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More details emerge of a ban that businesses say could make takeaways more costly.

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) Program on late Friday afternoon announced it has approved a listing for Ethiopia under The REDD+ Environmental Excellency Standard (TREES), as well as a monitoring report for Guyana’s emissions reductions achieved in 2021.

Regulated parties increased their holdings across North American carbon markets, adding to California Carbon Allowance (CCA) and RGGI Allowance (RGA) net length this week, while financials reduced net interest across both markets, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday.

A summary of legislative, regulatory, and policy action on carbon and low-carbon fuel standard markets at the US federal and subnational levels this week, including a carbon offset and CCUS management proposal in Alaska, GHG reduction goal legislation in Colorado, and a constitutional amendment package for regulations in Pennsylvania. 

A carbon credit ratings agency has put a highly-ranked Verra-certified REDD project on ratings watch for a potential downgrade, with a Gold Standard biogas project also facing scrutiny.

A California-based carbon removal company on Thursday announced it has raised $12 mln to accelerate its technology to sequester atmospheric CO2 directly from ocean water, for which tech giants have recently committed to pay nearly $1,000/tonne.

The EU should use one or more funding tools for clean tech investment so the bloc can ensure global competitiveness, European Commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday. 

The United Arab Emirates on Friday made plans to advance its green hydrogen cooperation with the the Netherlands and the UK, adding to a pact stuck with Germany by this year’s UN climate talks host and furthering its ambition to becoming a major exporter of the fuel.

Seaweed farming can be a powerful tool to capture carbon and transform regional economies in the EU but it is being hindered by an overly-complicated and costly regulatory process, according to a report prepared for the European Commission and published on Friday.

Norway-based Chooose on Friday announced a $15 mln capital raise from several venture capital firms to expand its climate tech platform that provides access to carbon offsets, removals, and sustainable aviation fuels.

The UK should set out a clearer pre-and post-2030 pathway for its ETS and give assurances for industry on carbon leakage risk, according to a government-commissioned review of the nation's net zero strategy published on Friday that also called for voluntary carbon market regulation within two years.

The safeguard mechanism has been largely pointless – it’s unclear whether the changes will be a strong deterrent for fossil fuel companies

There are three issues that will determine whether the major climate announcement the Albanese government made this week can deliver the transformational change Australia needs.

The details can be mind-numbing, but a quick summary for those still enjoying a summer break: on Monday the climate change minister, Chris Bowen, released a review into Australia’s carbon credit system. It followed expert allegations the scheme is “largely a sham” as it has failed to deliver real cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

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Wild camping on part of a Devon moor has been ruled illegal by the High Court unless permission given.

EUAs fell to their lowest levels since the start of the week on Friday morning, as energy markets continued to drop amid bearish fossil fuel generation conditions and carbon's short term price correlation with natural gas rose to its highest level in a year.

A luxury cruise has been hailed as the start of a new age of Indian tourism. But conservationists fear the impact of increased river traffic and pollution

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has officially launched the “world’s longest river cruise” from the city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The luxury voyage will last 51 days, travelling 3,200km via Dhaka in Bangladesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, crossing 27 river systems.

The three-deck MV Ganga Vilas, with 18 suites, is the latest venture in a trend for cruise tourism in India being promoted by the government. Modi hailed the cruise industry on the Ganges as a “landmark moment”, which will herald a new age of tourism in India.

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The government is urged to take 25 actions by 2025 and phase out gas boilers within a decade.

Wealthy landowner Alexander Darwall wins case against national park after arguing right to pitch tent on moors did not exist

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor has been overturned after a court case brought to the high court by a wealthy landowner.

Dartmoor was the only place in England and Wales where there was a right to camp under the stars without seeking permission from the landowner.

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It’s been very wet in San Francisco and parts of New Zealand, while extreme cold has swept across Russia

Over the past couple of weeks, California has seen the effects of a persistent atmospheric river bringing in constant spells of rain from the Pacific across the state. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS) have released rainfall totals for some areas of California over the course of 16 days from 26 December 2022 through to 11 January 2023. Over the 16-day period downtown San Francisco received 345mm and in nearby Oakland totals reached 327.7mm, breaking their 16-day rainfall record. The significance of the flooding is only increased by having had extremely dry soils through the summer and autumn with severe droughts, therefore preventing soils from easily soaking up the intense rainfall that has occurred over recent weeks.

Tropical Cyclone Hale affected the North Island of New Zealand on 9-12 January. Severe thunderstorms brought 156.5mm to Hikuwai in Gisborne in the space of 12 hours, and more than 100mm to other places around Gisborne in the same period. Over the course of 18 hours, 219mm was recorded at Pinnacles in the Coromandel ranges and in Whitianga aerodrome on 10 January, making it the fifth wettest January day on record.

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Lobbying industry flexed muscle to ensure bills that aimed to set stricter standards on PFAS compounds went nowhere

All legislation aimed at regulating toxic PFAS “forever chemicals” died in the Democratic-controlled US Congress last session as companies flexed their lobbying muscle and bills did not gain enough Republican support to overcome a Senate filibuster.

The failure comes after public health advocates and Democratic lawmakers expressed optimism at the legislative session’s outset that bills that would protect the public from dangerous exposure to the chemicals could gain sufficient bipartisan support.

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Asian banks are increasingly recognising nature-related risks as important, but are making little headway in converting that recognition into clearly stated expectations from their clients, WWF Singapore’s annual Sustainable Banking Assessment (SUSBA) has found.