the Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR), outlining how Ottawa may use domestic content requirements or credit multipliers to counter mounting trade and competitiveness pressures on Canada’s biofuel sector.

Brazil's national development bank has approved R$384.3 million ($70.3 mln) in support for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project on a corn ethanol production site.

EU green bond magic – The EU has become one of the world’s largest green bond issuers, the European Commission said on Wednesday. With €78.5 billion in NextGenerationEU (NGEU) green bonds sold to date, the EU has avoided an estimated 14 million tons of CO2 emissions each year, according to the Commission’s 2025 NGEU Green Bonds Report. The report found that full implementation of climate-related projects under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, worth €262.8 billion as of Aug. 1, 2025, could cut EU greenhouse gas emissions by 53.4 million tonnes annually, equivalent to 1.5% of 2022 emissions. The bonds finance clean energy, transport and biodiversity projects across the bloc.

Nepal has formally launched its first national carbon trading framework, creating a state-controlled system for carbon credit exports and private participation in the domestic market, according to the regulations published in the official gazette this week.

Latin eyes on REDD+ – Representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries that participate in the REDD+ mechanism are meeting in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, from 9-12 Dec. The meeting is organised by the UNFCCC Secretariat and hosted by the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The event aims to strengthen knowledge-sharing among specialists, with discussions on national strategies, Forest Reference Levels (FRLs/FRELs), safeguards information systems and the interaction between REDD+ and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Increasing transparency for results-based finance, such as from the Green Climate Fund, and enhancing future collaboration among Parties is also under discussion, according to Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA).

European biogas stats – The European Biogas Association has released its 2025 Statistical Report, highlighting slow but steady growth in Europe’s biogas and biomethane output. The report shows EU biogas and biomethane production reached about 22 bcm in 2024 (compared to 21.7 bcm in 2023), covering roughly 6% of EU gas demand. Europe closed 2024 with 1,620 biomethane-producing facilities, 111 more than in 2023. At least 86% of the plants are grid-connected. Production trends also show a continued shift towards sustainable feedstocks offering the highest greenhouse-gas savings, including agricultural residues, organic municipal solid waste, sewage sludge, and industrial by-products, the association said.

Cost-effective climate mitigation would reduce fossil fuel consumption in the EU by around 90% by 2050 compared to 2020, leaving the remainder to be offset through carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to scientists at a European research institute.

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a sweeping overhaul of energy grid planning that would shift key decisions to the EU level – a move officials say will avoid wasting growing volumes of renewable electricity and accelerate decarbonisation across the bloc, though it risks upsetting some national governments.

A US-based marine carbon removal (mCDR) company signed a prepurchase agreement with a tech giant, the project developer announced Wednesday.

Bulgarian legislation remains insufficient to support the Eastern Lights project – an initiative aiming to develop a large-scale carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) cluster in Eastern Europe, according to experts.

Safe as houses -The UK's net-zero carbon buildings standard has concluded its pilot phase and is set to publish the first version of the standard in early 2026. Some 205 projects took part in the pilot phase between April and August and tested how usable and clear the draft standard was in practice.

India and Sweden have agreed to deepen cooperation on industrial decarbonisation aiming to accelerate the deployment of clean technologies, energy efficiency measures, and low-carbon solutions across key sectors.

The UK government is proposing to extend the commissioning deadline for subsidised green gas projects by two years, in an effort to help maximise the deployment of biomethane and the resulting carbon reductions, it announced on Wednesday.

Rice project - Japanese project developer Green Carbon has teamed up with a group of local partners, including trading company Kanematsu, for a rice cultivation project that can generate domestically issued J-Credits, it announced Wednesday. They will work with rice producers who are suppliers to restaurant chain operator Skylark, and thereby reduce methane emissions from rice paddy fields by extending the mid-drying period. Green Carbon did not disclose further project details in the statement.

Serbia is emerging as the frontrunner on emissions trading on the EU’s eastern flank, with a fully fledged monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system in place, while Ukraine, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Moldova remain stuck at earlier legislative or design stages, according to a new report.

Stay tuned - More details about how to define businesses with high carbon leakage risk under Taiwan's carbon levy scheme will be revealed by the end of this year, a move that will affect how much Taiwanese emitters will have to pay. Under the carbon pricing system, regulated emitters will pay their first fee in 2026. Those classified as businesses exposed to high carbon leakage risk are eligible for an 80% discount on their carbon fees. The government is still closely monitoring the US-Taiwan trade issue, but the scope of the tariff impact is mostly known, Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming told local media Monday, adding that the assessment principles for carbon leakage-exposed sectors will be announced by year-end.      

Blue carbon dataset - Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries will publish an updated national blue carbon dataset to set a  baseline for marine carbon projects, Ecobiz Asia reported, citing a government official. The data will cover mangroves, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs, identifying restoration needs and guiding investment. Last month, the Southeast Asian country launched its blue carbon action guide and roadmap to support the government integrating blue carbon ecosystem into later Nationally Determined Contributions.

EU rules aimed at cutting methane emissions from imported oil and gas will help the bloc accelerate its shift away from Russian supplies and bolster its energy security in line with emission reduction goals, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Sacred offsets - Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is reviewing plans to make the 2028 Simhastha religious gathering, which is held once every 12 years, eligible for carbon credits by rolling out large-scale waste, water, and plastic recycling systems, TOI reported. About 300 mln pilgrims are expected to attend the gathering, with proposals under review for bio-waste processing, which will be one of the biggest challenges.

Removing emissions pricing for agriculture and not replacing it with any other action would leave New Zealand facing a bigger gap to meet its third emissions budget, environment ministry officials warned the government.

A report has called for Australia’s specialist investment vehicles (SIVs) to overhaul how they deploy capital to better match the pace required for the clean energy transition.

A new analysis has found that legally-binding climate commitments have led to a “substantial increase” in the share of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) holdings in mutual funds – the first study to provide empirical evidence of climate finance being mobilised by climate laws.

Farming solutions – New Zealand’s Ag Emissions Centre and public-private partnership investor Agrizero have opened a call for expressions of interest in 2026 funding for ag tech solutions to cut GHG emissions. Specifically, they are looking for ideas which overcome barriers to the development, measurement, or delivery of solutions. The partners are keen on projects which can lead to emissions reductions via dietary manipulations, low-emissions fertilisers, and new or improved approaches to lower emissions from ruminants, among other things. A total of NZ$2 mln ($1.2 mln) is available for full proposals, or up to NZ$50,000 for R&D ideas. The funding round closes on Feb. 24, with the winning projects notified by May 1.

Protect the farm – New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told a Federated Farmers meeting that leaving the Paris Agreement would be a dumb move, Farmers Weekly reported. Doing so would hurt farmers, he said, as international companies would cease to buy New Zealand’s dairy products. Luxon also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to meeting net-zero by 2050 – except for biogenic methane – and repeated his belief that the agricultural sector does not need to have a carbon price applied to it as it is already reducing emissions. National’s coalition partners, Act and NZ First, have both been calling for the country to exit the 2015 climate agreement, and have welcomed government moves this year to weaken climate policies. Luxon’s comments came just days after finance minister Nicola Willis defended her decision not to budget for offshore carbon credit purchases, despite New Zealand facing an 84-MtCO2e gap to its 2030 NDC, saying there is no legal obligation to meet it.

Qatar NAP – Qatar has launched its National Adaptation Plan (NAP), with support from the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Seoul-based intergovernmental organisation said on Monday. The NAP identified the sectors most vulnerable to climate change – including biodiversity, energy, agriculture, coastal zones, and infrastructure – and translated these into 27 adaptation measures, 126 targeted actions, and close to 280 projects, GGGI said. These priorities span both the medium-term (2030) and the longer-term (2050).

California's Legislature could face difficult choices as previous commitments exceed available Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) revenues by over $1.8 billion, according to a report published Monday.

The California cap-and-trade programme, formally renamed cap-and-invest by lawmakers, requires careful implementation to prevent putting undue pressure on consumers, according to a state report published on Tuesday.

Trucking along – Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and Volvo Group Australia have launched a A$70 mln ($46.5 mln) financing scheme to lower the cost barriers for fleet operators to adopt heavy-duty battery electric trucks (HD BEVs), it announced. The package offers an interest-rate discount (up to 0.5%) for leasing medium and heavy-duty electric trucks, as well as a “residual-value support” mechanism to improve end-of-lease valuations and reduce long-term leasing costs. By reducing upfront and leasing costs — and supporting charging-infrastructure deployment — the initiative aims to accelerate the shift from diesel to electric freight transport, helping cut emissions from a sector that currently contributes about 22 % of Australia’s national GHG output.

A new report by a Canadian think tank suggests Canada’s push to deploy LNG could be leveraged for international emissions credits, but another warned the country's emergent gas-producing province should be cautious of using all of its renewable energy generation towards new terminals. 

Colombia’s Congress on Tuesday voted to shelve a fiscal reform bill that sought to raise government revenues for 2026 and included significant amendments to the national carbon tax and its offsetting mechanism, with officials signalling that the administration may pursue alternative legal avenues – including a potential economic emergency – to legislate by decree.

Electrical distribution utilities under California’s cap-and-invest programme are set to receive over 1 million more no-cost allowances in 2026 relative to the year prior, the only sector to see a seven-figure-boost, according to data released by state regulator ARB on Tuesday.

EU member states and the European Parliament struck a deal late on Tuesday to introduce a binding 2040 goal of 90% net emissions reductions compared to 1990 levels.

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) operates more like a differentiated, over-the-counter (OTC) marketplace for "emotionally-appealing marketing claims" than a unified commodity market, according to a new study that draws on data from one of the largest offset dealers globally.

Not a curve – Bolivia’s latest climate submission underscores the country’s continued failure to curb deforestation, despite commitments set out in its updated NDC, negotiators told local media La Region. While the government claims progress across several sectors, primary forest loss has surged to 1.48 million ha in 2024 – the world’s second-highest total – with officials acknowledging that targets to cut deforestation have instead reversed. Experts warned the country lacks financing, monitoring systems, and political willingness to halt forest clearing.

Australia’s draft electricity plan for its largest grid has cut the amount of new transmission infrastructure required, saying more of the heavy lifting will be done by households and batteries to meet the country's climate targets. 

Ten of the world’s largest oil and gas companies would generate substantially greater shareholder value by stopping exploration and sharply curtailing new upstream development, according to an analysis released Wednesday.