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Brazil submitted its nationally determined contribution (NDC) plan that entails reducing emission by up to two-thirds to the UNFCCC at COP29 on Wednesday, but observers cautioned that the country needs to take steps to ensure its ambitions are met.

US-based environmental credit platform Regen Network Development and Colombia-based developer Terrasos have partnered to create a new blockchain-based system for enabling transparent sales of biodiversity credits.

The carbon project rating agency BeZero Carbon underscored the need for a major overhaul of carbon market registry infrastructure before carbon trades under Article 6 should begin moving.

Move adds to concerns about the stability of the Paris agreement after the election in the US of Donald Trump

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Argentinian negotiators representing the government of the climate science denier Javier Milei have been ordered to withdraw from the Cop29 summit after only three days, adding to concerns about the stability of the Paris agreement.

More than 80 representatives from the South American country are in Baku, Azerbaijan, for two weeks of negotiations about climate finance for the energy transition. Argentina’s far-right leader has previously called the climate crisis a “socialist lie”, and during his election campaign last year he threatened to withdraw from the Paris agreement, though he has since backed down.

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The three presidents making up the so-called Troika on Wednesday urged countries to come up with ambitious new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), despite COP host Azerbaijan yet to release one, and the country’s president declaring its oil and gas resources a “gift of the god”.

The finance chief of large German utility RWE has urged Germany to ditch its hydrogen condition for new gas-fired power plants due to near-term capacity needs.

Ukraine can sell its emission reductions through the nascent Article 6.2 international market as it gradually establishes a national carbon trading scheme and pursues a link-up with the EU ETS, experts said on the sidelines of the COP29 summit.

Financial institutions should be aware of the shortcomings of a corporate forestry data platform called Forest IQ, a new study has said, drawing attention to the risk that it could generate misleading results, though it remains a good starting point.

The Philippines government will finalise the basic work on its national registry by the end of this year and will have a final blueprint for its carbon market framework ready by the end of the second quarter of 2025, the head of the country's delegation to COP29 in Baku told Carbon Pulse.

German energy firm shaves €3bn from spending plans for next financial year to €7bn

A German energy firm has said that Donald Trump’s election victory has increased the risks of investing in offshore wind projects – but his return to the White House could help bolster Britain’s renewables sector, according to UK developer SSE.

Germany’s RWE has cut its spending plans and warned that, as a result of the US election, “the risks for offshore wind projects have increased”.

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Six draft methodologies proposed by the European Commission in October under the EU's Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation need “considerable improvement” to comply with best practices in carbon crediting, according to a German think tank.

Negotiations over the new global climate finance goal remain wide open after the first COP29 draft dropped on Wednesday, described by observers as a "sprawling" and messy text, despite a subtle sign from China that it may be open to contributing.

Turkiye’s ETS will see installations required to report their emissions in 2025, and purchase allowances in 2026, the country’s deputy director of climate change told Carbon Pulse at COP29, where the country also presented its long-term strategy for how it plans to hit carbon neutrality by 2053.

Sydney was worst-ranked Australian city at 150th, receiving a poorer score than London

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Three Australian cities are among the top 10 global cities with the lowest levels of air pollution, according to analysis of nearly 400 cities worldwide.

Hobart (third), Darwin (fourth) and Canberra (10th) topped the list, based on air pollution data analysed by Auto Trader, an online vehicle trading site.

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A developer of clean cooking and clean water projects in Rwanda and Ghana expects to achieve its first letter of authorisation over the next few months to begin trading carbon credits under Article 6.2, and is in advanced talks with multiple international governments, its CEO told Carbon Pulse.

Ghana has announced a step forward under its agreement with Singapore on carbon markets by operationalising the digital trading and settlement of ITMOs under Article 6.2, according to a Wednesday announcement.

European carbon prices dipped on Wednesday morning, even as the weekly positions data showed that investment funds cut their bearish bets to the smallest in more than a year, while natural gas prices struggled amid reports that additional supply may soon be finding its way to Europe.

South Pole has announced the appointment of a new chief risk officer, hailing from a global bank, who will join the company in the new year.

Verra and the government of Amazonas have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) Wednesday on the sidelines of COP29 to collaborate on strengthening the Brazilian state's engagement with carbon markets.

From olive oil to butter, extreme weather is pushing up the cost of living and having a dramatic political impact. Economists need a solution

In the US, where Donald Trump swept the board last week, it was the experience of sharply increasing essentials prices, from food to energy, that glued together the Republicans’ new electoral coalition. About 75% of those voting Republican reported that they had faced “hardship” or “severe hardship” as a result of price rises; only 25% of Democrats said the same. When Trump asked if Americans felt better now than they did four years ago, the answer for most was a clear no.

Price surges are having political impacts. In elections this year in three of the world’s largest economies, incumbent parties were hammered by voters angry about their helplessness in the face of the steeply rising cost of essentials.

James Meadway is director of the Progressive Economy Forum

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