33rd Week Carbon Credit Markets 2025. Verra and S&P launch registry; 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇨🇳 decarbonize; 🏆🇧🇷 award-winning bioinputs; 🚨 Delayed NDCs; 🛠️ heat threatens work; 🌊 corals and sustainability.
- Art Dam
- Aug 24
- 8 min read
Updated: Aug 31
Monday, 25 August 2025.
Highlights from the 33rd Carbon Credit Markets 2025 week.
- Carbon Credits. 🌍 Verra and S&P Global launch a 🔗 next-generation digital registry to revolutionize carbon markets; 🇬🇧 the United Kingdom expands its emissions trading system through 2029; 🇺🇸 companies push California to extend Cap-and-Trade until 2045; 🇨🇳 China accelerates its energy transition with granular tracking and prepares a more robust carbon market.
- Other Highlights. 🏆🌱 Brazilian scientist revolutionizes agriculture and wins the World Food Prize 2025 with bioinputs that capture millions of tons of carbon; 🚨 has your country’s NDC been updated yet? 🌐 Over 170 countries still haven’t submitted post-COP29 targets, including major emitters like China, India, and Mexico; 🛠️ new ILO report warns that heat stress could cause losses of up to $2.4 trillion by 2030.
- Opportunities. 🌍 Fastmarkets Report: why are projects like South Cardamom plummeting while the LATAM Carbon Network seeks to diversify beyond REDD+? 🧪 Companies are racing toward science-based targets, but is it real change? 🚜 “We are exporters of sustainability,” says Antônio Cabrera; 🌊 Nasheed warns: corals may be absorbing more carbon than we realize.
- Events. 🇦🇺Carbon Derivatives Seminar (Aug 28 to Oct 30); 🇪🇹 Climate Week Ethiopia (Sept 1–6); 🇪🇹 Africa Climate Summit (Sept 8–10); and 🇲🇽 Mexico Carbon Forum 2025 (Sept 10–11); 🖥️ Countdown to CBAM 2026 (September 17); 🏴 Ethical Finance Global 2025 (September 17); 🇺🇸 Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit (September 22); 🇺🇸 Climate Week NYC 2025 (September 21-28); 🇧🇷 Visit to Aquapolo Ambiental – IBGC (September 26); 🇧🇪 European Hydrogen Week (September 29-October 3)
CARBON CREDITS
🔗 Verra and S&P Global Launch Registry to Strengthen Carbon Markets.
Verra, the leading global climate standards body, announced a strategic partnership with S&P Global Commodity Insights to develop a next-generation registry that promises to transform carbon market infrastructure. The new platform will be more scalable, interoperable, and digitally integrated, enabling efficient tracking of carbon, water, and biodiversity credits. With transactional APIs, integration with platforms like CBL and Xpansiv, and support for initiatives like CORSIA and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the system aims to increase transparency, reduce bureaucracy, and accelerate credit issuance and trading. The launch will occur in two phases, beginning within the next six months. Read the press releases from Verra and S&P Global.
🇬🇧 UK expands emissions trading system with new sectors by 2029.
According to the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), the British government announced a significant expansion of the UK Emissions Trading System (UK ETS), gradually including the maritime, waste incineration, and carbon removal sectors. Starting in 2026, vessels over 5,000 tons on domestic routes will be subject to the system; in 2028, waste incineration facilities will be incorporated after a voluntary monitoring period; and in 2029, carbon removal projects with a minimum lifetime of 200 years will be able to generate replacement credits. These measures aim to align the UK ETS with climate neutrality targets by 2050 and offer greater predictability for investors and developers of sustainable projects. Read the full ICAP article.
🇺🇸Businesses pressure California to avoid 2030 end to Cap-and-Trade.
More than 40 companies and associations—including IETA, IKEA, and Shell—are lobbying the California legislature to strengthen and extend the Cap-and-Trade program through 2045. Set to expire in 2030, the program is already facing uncertainties that have caused losses of up to $3 billion in auction revenue, according to Clean and Prosperous California. Business leaders warn that without immediate action, investments in sustainable projects will be jeopardized, jeopardizing climate goals and economic growth. The proposal seeks to ensure regulatory stability, attract private capital, and keep energy affordable for families and businesses. The manifesto can be downloaded below and the full article is available at Ceres.
🇨🇳 China accelerates energy transition and paves the way for more robust carbon credits.
China is advancing decarbonization with initiatives that strengthen both the traceability of renewable energy and the structure of its carbon market. This is what Jeff Huang 黄杰夫 reports from Hong Kong. AsiaREC launched its second pilot of granular certificates, with hourly tracking via EnergyTag, institutionally supported by China Southern Grid. While these certificates are not carbon credits, they can complement offsetting strategies and increase the environmental integrity of transactions. At the same time, the country has recorded record solar growth, which could allow the Chinese emissions trading system (ETS) to adopt an absolute cap as early as 2025—a decisive step toward consolidating a more effective carbon credit market. In July, 25% of electricity generation came from clean sources, reinforcing the role of renewables in the energy mix and paving the way for a more transparent and traceable low-carbon economy.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
🏆 🌱 Brazilian scientist wins World Food Prize 2025 for innovation that captures millions of tons of carbon.
Microbiologist Dr. Mariangela Hungria was recognized with the World Food Prize 2025 for developing biological inoculants that revolutionized Brazilian agriculture and contributed significantly to carbon capture. Her seed and soil treatments, based on biological nitrogen fixation, replace chemical fertilizers on a large scale, avoiding the emission of more than 180 million tons of CO₂ per year. Applied to more than 40 million hectares, these bioinputs not only increase the productivity of crops such as soybeans and corn, but also make agriculture an ally in the fight against climate change. Read more.
🚨NDC Updates: Has Your Country Submitted?
If your country's name does not appear in the list below (in chronological order), it is because it has not yet submitted a new NDC after November 6, 2024—date the first post-COP29 update was received.
United Arab Emirates (November 6, 2024), Brazil (November 13, 2024), Switzerland (November 14, 2024), United States (December 19, 2024), Botswana (December 24, 2024), Uruguay (December 30, 2024), United Kingdom (January 30, 2025), New Zealand (January 31, 2025), Lesotho (February 5, 2025), Andorra (February 5, 2025), Saint Lucia (February 6, 2025), Ecuador (February 6, 2025), Zimbabwe (February 10, 2025), Marshall Islands (Feb 10, 2025), Singapore (Feb 10, 2025), Canada (Feb 12, 2025), Japan (Feb 18, 2025), Montenegro (Feb 21, 2025), Cuba (Feb 27, 2025), Maldives (Feb 27, 2025), Zambia (Mar 10, 2025), Kenya (Apr 30, 2025), Moldova (May 6, 2025), Nepal (May 19, 2025), Belize (Jun 14, 2025), Somalia (Jun 19, 2025), Norway (Jun 26, 2025), Monaco (Jul 16, 2025), Niue (Jul 17, 2025), Cambodia (Aug 8, 2025), Solomon Islands (Aug 13, 2025).
🌐 Keeping up with these updates is essential to understanding who is truly committed to the Paris Agreement and COP30.
Below, we've provided more information.
📊 Table: Countries that have not yet updated NDCs by continent
Continent | Number of Countries without new NDC |
Africa | 50 |
Americas | 27 |
Asia | 45 |
Europe | 40 |
Oceania | 10 |
🌍 Top issuers that have not yet updated
Country | Continent | Emissions Estimate (%) |
China | Asia | ~30% |
India | Asia | ~7% |
Russia | Europe | ~5% |
Germany | Europe | ~2% |
Indonesia | Asia | ~2% |
Iran | Asia | ~2% |
South Korea | Asia | ~1.5% |
Türkiye | Asia | ~1% |
South Africa | Africa | ~1% |
Mexico | Americas | ~1% |
🛠️Working on a Warmer Planet. The Impact of Heat Stress on Productivity and Decent Work.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) report "Working on a Warmer Planet" examines the impact of heat stress on work and global productivity. It highlights that, due to global warming, up to 2% of working hours could be lost annually by 2030, either because it is too hot to work or because workers need to slow down.
According to the study, a worker performing moderate-intensity activities loses half of their work capacity when exposed to temperatures of 33°C to 34°C (91°F to 93°F).
The same report, in addition to exploring how different regions are affected, estimated that the economic impact of heat stress by 2030 could reach US$2.4 trillion if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.
Click here for the 98-page study.
OPPORTUNITIES
🌍 Fastmarkets Report – Voluntary Carbon Market (August 20, 2025). Why are REDD+ projects like South Cardamom selling below cost, while others maintain strong demand? What explains the US IFM market's shift to primary sales at high premiums? Can the LATAM Carbon Network truly diversify Latin America's supply beyond REDD+? And with COP30 approaching, will Brazil be able to drive a new phase of climate ambition? Does the boom in science-based targets in companies mark a real turning point—or just another trend? See below for an example of a report kindly provided by Fastmarkets to Carbon Credit Markets readers. And if you're interested, here's the link to Join Early Access.
🇧🇷🚜 Excellent video on the evolution of Brazilian agribusiness. Besides comparing the Mississippi River in the United States with the Araguaia River in Brazil, it noted that Brazil imported meat in the 1980s and 1990s and now exports to nearly 230 countries. "Brazil is not just the largest exporter of food. We are the largest exporter of sustainability," Antônio Cabrera, former Minister and Secretary of Agriculture of São Paulo and Agribusiness Entrepreneur, also stated on August 20, 2025, for LIDE Paraná. A must-see for anyone interested in doing.
🌊🇲🇻 “We do not know how much carbon is being absorbed by corals” commented H.E. Mohamed Nasheed, Secretary-General of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and former President of the Maldives, at a recent VCMI event. It's worth remembering when he held the world's first underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the impacts of climate change on island nations and call for urgent action to reduce global emissions. Here's a video on YouTube.
🇧🇷🚜The CAR approval requirement for rural property registration in São Paulo has been lifted. Read more in Luanda Backheuser's LinkedIn post.
EVENTS
🇦🇺📍August 28 to October 30, Carbon Derivatives Seminar. A free seminar series explores how derivatives can support companies in managing carbon emissions risks and obligations, focusing on carbon futures and their role in the climate market. A partnership between the Carbon Market Institute and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). In-person, various dates and cities across Australia. Details here.
🇪🇹📍September 1-6 #ClimateWeek2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It will include a series of preparatory events for COP 30 in Belém, such as meetings on the "Mutirão", the climate action agenda, and a mandatory dialogue on strengthening the role of local communities in the UNFCCC process. Details here.
🇪🇹📍September 8th to 10th, Africa Climate Summit (ACS2). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Discussion of various topics also in preparation for COP30. Click here to learn more and here specifically for VCMI's workshop on its Carbon Markets Access Toolkit.
🇲🇽📍September 10 and 11, Mexico Carbon Forum 2025, at the Expo Tampico Convention Center in Tamaulipas. Details of the fifth edition of the event are available here.
🖥️📍September 17, Countdown to CBAM 2026: How Businesses and Industries Are Getting Ready. OPIS experts detail the effects of CBAM on carbon trading and pricing, with guidance for maintaining competitiveness under the new rules. Join.
🏴📍September 17, Ethical Finance Global 2025: Retreat, Recalibrate, or Revitalise? In Edinburgh, Scotland. Join.
🇺🇸📍September 22, 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leaders Summit. Online or in-person in New York. More information here.
🇺🇸📍September 21-28, Climate Week NYC 2025. Learn more here on the official website.
🇧🇷📍September 26. Visit to Aquapolo Ambiental, one of the largest water reuse projects in South America. Organized by IBGC - Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance. Details 👉here.
🇧🇪📍September 29–October 3, European Hydrogen Week #EUH2Week2025. In Brussels, Belgium. Click here for the program and here to register.
🏆 If you have an interesting story about carbon credits in your country, our audience already reaches over 100 nations! Send your message directly through our LinkedIn page.
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