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A long quest for legislation to restore ecosystems across land in Europe may reach the end of the line on Monday when the EU's 27 environment ministers gather in Luxembourg for what could be a decisive meeting, although negotiators are still unsure about how things will play out exactly.

Heightened regulatory scrutiny could encourage investment in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), but market players need a long-term strategy for the relatively nascent industry, panellists told conference attendees this week.

Credit retirements from the four main standard bodies in the voluntary carbon market plummeted in May, just ahead of the first approval of the core carbon principle (CCP) label for an estimated 27 million credits at the start of June.

Representative from Europe’s biggest economy and key player in global climate talks says deep emissions cuts by 2030 ‘essential’ to limit climate heating to 1.5C

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Germany’s climate envoy has dismissed claims the Paris agreement is only about reaching net zero emissions by 2050, warning that deep cuts by 2030 are “essential” and scientific evidence shows “this is the critical decade” to act on global heating.

Australia’s opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has refused to commit to a 2030 emissions reduction target prior to the next national election, prompting claims from Labor, the Greens and independents that the Coalition isn’t serious about acting on the climate crisis.

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Sector-specific trading strategies for EU carbon allowances will increasingly determine supply and demand balances as free allocations are phased out and Europe’s power sector contiues to decarbonise, according to a carbon analyst and financial modelling expert.

Nature tech companies are struggling to attract investment for biodiversity monitoring due to lack of corporate demand, with venture capitalists encouraging them to "survive" as the market is slated to grow within the next two years.

A Tokyo-based carbon project developer has partnered with a provincial government in Vietnam for developing methane offsetting projects in the Red River Delta region of the Southeast Asian nation.

The global carbon dioxide removal (CDR) market risks failing to fully take off if more corporate clients do not commit to purchasing carbon credits now, speakers at a conference in London warned this week.

European carbon was marginally lower at midday as the market headed towards its least volatile week since December, with prices held in a tight range by traders eyeing next Wednesday's expiry of the June options contracts, while energy also moved in narrow ranges.

Campaigners say next government must reduce use and toxicity of pesticides before it is too late

The UK’s insect populations are declining at alarming rates and the next government must put in place plans to monitor and reduce the use and toxicity of pesticides before it is too late, wildlife experts say.

In recent years, concerns have been raised over earthworm populations, which have fallen by a third in the past 25 years. A citizen science project that monitors flying insects in the UK, meanwhile, found a 60% decline between 2004 and 2021. The overall trajectory, as government monitoring figures show, has been downwards since the 1970s.

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The Canadian government has released a 2030 Nature Strategy for reversing biodiversity loss, in line with the goals of the COP15 final agreement, proposing ramping up natural capital accounting.

China’s national carbon market saw allowance prices remain rangebound over the past week, with analysts expecting a lingering oversupply in the market during the current compliance period.

A British investor launching a natural capital strategy is aiming for a strong risk-return profile by balancing investments in nascent markets like biodiversity with more assured sectors like renewable energy and afforestation.

NGOs this week have said Australia should find ways to establish partnerships with its fossil fuel trading partners to build regional cooperation towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but while it has potential, experts have raised a litany of challenges that could stifle such ambitions. 

Singapore is ramping up its carbon tax from this year, but is planning major rebates for refineries and petrochemicals until the end of 2025 amid increased international competition, according to Reuters.

A Tokyo-based climate technology announced Friday it has raised 4.2 billion yen ($26 mln) in Series C funding while setting up alliances - including on carbon credits - across several sectors to accelerate the decarbonisation process.

The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

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Japan’s domestic J-Credit scheme has received a boost as the system administrator has approved the registration of 21 projects capable of generating just over 1.1 million units.

The New Zealand government has scrapped this year’s annual service charges for forestry under the emissions trading scheme.