Researchers have unveiled a new artificial intelligence-driven framework that aims to transform how cities deploy nature-based climate solutions, with an initial case study in Dhaka projecting major gains in carbon sequestration, heat reduction, and flood mitigation.

Producers and financial entities reduced their overall California Carbon Allowance (CCA) net length across markets, while emitters added nearly 30% to their long position in v25 RGGI Allowances (RGAs), the latest figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed Friday.

Canada CCS cash - Canada announced Friday an investment of C$16 mln ($11.7 mln) into renewable energy, grid modernisation, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) through Natural Resource Canada's Energy Innovation Program. The CCS category included an investment of nearly C$704,100 to a project from Dalhousie University to establish a regulatory roadmap for offshore carbon storage in Atlantic Canada.

Digitalisation update - Verra announced Friday it will hold a webinar on July 30 to provide an overview of its multiyear digitalisation initiative. Verra said the session will cover: an introduction to the Verra Hub; the benefits of using the standards digital tools and applications; and a deep dive into the Project Submission Tool. Stakeholder feedback will also be heard. Register here.

Coal contention - Environmental and public health advocates dominated a public hearing on Thursday to oppose the US EPA’s proposed rollback of stricter air toxics regulations for coal-fired power plants, which were enacted under the Biden administration, E&E News reported. For over 11 hours, speakers cited health risks from mercury pollution, stressed that many plants already comply with the existing rules, and framed the rollback as unjust.

Solvent solutions - KC8 Capture Technologies, an Australian company focused on developing solvent-based carbon capture systems, has installed its UNOGAS technology at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) in Alabama for pilot-scale testing. The system uses KC8’s UNO MK3 solvent process, designed to capture up to 95% of CO2 emissions from sources such as natural gas and cement plants. Backed by US DOE funding, the project will undergo 6-9 months of testing starting in August to assess performance under actual flue gas conditions.

High hopes for hydrogen - Sumitomo Corporation, a Japan-based integrated trading company with operations in 63 countries, has announced a strategic investment, through its US subsidiary, in Independence Hydrogen to expand decentralised hydrogen production and distribution in the US. Independence Hydrogen, a veteran-founded firm based in Virginia, recycles waste hydrogen into fuel cell-grade gas for sectors such as mobility, industrial use, and remote infrastructure.

Bad advertising - Clean Energy for America, a US political advocacy group that supports clean energy policies and candidates, has launched targeted ad campaigns against Republican lawmakers following their support for President Trump’s recent tax and spending bill, which includes cuts to renewable energy incentives, E&E News reported. The ads claim the legislation will raise electricity prices and are appearing in seven key congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterms. The messaging focuses on consumer energy costs, framing the GOP vote as contradictory to Trump’s pledge to lower everyday expenses.

The Article 6.4 Methodological Expert Panel (MEP) has decided to recommend or seek input on several protocols under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) – while requesting more information about four proposed methodologies under PACM, including a hotly anticipated cookstoves methodology.

A group of Brazilian civil society organisations is calling for a halt to ongoing public consultations and implementation of a jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) system in Tocantins, claiming irregularities in land regularisation and failure to obtain free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).

Dear Minister - On 9 July 2025, the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) wrote to the Minister of State for Industry with advice on two related aspects of the UK ETS. On extending the scheme beyond 2030, the CCC supports a robust, long-term carbon pricing mechanism, recommending a 10-year phase with a clearly defined mid-phase review to balance flexibility and investment certainty. They emphasised aligning future arrangements with the EU ETS to maximise benefits from potential linking, while allowing banking of allowances into the next phase - adjusting the cap accordingly to maintain price integrity and reward early emissions reductions. In its separate advice on the UK ETS markets policy review, the CCC endorsed strengthening the Auction Reserve Price (ARP), Cost Containment Mechanism (CCM), and Supply Adjustment Mechanism (SAM) so they work together effectively. The Committee called for raising the ARP and linking it to evolving marginal abatement costs, ensuring it adapts over time, and for designing these tools to deliver a clear price range that maintains investor confidence while preserving market efficiency. It also stressed that UK flexibility mechanisms should be broadly consistent with those in the EU ETS to support future alignment.

FERC fallout - A recent US Supreme Court ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County is expected to limit how environmental groups challenge Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approvals of natural gas infrastructure, E&E News reported. The unanimous decision held that federal agencies are not obligated to assess environmental effects beyond their jurisdiction or those deemed too indirect. Legal experts say this undermines the 2017 Sierra Club v. FERC ruling, which had compelled FERC to evaluate downstream GHG emissions from gas projects.

ICROA certified - Swiss-based CDR and biochar standard Carbon Standards International announced Friday it has earned the full endorsement of the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA). The company said the endorsement means more credibility and opportunity, and reflects its commitment to transparency, scientific rigor, and delivering impact. ICROA toughened its criteria for certifiers looking for its endorsement at the end of 2023 amid an explosion of interest and ongoing concerns about integrity in the market.

Climate finance is associated with emissions reductions across developing countries, though its impact is largely concentrated in economies better positioned to adopt external technologies, according to a new study.

The European carbon market softened slightly on Friday, ending the week down 1.5%, but little ground was lost on the day as the market refused to budge as US President Donald Trump's latest tariff threats failed to put a dent in gas and EUA prices.

Like dominoes - HSBC exited the Net-Zero Banking Alliance as well, following a string of departures from some of the world's biggest banks. But the bank, which was a founding member, in a statement Friday, said that the alliance played a role in developing guiding frameworks to help banks establish their initial target-setting approach. It added that it remains committed to Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

The Dutch government has called for upholding the ambition of the EU carbon market by keeping out international credits and carbon removals (CDR) from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), while warning against the risks of revising ETS2 prematurely.

Global emissions must halve every five years from 2025, equal to 12% cuts per year, to keep warming near 1.5C, according to an analysis released on Thursday by a Swedish non-profit.

Extending the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) to international flights will merely divert traffic and emissions to nearby airports outside the EU, airlines have warned, while pressure grows to extend the scheme to private jets.

Plans to allow a limited volume of international carbon credits to meet the EU’s 2040 target received broad support from EU countries during a two-day ministerial meeting in Denmark that ended on Friday, according to EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra.

CORSIA costs - Offsetting the growth in airline emissions could cost the airline industry $14 bln annually by 2035, forecasts MSCI Carbon Markets in its latest CORSIA market outlook posted on LinkedIn. Its new scenarios show that the cumulative cost of CORSIA compliance could rise from $10 bln in the first phase (2024–26) to $127 bln through Phase II (2027-35) under high-demand and tight-supply conditions. The combination of rising air traffic demand, challenges in airline decarbonisation, tight credit supply, and slow issuance of corresponding adjustments mean airlines could face compliance costs of $1–3 bln per year during Phase I, rising to $3–14 bln per year in Phase II.

Auditors responsible for verifying claimed reductions in the offset market face fundamental conflicts of interest and self-serving biases, leading them to often fail in their job of preventing over-crediting, a paper published this week has claimed.

Uncertainty over the legal nature of carbon credits and lack of clarity around carbon standards is stalling large-scale investment, threatening the scalability of the voluntary carbon market, according to experts.

Very little has changed in the new draft EU Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) methodologies, unveiled during a workshop on Thursday, and ambiguous language alongside a lack of environmental guardrails in the texts, compared to other international standards, could weaken the EU's clout on global matters such as advancing Article 6, according to experts.

Existing and pending blue carbon projects may have stored CO2 up until the end of last year valued by the carbon market at $1.62 billion, but their value for developing countries is greater than the prices paid by companies in richer nations, said a study published this week.

CDR insight - cCarbon is expanding its carbon intelligence offering to include coverage of carbon removals. This is in recognition of their gaining traction - accounting for around 35% of voluntary credit retirement value in 2024, said the company in a release Friday. Its new, enhanced membership with CDR market intelligence therefore equips stakeholders with data and analysis to participate in the emerging market.

Policy for CDR - Negative Emissions Platform has published a policy toolkit on scaling up carbon removals. The resource introduces the typology of policy instruments available to incentivise CDR investments, clarifies that early policy support will mobilise investment and secure bankable projects, and outlines the importance of a broad range of CDR pathways, among other points. The toolkit is available here.

The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment opened a public consultation last week on a draft Energy and Climate Strategy, which outlines possible measures to support the country’s 2035 climate neutrality target, including the scale-up of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and the planned implementation of the EU’s extended Emissions Trading System (ETS2).

CO2 allowance prices in China's carbon market remained rangebound over the past week amid decreased liquidity, while domestically issued offsets sustained a price premium due to limited supply.

Carbon prices starting from $180 per tonne will be a key driver of the business case for full decarbonisation of aluminium smelting through carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to a new study commissioned by an industry body.

The EU is signalling a renewed willingness to engage with carbon credits that could reshape global climate mitigation, observers say.

Greater ambition - Nigeria is accelerating efforts to finalise its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement ahead of the September submission deadline before COP30 in Brazil two months later. The government is aiming to raise ambition further in its NDC 3.0, extending the target period to 2035 and aligning the plan with current climate science. Its last NDC from July 2021 committed to cutting GHG emissions by 20% unconditionally and up to 47% with international support by 2030, compared to a BAU scenario. (Science Nigeria)

Conservation International wants to bring together blue carbon project developers to address issues that stymie the sector’s growth, specifically finance.

A non-profit has announced a “seven-figure” dollar investment into a selection of durable carbon removal (CDR) projects this week, alongside a new revolving fund to pre-purchase credits from now to generate upfront capital.

Integration - Japanese carbon exchange operator Carbon EX has partnered with climate software provider Komunidad to integrate carbon trading directly into the latter's digital platform, the companies announced this week. Under the partnership, Komunidad has integrated Carbon EX’s trade application programme interface (API) into its Climate Action Management Software, enabling users to measure emissions and access voluntary carbon credits in one platform.  

Australia’s carbon market integrity body has given the nod to two methods being remade, as the government is unable to say when it expects to finalise an exposure draft of the integrated farm land management (IFLM) method.

UK offshore wind financing - Abu Dhabi's state-owned renewables company Masdar and Spanish utility Iberdrola will invest €5.2 bln in the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm off the UK's Suffolk coast, Reuters reported. They will each hold a 50% stake in the 1.4 GW project, which is expected to start operating in the final quarter of 2026 and to help power 1.3 mln homes.

UK scientific advisory - Three University of Cambridge academics have been appointed to the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's new Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC), which met for the first time on July 9. Engineering Professor Julian Allwood (St Catharine's), Cambridge Zero Director Professor Emily Shuckburgh (Darwin), and Cambridge Energy Policy Research Group Director Emeritus Professor David Newbery (Churchill) join a panel of 17 expert advisors on STAC. The body aims to provide robust, scientific, and evidence-based information to support the UK's achievement of its 95% clean power by 2030 goal on the way to net zero by 2050.

Pacific grid - Australia has committed another A$16.4 mln ($10.8 mln) to upgrade Palau's electricity infrastructure, it announced Friday. The upgrade will provide network reliability and increase the amount of renewable energy used in the grid, it said. The move builds on Australia backing the country's first large-scale power plant and battery storage facility. Additionally, the two countries signed a Letter of Intent to form a bilateral partnership under the Australia-Pacific Partnership for Energy Transition. This agreement will provide support for Palau's energy transition priorities, the government said.

Voluntary cancellations of carbon credits in Australia doubled month-on-month June, however the increase lies in the shadow of a declining trend as entities are using carbon credits less and less to meet their corporate sustainability goals.

Analysts polled by Carbon Pulse remain bullish for the EU ETS2 market, with benchmark price forecasts rising above €100 by 2030 across all submissions, and, according to multiple respondents, this could happen as early as 2027, when the bloc's new cap-and-trade carbon pricing mechanism comes into force.

Carbon Forward Expo London celebrates 10 years this October, and we are inviting partners to be part of this special event.