CREW Carbon has signed an offtake agreement with Microsoft for 23,602 tonnes of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits. This deal, CREW's second largest to date and first with Microsoft, supports the company's method of integrating durable CDR into wastewater treatment infrastructure. With 97,788 tonnes sold, CREW is now the second largest supplier of Alkalinity Enhancement credits globally. Microsoft continues to lead the CDR.fyi Purchasers Leaderboard with over 37.14 million tonnes in purchases.
Swedish manufacturer Höganäs AB has agreed to purchase 70,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits from Öresundskraft AB, to be delivered over 10 years. The credits will originate from Öresundskraft's BECCS facility at Filbornaverket in Helsingborg, scheduled for completion in 2029. This facility is projected to capture 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, with 45% being biogenic. This agreement supports Höganäs's strategy to achieve net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2037.
The newly-formed Indigenous Land Alliance issued the Nairobi Declaration on 24 September 2026, following a meeting of 60 Indigenous people from 16 countries in Nairobi, Kenya. The Declaration explicitly opposes carbon trading, offsets, REDD+, biodiversity credits, and geoengineering, stating these commodify Indigenous relationships with land. It demands conservation organisations like WWF and Conservation International disclose all carbon and biodiversity deals on Indigenous territories. The Alliance asserts that conservation efforts have historically led to land grabs and rights abuses, often without Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). They call for respect for Indigenous rights and self-determination over their ancestral lands.
Carbon Trade eXchange (CTX) introduced 'Corporate One', an invitation-only service for institutional participants in the voluntary carbon market, on 22 September. The platform offers a flat trading fee of US$0.10 per credit, per side, replacing previous percentage-based commissions, and eliminates the account-opening fee. Designed for large-scale trading, the service targets major project developers, corporate offtake brokers, banks, and institutional trading desks. It facilitates 24/7 electronic settlement and provides access to millions of credits without requiring buyers to maintain their own registry accounts. CTX, which has operated for over 18 years, has cleared more than 1 billion tonnes of CO2e offsets.
Sirona Technologies has paused its Project Moringa direct air capture (DAC) operations in the Middle East due to escalating regional conflict, shifting its focus to the Furu Project in Norway. Project Moringa, launched in late 2025 with a 300 tons per year capture capacity, aimed to validate Sirona's DAC technology. The company will now prioritise Project Furu, located in Norway's Energy Park next to the Northern Lights CO2 terminal, citing incentives from the European Commission's proposal to integrate carbon removals into the EU ETS. Sirona plans to leverage lessons learned from Project Moringa, which achieved a 35% reduction in energy consumption, for its Norwegian development.
The Paracel forestry and conservation project in Paraguay, backed by Trafigura, verified its first 190,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits. These credits are among the first globally to be verified under Verra’s updated VM0047 methodology for Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation. The project has planted 87,000 hectares and is projected to generate over 23 million tonnes of carbon removals over its lifespan, allocating 40% of its area to biodiversity conservation. This milestone positions the project for emerging international compliance channels as Paraguay develops its Article 6 framework.
Malaysia held a Business Partnership for Market Implementation (B-PMI) workshop on 20 August 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, bringing together government and private sector representatives to discuss developing a carbon credit market. The event, organised by IETA, followed the April 2026 launch of Malaysia's National Carbon Market Policy, which provides a framework for a high-integrity domestic carbon market with international linkages. Keynote speaker YB Dato Sri Arthur Joseph Kurup, Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, emphasised the role of carbon markets in accelerating energy efficiency and adopting low-carbon technologies. The workshop concluded that compliance requirements are emerging as the most reliable source of demand for carbon credits, presenting an opportunity for Malaysia to develop its own credit registration and issuance framework. Carbon markets are expected to contribute to Malaysia's NDC target and its ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Canada's federal government is developing a policy framework to enable Canadian companies to participate in international carbon markets by trading Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This initiative aims to provide Canadian carbon removal developers and climate-focused companies with access to a broader pool of international buyers and capital. Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin stated that the framework could channel investment into Canadian emissions reduction and carbon removal projects, as well as nature-based solutions. The government intends for the system to comply with Article 6 requirements, including rules to prevent double counting of emissions reductions. This move seeks to leverage Canada's industrial capabilities and geological storage potential to establish a globally competitive carbon removal industry and export Canadian climate technology.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expanded its Article 6 Letter of Authorisation for carbon asset manager Econetix by an additional 2 million tCO2e, bringing the total authorised volume to 2.75 million tonnes. This authorisation covers Econetix's Gold Standard clean energy programme (GS12469) with ALTECH Group, including solar lighting, home solar systems, and clean cookstove distribution. The agreement applies corresponding adjustments to credit vintages from 2023 through 2033, using the DRC’s National Registry. This expansion positions the programme to issue verified Gold Standard credits from October 2026, with Econetix's total CORSIA-eligible credits across three African nations now exceeding 14.5 million tCO2e.
Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) plans to enter the voluntary carbon dioxide removal market by certifying over 800,000 tonnes of annual carbon removal capacity through a partnership with Puro.earth. The initiative leverages carbon capture and geologic storage at ADM's Columbus, Nebraska corn processing complex. ADM will capture biogenic CO2 from industrial ethanol fermentation, transport it to the Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub, and subject operations to third-party auditing under Puro.earth’s Geologically Stored Carbon methodology. Certification and credit issuance are expected by year-end, initiating a 15-year crediting period for customers across various sectors.
Xpansiv, an infrastructure provider for environmental commodity markets, secured new capital from European growth investor Verdane to fund acquisitions and expand its product offerings and geographic reach. The investment will support Xpansiv's strategy to acquire complementary technologies, building on its previous purchases of APX, Evolution Markets, and Evident. Xpansiv operates registries, marketplaces, and data services for clean-power products, renewable energy certificates, and carbon credits. The company's registries currently cover over 320 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity across more than 60 countries.
FLS Group has launched Project Alfheim in eastern Paraguay, an industrial biochar production and carbon removal initiative. The project will convert regional waste biomass into biochar using pyrolysis, aiming for an annual production of 11,500 tonnes of certified biochar and 17,000 tonnes of verified carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits. It integrates HaiQi Environmental Technologies and DecarboEngineering for technology, and Cula Technologies for digital MRV aligned with Puro.earth standards. This initiative seeks to provide durable carbon removal credits, generate renewable energy, and enhance agricultural soil, establishing a scalable model for industrial biochar in South America.
US bio-waste carbon removal provider Vaulted Deep secured a $35 million commercial debt facility from Mediobanca Group, arranged by CFP Energy. This financing, backed by long-term carbon removal purchase commitments from buyers including Google and Stripe, represents the largest publicly disclosed commercial debt deal for durable carbon removal in the US supported by multi-year offtake agreements. The capital will fund the nationwide expansion of Vaulted Deep's subsurface disposal wells, building on active sites in California and Kansas. This transaction establishes a model for scaling biomass carbon removal infrastructure by leveraging long-term buyer agreements to secure non-dilutive commercial debt from mainstream financial institutions.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and the World Bank have published a report detailing how high-integrity principles should apply to digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (DMRV) in carbon markets. The report, developed by the Continuous Improvement Work Program (CIWP), provides 16 recommendations across six themes, including governance, cybersecurity, and transparency. These recommendations aim to guide carbon-crediting programmes and market actors in the responsible adoption of DMRV tools. The initiative seeks to ensure that technological advancements in MRV enhance accuracy and efficiency without compromising integrity or community rights.
Carbonfuture launched a CDR Portfolio Manager tool on 22 September 2026, developed with input from Microsoft, SIX, and The Economist Group. The tool helps carbon removal buyers manage deliveries, monitor supplier performance, track credit custody, and streamline reporting across their portfolios. It aims to provide a single source of truth from contracting through retirement, reducing manual processes and improving visibility into delivery and portfolio risk. The platform is currently in a live pilot phase with an initial cohort of CDR portfolio managers. Carbonfuture states the tool addresses the fragmented data and manual tracking prevalent in CDR portfolio management.
Carbon Gap has launched its Policy Levers Library, an online tool mapping 165 policy instruments designed to scale carbon removal in Europe. The library organises levers into six policy families and scores each against criteria such as cost, complexity, and timeline, as well as their impact on eight barriers to scaling carbon dioxide removal (CDR). It includes 478 case studies detailing how and where specific levers are applied across seven governance levels, from international bodies to city governments. This resource aims to provide policymakers and investors with a unified view of available tools to build a gigatonne-scale carbon removal industry.
Evertreen stated it has never sold a carbon credit against tree planting, clarifying that tree products carry a modelled lifetime CO₂ estimate without credit issuance or registry retirement. The company explained that 16,756 units funded for 'Trees in Indonesia' since 2020 were contributions to the Katingan Mentaya REDD+ project (VCS 1477), funding the retirement of verified carbon credits. Another 4,170 units were for mangrove planting in Sumatra, a product withdrawn due to a partner's inability to commit to annual volumes. Evertreen confirmed that funded trees remain monitored by local partners, with agreements for continued monitoring even after sales cease.
A white paper from Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy indicates that G20 countries, excluding the US, plus Singapore, are developing regulatory frameworks for carbon credits. The study notes a shift from voluntary standards towards government rules governing credit issuance, tracking, trading, and use. This move comes as activity in project-based carbon markets has weakened, with annual credit issuance falling from its peak. The report suggests that national registries are taking a larger role in market functions, signalling a more state-anchored era for carbon markets. This regulatory evolution could determine which credits are issued, traded, and used for climate claims.
Gold Standard is forming a working group to develop practical approaches for corporate Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER), following the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) recognition of OER in its Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0. The group will examine how OER can be integrated into corporate transition plans and climate action portfolios, considering eligible activities and financial instruments. This initiative aims to establish consistent and credible application of OER, with guidance and solutions expected to be developed for use by companies in 2027. Gold Standard's prior research suggests that 'Advanced' contribution levels for OER could generate approximately $17 billion annually for climate action in the EU and US.
Milkywire announced it is exploring the procurement of large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) from projects integrated within data centre infrastructure. The initiative focuses on solutions where data centre integration offers technical or economic advantages for durable CDR, such as utilising waste heat or shared energy systems. Milkywire has issued a call for proposals, seeking projects primarily focused on carbon removal that have secured at least one prior commercial CDR agreement. This move addresses sustainability concerns associated with the high resource consumption of data centres.
The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) released a vision paper, 'Canada’s Carbon Market Opportunity: A Vision for Climate Competitiveness & Growth', outlining a strategy to enhance Canada's carbon market. The paper proposes a two-track approach: building a more connected pan-Canadian carbon market through improved interoperability and linkage, and leveraging this domestic platform to access international opportunities, including Article 6 cooperation. IETA states that these measures would reduce compliance costs, increase investment certainty, and support low-carbon industries. The organisation suggests this approach will help Canada achieve both climate and economic objectives.
Canadian law firm Torys LLP released an investment primer detailing Canada's legal and financial frameworks for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) sectors, including biochar. The report indicates that total Canadian CDR credit prepurchases increased from approximately 75,000 units in 2024 to over 700,000 units in 2026. This growth is driven by federal carbon pricing, investment tax credits, and public procurement initiatives, positioning Canada for institutional capital deployment. Despite market momentum, investors face challenges such as carbon price fluctuations, high technology scaling costs, and complex subsurface rights. The Canadian government has introduced fiscal incentives, public procurement, and revenue de-risking mechanisms, including a 2024 commitment to procure CDR services and refundable Investment Tax Credits covering up to 60 per cent of eligible capital costs.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has initiated direct purchasing agreements for durable biochar carbon removal credits to manage its environmental compliance strategy. This move aims to bypass traditional intermediaries and secure bilateral arrangements with removal suppliers, insulating JAL from volatile secondary spot markets. The decision is driven by the impending supply crunch under Phase 2 of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which mandates participation from 2027. JAL's strategy involves long-term, direct forward purchase contracts with vetted developers to ensure predictable volume flows and fixed pricing structures. This early market entry provides risk management and strategic advantages, establishing a precedent within Asian corporate finance for durable carbon dioxide removal.
Biochar Industrial Group (BIG), an Africa-based biochar developer, raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to expand its factory-integrated carbon removal model. The investment will support the installation of biochar production units directly at food processing facilities across Sub-Saharan Africa. This approach aims to secure a continuous biomass supply and expand carbon sequestration capabilities. By embedding processing infrastructure within existing agricultural operations, BIG seeks to resolve supply chain and cost inefficiencies often faced by industrial carbon removal developers in emerging markets. The funding demonstrates venture capital interest in decentralised carbon dioxide removal architectures and aims to scale high-permanence carbon removal and credit supply.
Exomad Green and Carbonfuture expanded their strategic supply agreement, securing over 1.1 million tonnes of biochar carbon removal (BCR) for corporate buyers through 2035. This builds on a 2023 collaboration that delivered over 400,000 tonnes and complements 1.2 million tonnes already contracted. The partnership links Exomad Green's Bolivian industrial facilities, which use sawmill waste, with Carbonfuture's digital tracking and distribution network. This expansion addresses market demand for traceable, verified carbon removal assets and supports Exomad Green's goal of one megatonne annual capacity. The biochar is also distributed to local Bolivian farmers to improve soil quality.
Puro.earth has launched an Environmental Attributes Registry to track agricultural carbon intensity (CI) from individual farms through supply chains in the United States. This infrastructure aims to provide verifiable data for clean-fuel producers seeking compliance with regulations like the US 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit. The registry links field-level data to specific commodity volumes, addressing historical challenges in preserving environmental data as agricultural commodities are processed and traded. This system creates a new secondary asset class, managed separately from Puro.earth's CORCs, to incentivise lower-emission agricultural production.
Exomad Green and Carbonfuture expanded their strategic supply partnership, securing over 1.1 million tonnes of biochar carbon removal (BCR) for corporate buyers through 2035. This agreement includes a pre-existing supply for 2026 and adds to over 1.2 million tonnes already contracted. The deal links Exomad Green's Bolivian production with Carbonfuture's digital tracking and buyer network. Since 2023, Exomad Green has delivered over 400,000 tonnes of durable carbon removal, becoming a market leader by cumulative delivered volume. This expansion reflects a market trend where corporate buyers prioritise suppliers with proven operating histories and verifiable delivery records.
Puro.earth, a carbon removal standard and registry provider, launched a new registry for environmental attributes on 18 September 2026, initially focusing on agricultural carbon intensity. Perdue Farms and Arva Intelligence are the first adopters, also serving as founding members of an industry initiative to establish an environmental board of trade (EBOT). The registry will record verified field-level data to improve traceability and reduce double counting within agricultural supply chains. Puro.earth will initially attest to the correct implementation of third-party methodologies, with plans to potentially develop its own regenerative agricultural methodologies. The EBOT initiative aims to develop common MRV approaches, technology-based verification, and market infrastructure for environmental attributes from regenerative agriculture.
The Carbon Data Open Protocol (CDOP) coalition, a 75-member international group, released Version 2.0 of its open-source data schema, expanding standardised carbon crediting information from four to 11 categories. This update, led by firms including Sylvera and South Pole, aims to resolve market fragmentation by standardising data across the full project lifecycle, including project finance, durability, and permanence. Version 2.0 introduces a versioned status record, replacing overwritable data fields to create a permanently auditable history for credit status changes. This structural overhaul enhances interoperability and ensures a shared digital language for carbon credit data. The coalition is finalising additional categories for additionality, baseline scenarios, and verification metadata.
Gold Standard has invited companies to join a new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) Working Group, aiming to develop practical approaches for addressing emissions that remain during the transition to net zero. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has recognised OER within its Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0, including a voluntary recognition programme for participating companies. The working group will explore how OER fits into transition plans, how to build credible climate action portfolios, and which instruments qualify. Gold Standard's analysis suggests that applying SBTi's 'Advanced' contribution levels could mobilise approximately US$17 billion annually for climate action in the EU and US. The initiative seeks to establish a clear pathway for companies to implement and demonstrate OER credibly.
Indigenous communities in Bolivia's Multi-Ethnic Indigenous Territory II (TIM II) have rejected a carbon contract signed with the Federico Hecker Foundation, covering over 440,000 hectares for 30 years. The board of TIM II issued a public statement in March 2025, refusing to recognise the agreement due to a lack of free, prior, and informed consent from all 36 communities. The contract, signed in 2024, granted the Foundation control over carbon credits, audits, and sales within 88% of TIM II. Indigenous organisations in Bolivia subsequently published a 'Manifesto for Land, Territory, and the Environment' in October 2025, rejecting carbon credits as a commodification of nature.
Verra announced on 17 September that it has vetted Treefera, CYCLOPS, Lobelia Earth, and TransparenC to provide stocking index (SI) data for its VM0047 Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) methodology. These four companies join Sylvera, Kanop, and Chloris Geospatial, which Verra approved earlier this year. The vetted data service providers (DSPs) supply data that establish performance benchmarks for ARR projects, streamlining project registration and verification. Treefera and Sylvera are integrated with the Verra Project Hub via APIs for efficient data exchange. VM0047 versions 1.0 and 1.1 have been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) as meeting Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) criteria.
German technology developer PyroCCS closed its first external equity round, securing seed funding from Lotus One Investment, climate-tech venture capital firm Counteract, and private investors. This capital injection will accelerate the global deployment of the company’s modular pyrolysis infrastructure and integrated biocarbon supply chain across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. PyroCCS uses its proprietary Gravity Series pyrolysis systems and Sarva Plant Operating System to process biomass into industrial-grade biocarbon, bio-oil, baseload power, and durable carbon removal credits. The company's digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) framework integrates with registries including Isometric, Puro.earth, and Carbon Standards International. This investment follows a recent carbon credit purchase agreement with Tencent, awarded after PyroCCS was selected for Tencent’s CarbonX 2.0 initiative.
Empacar S.A. has launched CarbonX, a new business unit, to enter the voluntary carbon market by scaling biochar carbon removal in Bolivia. Supported by BioFlux, the initiative aims to remove approximately 70,000 tonnes of CO2e annually through pyrolysis operations in the Guarayos region. The project will utilise low-value woody residues from local sawmills, addressing challenges in equipment validation and regulatory frameworks for biochar in Latin America. CarbonX is developing an audit-ready framework targeting Puro.earth methodology standards and plans to use local agricultural soil application for its biochar.
Exomad Green and Carbonfuture announced an expanded partnership on 17 September 2026, securing over 1,100,000 tonnes of biochar carbon removal supply for corporate buyers through 2035. This new allocation is in addition to the more than 1,200,000 tonnes already contracted under existing multi-year agreements. Exomad Green, which has delivered over 400,000 tonnes of durable carbon removal since mid-2023, will provide the supply via Carbonfuture's digital infrastructure. The companies state that this expansion addresses buyers' increasing demand for proven delivery and traceable, high-integrity carbon removal.
Brazil's Ministry of Finance and China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment have begun discussions to establish a sovereign carbon trading framework before COP31. The negotiations focus on transferring Brazilian Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 to Chinese entities. This initiative aims to create a formal cross-border mechanism for climate finance and market interoperability, addressing challenges in integrating cross-border carbon transfers within national mitigation targets. Both nations are establishing rigorous baseline requirements and operational criteria for high-integrity credits, including Brazil's proposed 50 million tonne CO2e cap for international transfers between 2031 and 2035. The framework seeks to provide a scalable model for cross-border carbon accounting and channel international climate finance into Brazilian decarbonisation efforts.
Climeworks' new report identifies North America as the global leader in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) volume and financial value, driven by diversified buyer engagement and supportive policy frameworks. The analysis, released ahead of Climate Week NYC, notes that technology and software firms lead corporate procurement, with increasing demand for high-integrity credits and local co-benefits. Historically, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and reforestation have dominated the region's CDR volume, each exceeding 10 million metric tons sold since 2019. Key policies like the 45Q tax credit in the US and Canada's CCUS Investment Tax Credit support market growth and project financing.
The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) and Climate Focus released a report on 16 September guiding governments on building and scaling domestic carbon credit markets. The report examines policy instruments countries can use to attract investment, drive demand, and increase the supply of high-quality carbon credits. It suggests measures such as developing government strategies, legal frameworks for Article 6 and VCMs, and national carbon registries. The publication also highlights successful implementations in Ghana, which established a carbon markets framework and registry, and South Korea, which integrated VCMs with its ETS and provided tax incentives. This initiative aims to help countries close the estimated $1.3 trillion annual climate finance gap.
A report by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) titled 'An autopsy of the voluntary carbon market' argues that the VCM disincentivises corporate emissions reductions. The report, co-authored by Ugo Panizza, Francesco Tripoli, and Beatrice Weder di Mauro, claims that buying cheaper carbon credits allows companies to avoid the costs of improving production processes to cut emissions. Using data from Allied Offsets, corporate emissions, and financial accounts, CEPR identified four key problems: market dominance by unverified avoidance projects, 3.5 billion unused credits creating a 'market for lemons', a small number of flagship projects accounting for most retirements, and a lack of a single carbon credit price. The report also found that companies that stopped buying credits after January 2023 reduced their Scope 1 emissions by approximately 20% more than those that continued purchasing credits.
Data from carbon removal marketplace Supercritical indicates global biochar credit sales reached 2.99 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, up from 1.59 million tonnes in H1 2025. This expansion was driven by a tenfold increase in non-Microsoft forward-committed purchasing to 1.81 million tonnes, while spot market sales decreased by 54 percent. Supercritical's assessment of over 400 global biochar projects found only 13 met its full compliance standards, leading to 81 percent of high-quality 2026 supply being committed via contracts by July. Corporate buyers are shifting from annual spot transactions to multi-year offtake frameworks due to tightening supply of high-integrity biochar. This trend suggests that access to verified carbon removals increasingly depends on early contract execution and rigorous project vetting.