BeZero Carbon has published 14 ex ante rating reports on projects within Microsoft's carbon removal portfolio, offering independent pre-issuance analyses. These reports cover projects across improved forest management, soil carbon, biochar, and agroforestry in the US, Argentina, India, and Peru. The assessments, conducted since 2024, include carbon risk analysis, project execution and delivery risk, and beyond-carbon risks and benefits. This release provides insights into the due diligence standards applied by a major carbon removal buyer. Microsoft aims to be carbon negative by 2030 and has contracted over 45 million tonnes of CDR for fiscal year 2025.
The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) has published criteria for insurance mechanisms to enable Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs) issued from 2021 onwards to be eligible for CORSIA. Developed with Howden, the framework addresses situations where host countries have not authorised corresponding adjustments or where confirmation of adjustments is pending. This pathway allows project developers and buyers to pursue CORSIA eligibility before host countries publish Biennial Transparency Reports, while safeguarding against double claiming. CAR has also revised its credit-labelling system, introducing 'Article 6 Authorized' and 'CORSIA Eligible-Authorized' designations, with the latter requiring an approved insurance mechanism and a Deed of Undertaking. CAR expects to release a list of approved insurance products and a CORSIA Deed of Undertaking in the coming weeks.
PT Yanmar Diesel Indonesia, Faeger, and IPB University launched a field trial in April 2026 to evaluate combining Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) with biochar application in Indonesian rice paddies. The project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, from rice cultivation while maintaining crop yields. This multi-stakeholder initiative seeks to establish a scalable, low-carbon rice production framework for Southeast Asia, utilising pyrolysed rice husks as biochar. The research intends to generate empirical data to inform future agricultural carbon credit projects and offer farmers new revenue streams.
Google Research has announced its 2026 Carbon Removal and Superpollutant Elimination R&D Awards, offering up to $450,000 in grant funding for a single project. The initiative targets breakthroughs in high-moisture feedstock pyrolysis to expand global biochar production capacity. This aims to overcome current limitations in processing diverse organic waste, such as municipal solid waste and agricultural residues, which typically have high moisture content. The programme seeks innovations in feedstock preprocessing, reactor design, and low-cost processing for distributed waste sources. Successful applicants, selected after a September 2026 deadline, must produce open research and align with biomass accounting modules to confirm multi-century biochar stability.
Enable Earth has commenced industrial biochar production in northern Thailand's Wiang Pa Pao District, Chiang Rai, converting agricultural residues into verifiable carbon storage. The facility, operational since February 2026, uses pyrolysis technology to process corn residue, aiming to capture approximately 1,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. This initiative addresses regional agricultural burning and provides traceable carbon removal credits for hard-to-abate sectors. The resulting biochar is returned to local soils, enhancing nutrient retention and water availability for farms. The project establishes a scalable infrastructure for durable carbon sequestration while mitigating agricultural haze and rebuilding degraded farmland.
Vietnam's government approved an Implementation Agreement with Singapore via Resolution 235/NQ-CP, establishing a legal framework for carbon credit cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This allows Vietnamese entities to develop greenhouse gas emission reduction projects that can generate credits for transfer to Singapore. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will finalise procedures for the September 2025 agreement to enter into force. While the pact creates a binding bilateral framework for cross-border transactions, specific projects and methodologies are yet to be announced.
Berlin-based Senken signed a multi-year carbon removal agreement with Carbonsate for 50,000 tonnes of permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR) through 2028. This represents Europe's largest biomass storage deal to date and the second-largest global buyer commitment in this category. The CDRs will come from Carbonsate's Puro.earth-verified biomass geological storage project in Namibia, which clears encroacher bush. Senken will allocate these credits to its corporate partners who require permanent CDR to meet net-zero targets. The agreement provides Carbonsate with the certainty to expand its Namibian operations, which have a potential capacity exceeding 100,000 tonnes annually.
Rich Gilmore, CEO of Carbon Growth Partners, stated that for most communities involved in blue carbon projects, the climate outcome is less important than other benefits. He argued that local communities protect mangroves for reasons such as food security, hurricane protection, and fishery support. Gilmore described the carbon market as a financing mechanism for these co-benefits, rather than the primary motivation for community engagement. He cited the BlueMX project in Mexico, where mangrove restoration led to a tripling of shrimp and crab catch rates, improving local livelihoods.
Carbonmark and Klima Protocol introduced an x402 endpoint, enabling AI agents and HTTP clients to discover live carbon market data, obtain credit quotes, and retire carbon credits on the Base public blockchain. This development facilitates 'agentic transactions,' where software autonomously initiates and completes payments or market actions within operator-defined limits. The initiative addresses the historical friction of human-centric internet commerce in VCM, offering machine-readable terms, native payment, and verifiable outcomes via blockchain infrastructure. This aims to increase transaction cadence and granularity, potentially scaling carbon markets by allowing machines to participate efficiently.
CO2 Sync, in partnership with Carbo-FORCE, launched a commercial pyrolysis and clean energy production plant in Price, Utah, on 15 August 2026. The CF-1000 facility converts regional wood waste and dead forest biomass into high-density biochar and generates emissions-free electricity and heat. This project addresses hazardous forest fuel buildup and agricultural nutrient inefficiency by mitigating wildfire risks and improving soil health. CO2 Sync plans to replicate this model for distributed biochar production and renewable power generation across Utah and the United States.
Juan Turrion, Head of Strategic Research at Invica Industries, presented research on waste-to-biochar conversion at the Institution of Agricultural Engineers in the UK. The presentation detailed how large-scale pyrolysis plants convert biomass waste into stable soil amendments. This process integrates permanent carbon removal with agronomic benefits, addressing soil degradation and enhancing agricultural sustainability. The work aims to combine carbon finance mechanisms with practical agricultural systems to secure high-integrity voluntary carbon removal credits. It demonstrates a viable circular economy model, enhancing soil structure and crop productivity while sequestering atmospheric carbon.
TSS Consultants is assessing over 100 biomass-to-biochar technology vendors for a Northern California client managing over 50,000 tonnes of forest waste wood annually. The evaluation focuses on identifying scalable pyrolytic conversion systems that are economically viable and meet stringent carbon accounting criteria for high-integrity carbon removal markets. This initiative aims to divert forest waste from wildfire hazards or open burning, reduce waste management costs, and enable participation in the carbon removal credit economy. The project seeks to establish a commercial pathway for processing forest waste into high-grade biochar suitable for carbon dioxide removal credits.
British telecommunications provider VodafoneThree partnered with Abatable to launch a Request for Proposals (RFP) for 24,000 tonnes of high-integrity carbon dioxide removals. The procurement, spanning 2027 to 2030, supports VodafoneThree's net-zero targets for its UK operations by 2027 and full value-chain net-zero by 2040. The dual-track RFP seeks engineered solutions like biochar, BECCS, and DACS, alongside UK Woodland Carbon Code-accredited projects. Abatable will manage the intake and evaluation, with final project selections expected in Q4 2026. This initiative aims to address market complexities by providing a structured, transparent mechanism for UK carbon removal developers.
Indian biochar startup Ground Up secured a pre-purchase agreement valued at over $17,000 (€15,000) for carbon credits from the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) accelerator remove. This agreement follows Ground Up's progression into the second stage of remove's Global Leap programme, where remove acts as a credit buyer. The deal provides early revenue validation and capital for Ground Up's industrial biochar deployments, which include processing sugarcane crop residues at its Project Nandani pilot facility. remove selected Ground Up due to its operational traceability and 'farmer-first' strategy, which returns biochar to local agricultural soils for fertility improvement and carbon sequestration. This partnership demonstrates how targeted pre-purchase agreements can validate localised biochar production models and integrate agricultural residues into the VCM.
Russia has approved new operating procedures for carbon unit reservation accounts within its national registry, effective from 1 March 2027 to 1 March 2033. The resolution mandates that a portion of carbon units issued for vulnerable activities, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), must transfer to a dedicated reservation account. These reserved units cannot be sold and are only released into circulation upon verified reports of sustained project performance. This mechanism aims to safeguard against accidental re-emissions and align Russia's domestic carbon credit framework with international standards, particularly for CORSIA participation. The national carbon registry, operated by JSC Kontur, currently has approximately 37.66 million standard carbon units and 535,200 compliance units in circulation.
Indian biochar startup Ground Up secured a pre-purchase agreement with carbon dioxide removal (CDR) accelerator remove. The agreement, valued at over $17,000 (€15,000), follows Ground Up's progression to the Global Leap stage of remove's accelerator programme. Ground Up specialises in industrial biochar production facilities, converting sugarcane residues into biochar, and operates India's largest biochar plant, Project Nandani. This marks remove's second such agreement with an accelerator participant, aiming to support early-stage CDR developers and provide commercial traction.
Rich Gilmore, CEO of Carbon Growth Partners, stated that the voluntary carbon market must scale 'hundreds of times' to address climate change, or it will become irrelevant. He highlighted that humans emit approximately 100,000 tonnes of CO2 every minute, requiring a daily emissions reduction of 20 million tonnes by 2030. Gilmore argued that achieving these targets necessitates an exponential increase in carbon market activity. He concluded that there is no scenario where the carbon market remains at its current size and still meets scientific climate goals.
Sweden's Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) has launched its second reverse auction, offering SEK 10.17 billion in investment and operational support for bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (bio-CCS) projects. The programme aims to incentivise commercial operators in Sweden to capture, transport, and permanently store biogenic carbon dioxide, supporting the country's net-zero and negative emissions targets. Winning operators will receive support payments for up to 15 years, with a requirement to deliver stored biogenic carbon dioxide within four years of receiving funding. This initiative addresses the high capital and operational costs of bio-CCS, providing financial certainty to commercialise large-scale biogenic carbon capture.
Tanzania has approved four new carbon trading projects valued at over $52.1 million, anticipating more than $4.2 million in government proceeds from credit sales. These projects, implemented by Burn, UpEnergy, Water Mission, and Bridge Carbon, are expected to generate 4.2 million tonnes of carbon credits for trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. They focus on clean cooking and water access, aiming to distribute over 900,000 clean cookstoves and provide safe water to more than one million households. The initiatives are projected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1-2 million tonnes of CO2e annually. Tanzania has also established a National Carbon Monitoring Centre and strengthened regulations to ensure greater transparency and national benefit from carbon trading.
VodafoneThree has issued a request for proposals (RFP) through Abatable to procure 24,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide removals from UK-based nature-based and engineered projects. The four-year procurement process will target deliveries between 2027 and 2030, with an optional window extending to 2033. Eligible pathways include afforestation, soil carbon, biochar, BECCS, and DACCS, with a specific track for new woodland creation under the Woodland Carbon Code. Abatable will evaluate project information against VodafoneThree's criteria, with selections expected in Q4 2026. This initiative forms part of the mobile network operator's sustainability strategy.
Rich Gilmore, CEO of Carbon Growth Partners, stated that solving the climate crisis requires stopping deforestation and burning. He outlined mitigation through emissions reduction and nature protection, financed by carbon markets, and adaptation via natural infrastructure. Gilmore emphasised that carbon markets should redirect finance from those causing climate change to those solving it, primarily in the 'majority world'. He noted that the mechanisms exist, but willingness to pay and shifting who pays are currently lacking.
On 11 August 2026, 28 civil society organisations (CSOs) sent a joint letter to SK Telecom CEO Jung Jae-hun, demanding the company cease investment in a Myanmar cookstove project. SK Telecom, one of 11 SK Group affiliates, has invested in the project since March 2018, which recently received the first Article 6.4 carbon credit issuance approval. The CSOs cite concerns over human rights violations in Myanmar and the project's association with the military junta, requesting a response by 24 August 2026. The Climate Change Center, which manages the project, stated that SK Group secured 648,783 provisionally issued PACM carbon credits.
Carbon dioxide removal registry Isometric has signed agreements with three Chinese project developers: Tongao Greenchar, Vastwing Energy, and DeCarbon Tech. This marks Isometric's entry into the Chinese carbon credit market, enabling these companies to certify their carbon removal projects against scientific standards. Tongao Greenchar and Vastwing Energy are biochar developers, while DeCarbon Tech focuses on direct air capture and mineral storage. The partnerships aim to connect Chinese suppliers with international corporate buyers by providing third-party verification for high-integrity carbon credits.
On 12 August 2026, Verra announced that the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) approved two of its methodologies as meeting the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). The approved methodologies are VM0051 Improved Management in Rice Production Systems, v1.1, and VMR0016 Flaring or Use of Landfill Gas (ACM0001 Revision), v1.0. These methodologies address methane emissions from rice cultivation and landfill gas capture, respectively. Projects using these methodologies can now generate CCP-labelled credits if they meet all eligibility conditions. VMR0016 replaces ACM0001 and AMS-III.G. as the standalone landfill gas methodology in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme.
The Action for Resilient Climate (ARC) coalition has launched, backed by companies including Tencent, Mitsubishi, CATL, Bain & Co, Osaka Gas, and Vale. ARC aims to provide both a demand signal and a financing facility for carbon project developers, addressing capital needs alongside offtake agreements. The coalition seeks to scale carbon markets by committing to a minimum of 10 million tonnes of carbon credits. This initiative differentiates itself by integrating blended finance to support project development, moving beyond traditional buyer coalitions.
Carbonmark published a buyer's guide for nature-based carbon projects, detailing afforestation, reforestation, REDD+, and mangrove restoration. The guide distinguishes between avoidance projects like REDD+ and removal projects such as afforestation and mangrove restoration. It highlights co-benefits as a key value driver, noting that credits with demonstrable social and economic outcomes have sustained demand better. The guide also provides a due diligence framework for evaluating nature-based projects.
Netherlands-based climate-tech company Paebbl announced partnerships with Prologis Ventures and the JLL Foundation to integrate carbon-storing materials into commercial real estate. This collaboration aims to scale Paebbl's 'Rebond' series, a proprietary ingredient that can replace up to 30% of traditional cement in concrete mixes. Prologis Ventures will facilitate technical and pilot testing across its logistics real estate portfolios, while the JLL Foundation will provide access to corporate sustainability strategies and commercial property networks. The partnerships seek to overcome adoption challenges for carbon-negative construction inputs by securing early project pipelines and validating materials in active commercial developments. This move is intended to accelerate market penetration for Paebbl's mineralised materials and establish a carbon-storing infrastructure model for the real estate sector.
Supercritical, a UK-based carbon removal marketplace, analysed the annual fourth-quarter surge in corporate carbon dioxide removal (CDR) procurement. The analysis found that delayed corporate purchases until Q4 create supply constraints and price spikes, with biochar credit prices increasing from $155 to $185 per tonne within months for the same project. This end-of-year demand is driven by annual emission reconciliations and remaining budget allocations. Supercritical recommends that buyers adopt multi-year offtake agreements earlier in the year to stabilise market access and avoid seasonal price premiums. This shift would also provide suppliers with predictable revenue streams to scale production.
Carbon dioxide removal registry Isometric has signed its first agreements in China, partnering with Tongao Greenchar, Vastwing Energy, and DeCarbon Tech to certify their direct air capture and biochar projects. This initiative marks Isometric's entry into the Chinese market, aiming to provide third-party measurement, reporting, and verification for carbon removal developers. The partnerships seek to enable Chinese projects, which include biochar production from agricultural residues and direct air capture with mineralization, to access international voluntary carbon markets. This development addresses a key barrier for Chinese developers by offering internationally recognised certification protocols for high-integrity carbon removal credits. Isometric will deploy its AI-powered Certify platform to audit project data.
Carbon asset manager Econetix received a Letter of Authorisation from the Ugandan government for up to 10 million tCO2e for its clean cookstove projects, valid for vintages 2025-2030. This marks the largest single Article 6 authorisation granted to a private company in Uganda. The agreement expands Econetix’s total authorised CORSIA-eligible portfolio to 12.5 million tonnes across three African nations, including previous approvals in DRC and Rwanda. The company plans to pursue similar authorisations in Tanzania, Malawi, and other African countries. This authorisation aims to address the projected deficit in CORSIA-eligible emissions units for international aviation.
AlliedOffsets released a report observing the soil carbon market's momentum in 2026, noting an increase in Core Carbon Principles (CCP)-approved issuances. The report indicates the buyer base grew from 80 in 2022 to 128 in 2026, including companies like Microsoft and Shell. Supply remains geographically concentrated, with India, Kenya, China, and Brazil dominating the near-term pipeline. Northern Rangelands Trust is identified as the largest issuer by a significant margin. Forecasted issuance is projected to peak in the early 2040s.
Isometric has signed its first China-based carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects, agreeing to provide certification services to three developers: DeCarbon Tech, Tongao Greenchar, and Vastwing Energy. The projects include direct air capture (DAC) and biochar initiatives. Isometric will use its AI-powered Certify platform to validate these projects against its protocols. This move aims to enable these Chinese projects to access international buyers, supporting China's 2060 net-zero target which requires significant CO2 removal.
Zambia officially launched its national carbon registry on 7 August, designed to enhance oversight of carbon market activities and prepare for increased participation in international trading under the Paris Agreement. The digital platform, developed with support from the SPAR6C programme, integrates with the country's monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system to improve carbon accounting accuracy and prevent double counting. It will register and manage mitigation activities, issue and track Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), and support reporting for Article 6 transactions. This makes Zambia one of the first countries to develop a customised digital registry fully aligned with Article 6. The system aims to increase transparency for project developers, government authorities, and the public, with future updates planned to incorporate voluntary carbon market projects.
US soil intelligence firm EarthOptics has partnered with C-Quester Analytics to integrate laboratory-grade soil organic matter fractionation into EarthOptics' spatial measurement platform. This collaboration aims to provide verifiable data on soil carbon stability for carbon credit developers and investors. By combining C-Quester's particulate and mineral-associated organic matter (POM/MAOM) analysis with EarthOptics' field measurements, the companies seek to enhance the permanence and durability assessment of soil carbon credits. The initiative addresses a key market barrier by moving beyond volumetric quantification to offer more precise insights into stable carbon pools, supporting scalable measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) data.
Microsoft has signed a long-term agreement to purchase up to 23,602 durable carbon removal units from Brooklyn-based startup CREW Carbon. This transaction diversifies Microsoft's carbon offset portfolio beyond established methods like direct air capture and biochar. CREW Carbon's technology integrates into municipal wastewater treatment plants, using alkaline minerals to convert dissolved carbon dioxide into stable bicarbonate ions for long-term ocean storage. The deal supports Microsoft's goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030 and expands CREW Carbon's committed removal pipeline past $40 million.
Companies signed carbon offtake agreements worth approximately $12.25 billion in 2025, according to Sylvera data cited by Regreener. These multi-year contracts, typically spanning 5 to 15 years, commit buyers to purchasing future carbon credits at an agreed price and schedule. This volume significantly exceeds the value of credits retired on the spot market in the same year. The trend indicates a shift among corporate buyers towards securing long-term supply and price certainty for high-integrity carbon credits, particularly for durable carbon removal projects. Such agreements provide project developers with the contracted revenue necessary to finance and scale their initiatives.
Regreener, a carbon credit trader, published a guide distinguishing between carbon credit traders, brokers, and platforms for corporate buyers. The guide defines a trader as a firm that sources, curates, and procures credits, taking an active role in quality assessment and portfolio construction. It characterises brokers as facilitators of transactions between buyers and sellers, while platforms are described as digital marketplaces for direct credit purchases. This distinction aims to help EU mid-market and enterprise companies choose a carbon credit partner based on their internal expertise and compliance needs.
The Grassland Restoration and Stewardship in South Africa Group Project (GRASS GP) has distributed R2.7 million ($170,000) to 15 farming communities, marking the first payments under the initiative. These payments follow the issuance of 266,254 verified carbon units, generated from the project's first monitoring period across over 95,000 hectares. Developed by TASC in partnership with Meat Naturally Africa, the project aims to restore degraded rangelands in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal through regenerative grazing. The credits are the first globally to combine CCB certification with Verra’s VM0042 methodology, channelling carbon credit revenues directly to local communities for activities like hiring herders and pasture restoration. The project plans to restore two million hectares by 2030, preventing approximately 14 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 30 years.
Climate asset manager Econetix has secured a Letter of Authorization from the Rwandan government to commercialise up to 1.77 million metric tons of CORSIA-eligible carbon credits. These credits, generated from clean cooking and energy efficiency projects, are authorised under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and will receive corresponding adjustments from Rwanda. This agreement provides international airline operators with access to compliance-grade assets for CORSIA Phase 1. The partnership aims to address the scarcity of eligible carbon credits and direct climate finance into Rwandan clean energy development.
Carbon credit advisory firm Deduci, a sister company of Agendi, launched its second carbon removal portfolio, featuring entirely domestic projects certified in partnership with Isometric. The portfolio includes engineered and nature-based carbon dioxide removal, with Pacific Biochar among the featured developers. This initiative aims to assist corporate buyers with increasingly strict voluntary and regulatory climate disclosures, such as California’s Assembly Bill 1305. Deduci manages onboarding and contracting, while Isometric provides third-party verification and documentation for credits generated. The programme offers corporate buyers access to high-integrity US-based biochar and carbon removal credits through September, streamlining procurement for regulatory compliance.