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The implosion of REDD credibility continued to dominate the voluntary carbon market last week with prices sliding again following news of certifier Verra suspending issuance of two connected Kenyan projects over allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by senior staff.

The US and Canadian Great plains lost 1.6 million acres (some 650,000 hectares) in 2021, partially due to federal policies that inadvertently favour conversion over protection of land for the production of biofuel, a recent report said.

Voluntary carbon standard accreditation body ICROA is toughening criteria for certifiers looking for its endorsement amid an explosion of interest, the group told Carbon Pulse.

Nearly 300 sq miles of water on west of Caribbean island to be designated as a reserve for endangered animals

The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world’s first marine protected area for one of earth’s largest animals: the endangered sperm whale.

Nearly 300 sq miles (800 sq km) of royal blue waters on the western side of the island nation that serve as key nursing and feeding grounds will be designated as a reserve, the government announced on Monday.

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The Albanian government is preparing to adjust to the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) by increasing its tax on coal, as part of a 2024 budget draft that the finance ministry recently presented to the country's parliament.

The world’s first orbital sensor capable of identifying CO2 emissions from individual industrial sites was launched from the US into space this weekend.

The ecological restoration of natural forests should be prioritised over plantations in climate action due to their staggering carbon storage potential as confirmed in updated estimates, according to a global study involving hundreds of researchers that was published on Monday.

Report says cutting emissions should still be key priority as it cautions against mass monoculture tree-planting

Forest conservation and restoration could make a major contribution to tackling the climate crisis as long as greenhouse gas emissions are slashed, according to a study.

By allowing existing trees to grow old in healthy ecosystems and restoring degraded areas, scientists say 226 gigatonnes of carbon could be sequestered, equivalent to nearly 50 years of US emissions for 2022. But they caution that mass monoculture tree-planting and offsetting will not help forests realise their potential.

Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X, formerly known as Twitter, for all the latest news and features

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A key political advisor to the UK government has stressed she is committed to fulfilling the country’s nature-related targets, including biodiversity credit action, the same day as a reshuffle of the country’s top ministers saw the environment secretary resign.

A new registry regulation implementing a five-month shift in the annual EU ETS compliance schedule may lead to a change in the market’s seasonality, moving the periods when prices tend to rise amid increasing compliance demand, according to European carbon market analysts and traders.

The EU’s climate chief announced on Monday that the bloc will contribute a “substantial” amount to a new fund for climate mitigation and adaptation as well as allocate further funding for renewables and energy efficiency on Monday.

An eruption is thought imminent but its impact depends on where magma breaches the surface.

Scheme would involve abstracting water from the River Thames at Teddington and replacing it with treated sewage

Thames Water is facing a public backlash over a multimillion-pound water “recycling” scheme promoted as a solution to tackling climate crisis-induced droughts.

The technology involves using effluent from sewage treatment works, putting it through a further layer of treatment and releasing the treated water into a river, in order to replace the same amount of water that is abstracted off for drinking water.

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A key component of the British government’s climate plan is unlawful due to its reliance on bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) removals, which will undermine the country's ability to achieve net zero by 2050, according to a legal case filed in a UK court.

Credits sourced from carbon project that was centred on biomass power plant in Xinjiang, investigation finds

• What do we know about forced labour in Xinjiang?

BP and Spotify were among companies who bought carbon credits at risk of being implicated in potential Uyghur forced labour, an investigation has found.

The credits were sourced from the Bachu carbon project, which was developed by South Pole, the world’s largest carbon consultancy. The project focussed on a biomass power plant in Xinjiang, China, which said it would lower global carbon emissions by using waste cotton stalks from nearby fields to generate electricity.

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European carbon prices slumped on Monday morning, giving up most of the gains posted at the end of last week as mild and windy weather and weaker energy prices combined to hearten the bears.

The World Bank is working with Vietnam to progress an auction of excess carbon credits from the planned Mekong Delta Climate Change Adaptation plan and for the nation to plant 1 million hectares of low carbon rice.

South Korea is planning to set up a special climate fund with government and private investments, as the country is seeking to secure more credits from overseas carbon reduction projects to realise its climate goals, local media reported Monday.

The UK is planning to launch its own carbon border adjustment mechanism that would mirror the full 2026 launch date of the EU’s programme, the FT reported on Monday, citing anonymous officials.