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Public-private forest finance partnership the LEAF Coalition has unveiled its first finalised Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) to supply jurisdictional REDD+ credits from two nations to corporate buyers, organisers announced on Saturday at COP28.

Hosts the UAE will hope that more countries use their speeches to pledge money to the newly approved loss and damage fund

Good morning! This is Alan Evans, bringing you coverage from the third day of the UN’s Cop28 climate summit.

The Guardian will be liveblogging the negotiations throughout. You can email me on alan.evans@theguardian.com or on X/Twitter at @itsalanevans, and my colleague Ajit Niranjan (ajit.niranjan@theguardian.com) will take over later on.

World leaders, particularly those from developing countries at the forefront of the climate crises, begged large economies and emitters to take urgent action both to reduce emissions and fund loss and damage

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak declared to the conference that he had watered down climate policy in the UK, drawing anger from politicians and climate experts who said he had “misread the room”

UK opposition leader Keir Starmer accused Sunak of “shrinking and retreating” from showcasing leadership on the global stage at Cop28 and over the climate crisis

A new UN report found that droughts are a planetary emergency causing widespread famine, and that they are a silent, often ignored, killer

Brazil’s president, Lula, outlined that it is not possible to tackle the climate crisis without also tackling inequality. He spoke of climate suffering in the Amazon, which is experiencing one of the “most tragic droughts in its history” while cyclones in the south of Brazil have left a trail “of destruction and death”.

The UK’s King Charles III opened the conference, and warned in his speech that “unless we rapidly repair and restore nature’s economy, based on harmony and balance, which is our ultimate sustainer, our own economy and survivability will be imperilled.”

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A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.

The California-Quebec carbon market and Washington’s cap-and-trade programme on Friday announced similar auction floor prices and allowance price containment reserve (APCR) levels for 2024, as the linked WCI scheme also established next year's sale volumes.

Engaging with climate sceptics can be a challenge - but some people are trying to change their minds.

Compliance entities and speculators both shed their V23 California Carbon Allowance (CCA) holdings in favour of V24, favoring the reverse in RGGI, while both groups reduced their Washington Carbon Allowance (WCA) positions over the last week, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed Friday.

The UAE's state oil company is set to be the world's second biggest producer, analysis shows.

California compliance offset retirements continued to decline during the interim cap-and-trade deadline in 2022, dropping to a third of the amount surrendered during the 2018–20 period, while higher premiums and supply constraints drove down the share of credits with direct environmental benefits (DEBs), according to official data published Thursday.

An update to an existing Improved Forest Management (IFM) methodology in the US will be proposed early next year, the certifier announced on Friday.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) has launched federal funding for projects to accelerate the commercial deployment of carbon capture, transport, and storage throughout the US to address legacy GHG output, as well as emissions from industrial operations and power plants.

Norway on Friday announced a contribution of $100 million to support Indonesia’s continued efforts to reduce deforestation, pointing out that the Asian nation now has the lowest reported levels in 20 years.

A large tech company with a growing carbon removal portfolio is looking for ways to support early-stage technologies with access to project finance, and calls for better standardisation of registries in order to reduce the risk of over-crediting in the voluntary carbon market.

Climate Impact X (CIX) has temporarily suspended delivery of carbon credits from the Southern Cardamom REDD project (VCS 1748) for its nature-based benchmark, Nature X, with immediate effect, after a review found the project failed to meet eligibility criteria.

A framework to help asset managers and asset owners set targets for nature has been launched by the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation (FfB).

The US and other countries are implementing initiatives that could undermine efforts to introduce more robust and transparent standards for international carbon markets, risking missing the Paris Agreement’s goals by embracing existing but flawed approaches, according to a leaked EU document.

Just like oil and gas businesses, and petro-states, carbon-intensive industries including meat will fight to keep on polluting

Agriculture companies and lobbyists are among those who arrived in the United Arab Emirates for Cop28 determined to resist pressure on them to transform their businesses. Documents show that JBS, the world’s biggest meat company, and allies including the Global Dairy Platform, planned to make arguments in favour of livestock farming with “full force”. While the sincerity of fossil-fuel businesses’ commitment to a green transition has long been doubted, they are not the only energy-intensive businesses to approach Cop28 as an opportunity to promote their activities – rather than a threat.

While the ostensible purpose is to safeguard the planet for the future, the fear is that the Cop process has been captured by the short-term interests of carbon-emitting industries that will do anything to protect their wealth. This year’s gathering is hosted by Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of the UAE’s national oil company.

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The World Bank plans to conduct an initial auction of carbon credits generated via select Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) countries by the end of Q1 next year, as it pursues a scaling up of the programme to a value of $2.5 billion and considers other sectors for future credit generation.

Vietnam announced its plan to mobilise resources towards implementing a Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) on Friday at COP28, advancing the multi-faceted clean energy funding agreement struck over a year ago.

On Friday, 35 nations and the EU formally launched the “Climate Club” of ambitious countries at COP28 in Dubai, which will focus on decarbonisation of industrial sectors.

Fewer swimming spots are rated "excellent" and more rated "poor" by the environment watchdog.