17th week CCM 2025. The world of carbon credits is in turmoil: digital transformation, legal and economic aspects, forests, new satellite. Workshops, public hearings and the flexibilization of IFRS S2
- Art Dam
- 11 hours ago
- 6 min read
Monday, 05 May 2025.
The world of carbon credits continues to be in turmoil. As you have seen in recent posts, there is a flurry of news and developments taking place. This week, IETA moved forward with the Digital Transformation of Carbon Markets, while Brazil 🇧🇷 continues to play a leading role in essential discussions, with its forest carbon credits 🌳 gaining even more prominence in the preparations for COP30. FGV-SP brings important reflections on the legal and economic aspects of assets in the regulated carbon market, while the European Space Agency 🇪🇺 launches a new satellite 🛰️ capable of measuring the biomass of tropical forests 🌳 with unprecedented precision. In addition, workshops and public hearings are happening non-stop, and even the ISSB proposes to make IFRS S2 – Climate-Related Disclosures more flexible. In other words, the scenario is vibrant and full of news. Check it out below and dive into the details of this new world order being structured 🌏.
🏆 If you have an interesting story about carbon credits in your country — our audience has reached over 100 nations! — send us a message directly through our LinkedIn page.
CLIMATE GOVERNANCE
Pre-COP30. Climate ministers will begin negotiations one month before the conference in Brazil.
A statement issued on April 29th deals with the Pre-COP30, a preparatory event for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which will take place in November.
The Pre-COP will be held on October 13th and 14th in Brasília, bringing together between 30 and 50 international delegations, including Environment Ministers, official negotiators and representatives of observer organizations linked to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The objective of the meeting is to align positions and facilitate agreements on key topics of climate negotiations before COP30. Although it is not part of the official UNFCCC calendar, the Pre-COP is considered strategic to reduce diplomatic tensions and ensure international engagement.
Click here to read the full trilingual statement.
Ana Toni, currently CEO and executive director of COP30, also commented on Pre-COP30 on LinkedIn, as you can read here.
Ana is a Brazilian economist and political scientist with extensive experience in sustainable development, philanthropy and advocacy. Among other roles, she has held the position of National Secretary for Climate Change at the Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
CARBON CREDITS
The Digital Transformation of Carbon Markets.
A report released in May 2025 by IETA addresses how digital innovations can improve the performance of carbon markets. The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) is a non-profit organization that promotes high-integrity carbon markets aligned with the Paris Agreement.
The 8-page paper explores technologies such as digital monitoring, smart contracts and blockchain-based registries, highlighting both the benefits and risks of these tools. More specifically:
- Digitalization of the market: standardization of certification and verification (MRV) steps.
- Role of registries: modernization of systems to drive digital transformation.
- Data standardization: greater access to information and integration of new technologies.
- Use of AI: improving processes, reducing costs and streamlining emissions.
- Investment and innovation: essential for the evolution of the carbon market.
Click here to access this report.
Brazil creates forest carbon regulatory body.
The Brazilian Forest Carbon Working Group (GT Carbono Florestal) was created on April 25.
Its objective is to develop and propose guidelines for the regulation, implementation and operation of forest carbon markets in Brazil, considering voluntary and regulated mechanisms.
The initiative seeks to strengthen the governance of the forest carbon market in Brazil, aligning with the country's climate commitments. Click here for more details.
Legal and Economic Aspects of Regulated Carbon Market Assets: The Gap Between Environmental Assets and Investments.
This is the title of a recent study* in Portuguese by FGV SP on the regulated carbon market. The document highlights the gap between environmental assets and investors, analyzing the legal and economic aspects of this market. It addresses the implementation of the Brazilian Emissions Trading System (SBCE), established by Federal Law No. 15,042, which came into force in December 2024. Before this regulation, Brazil only had a voluntary carbon market, with no legal obligation to reduce emissions.
The report also discusses the challenges and opportunities of this new system, including rules for offsetting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and verifying reports issued by the parties involved. For more details, you can access the full study here.
* Source: VIAN, A.; RODRIGUES, A.; ASSAD, J.; MUNHOZ, L.; PERES, L.; LOPES, L.; CAFFAGNI, L.; TRENNEPOHL, N.; Aspectos Jurídicos e Econômicos dos Ativos do Mercado de Carbono Regulado: Distância entre Ativos Ambientais e Investidores. Núcleo de Mercado de Capitais do Centro de estudos do Agronegócio da Fundação Getulio Vargas – FGV Agro. Observatório de Conhecimento e Inovação em Bioeconomia, Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Legal nature of carbon credits in the context of the Brazilian regulated market.
As indicated above, the FGV SP paper also discusses the legal nature of carbon credits in the context of the Brazilian regulated market. It highlights that carbon credits represent a new type of property, carrying with them a set of rights and obligations. However, there are legislative divergences regarding the legal classification of these assets, which directly impacts the development of the carbon market in Brazil.
Another 2024 study by a student at FGV Direito Rio also explores the economic and regulatory effects of the legal definition of carbon credits, analyzing how the lack of a clear definition can generate tax and accounting uncertainties. If you want to learn more about this topic, in addition to the FGV SP article already mentioned - link above, with an interesting table on page 5 - you can also explore the specific study by FGV Direito Rio at this link.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that one of the authors of the FGV SP study, Ludovino Lopes, is a member of the Working Group on the Legal Nature of Carbon Credits at UNIDROIT, in Rome, and has already contributed to our articles. CarbonCreditMarkets has been following this important topic for years. Here is the latest update from UNIDROIT.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The satellite designed to reveal the secrets of the world's tropical forests.
The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the Biomass satellite on April 29 from the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, in the Amazon region of South America. Its mission is to provide unprecedented data on tropical forests, especially on the carbon stored in them.
Studies have already compared carbon storage between boreal forests in the northern hemisphere and tropical forests.
While boreal forests in Russia, Canada and Scandinavia have carbon-rich soils, storing a third more carbon per hectare than tropical forests, the Amazon and other tropical forests absorb up to 75% of global CO₂.
However, monitoring tropical forests is more challenging due to their dense vegetation and remote location. The European satellite is designed to overcome this obstacle by providing precise measurements of biomass.
Using P-band radar, it penetrates the tree canopy to measure forest biomass, helping scientists understand the role of these forests in the carbon cycle and climate change.
Read more in the ESA press release.
EVENTS
📍🇧🇪 🖥️ Workshops on Carbon Farming and Carbon Removals, 20-21 May. Two interactive workshops: one on carbon farming financing models and another on a program to purchase Permanent Carbon Removal Credits. Check it out.
📍🇪🇸 #Innovate4Climate 2025, 10-12 June, Sevilla, Spain. Three days with a lot to talk about Carbon Markets and Carbon Pricing. Check out the agenda.
REMINDERS
📢🇧🇷 On April 25, 2025, the public consultation on the creation of a national carbon credit certification body ended in Brazil, as we anticipated a few weeks ago. It is also worth remembering that in February 2025, the government had already entered into a partnership with the Brazilian Mint to qualify it as the National Carbon Credit Certification Body. Since 2005, two international certification bodies have held 97% of carbon credit certifications in Brazil.
🎓🖥️ Only until May 5, 2025. Public consultation on the Article 6.4 Mechanism as a subsidy for the 16th meeting of the Oversight Body will take place in Bonn, from May 12 to 16. On this occasion, methodological standards, the registration of the mechanism and project regulations will be discussed, according to the agenda published on the UN Climate Change website.
✏️🖥️The ISSB has published a proposal with flexibilities to facilitate the application of IFRS S2 - Climate-Related Disclosures by companies. This is a response to market feedback, where the ISSB makes it easier to comply with the requirements for disclosing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Read more here.
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