Climate Week NYC: Barclays' First CDR Deal, Brazil's Carbon Club & Verra Acts on Kariba

---

Major Carbon Credit Deals and Transactions

• Barclays’ First Carbon Removal Offtake: British banking giant Barclays inked its first major carbon dioxide removal (CDR) purchase agreement this week. The “landmark” deal with UK-based climate-tech firm UNDO will see [6,538 tonnes of CO₂ removed via enhanced rock weathering in Canada]. This five-year offtake marks Barclays’ entry into funding nature-based CDR projects, using crushed minerals to permanently sequester CO₂. The transaction is notable for targeting high-integrity removals over traditional offsets.
• Corporate Buyers Back Removals: London-based payments company Wise [expanded its carbon removal partnership with Opna, committing an additional $1.3 million] to high-quality removals. Meanwhile, [Anglo American partnered with MRV platform Isometric and tech provider ZeroEx to develop enhanced rock weathering projects in Brazil] using mining by-products, with first trials aiming to prove commercial-scale ERW removals.

Corporate and Project-Level Developments

• Innovation in Blue Carbon: A [new “Blue Carbon” innovation platform launched during Climate Week NYC] by WWF Singapore and an international aquaculture accelerator invites proposals to scale high-quality coastal ecosystem credits across Asia.
• Renoster’s Pivot to Premium Credits: Renoster announced a pivot from ratings to development, targeting high-quality removals (reforestation and engineered CDR) with [expected pricing at $55–$80/t]—banking on demand for verified, high-integrity credits.
• Microsoft Invests in Low-Carbon Cement: [Microsoft invested in Fortera], gaining equity and future environmental attribute credits, plus an observer board seat and purchase rights—aimed at offsetting Scope 3 via cleaner materials.
• New Funding for Carbon Projects: Non-profit offset retailer Cool Effect [launched a $1 million Catalyst Award] to accelerate early-stage projects and help reach verification and issuance.

Regulatory and Policy Updates

• Indonesia Aligns with Global Standards: Indonesia is [finalizing a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with Verra and a Presidential Decree on the economic value of carbon] before COP30 to align domestic credits with international rules.
• Brazil’s CO₂ Price Floor Proposal: Brazil [proposed an international “carbon club” with a common CO₂ price floor by COP30] and [launched a pilot national carbon credit registry at B3 with ACX].
• Climate Week Policy Signals: A [federal GAO study] kept debate alive over potential US VCM regulation; officials reiterated support for high-integrity voluntary markets; [EU officials stressed CBAM remains on schedule].

Note: CFTC’s withdrawal of 2024 guidance on carbon credit derivatives surfaced just prior to this week and is not covered in depth here due to timing.

Market Trends and Price Insights

• Spot Market Slump and Offtake Shift: Spot volumes remain weak and generic credit prices soft; buyers increasingly prefer direct offtakes for quality and supply assurance—fragmentation between weak legacy credits and rising pre-purchase for premium credits [linked to data/transparency issues].
• State of the Market Report: Ecosystem Marketplace’s 2025 report shows [2024 transactions down ~25% YoY while average prices fell ~5.5%]—signaling steady demand for transacting credits and a flight to quality.
• Premium for Removals: Removal credits remain ~5% of volume but [command ~381% price premium over reductions] on average.
• Steady Retirements: Companies [continue retiring credits at steady rates] despite a down market.
• Liquidity and Outlook: Liquidity is [still declining in 2025 but less sharply than 2023–24]; the market appears to be bottoming and maturing toward quality and transparency.
• Voluntary Prices and Indexes: Generic VCUs near multi-year lows (nature-based avoidance mid-single digits); high-end removals fetch $20–$50+; [engineered removals futures exceed $100/t]—consistent with Renoster’s premium expectations. Exchanges (CBL, ACX) saw light volumes; ACMI Carbon Index around $2–$3/t; Carbon Removal Reference Price ticked up modestly.
• Exchange Activity: No new records on major platforms; [Xpansiv CBL and ACX saw light volumes; ACMI Carbon Index hovered around $2–$3/t] for standard nature-based credits; Carbon Removal Reference Price ticked upward modestly—reinforcing a two-speed market.

Industry Commentary and Initiatives

• Integrity and Transparency Initiatives: A coalition [launched the Carbon Data Open Protocol (CDOP) v1.0] to standardize carbon credit data reporting—aimed at improving trust and comparability, complementing ICVCM/VCMI frameworks.
• Thought Leadership Published: Environmental Finance [announced the 2025 VCM Rankings] and [asked whether the VCM is “ready to grow up”]. Former VCMI ED Mark Kenber [argued the VCM can still unlock billions] if integrity improves and guidance clarifies corporate use of credits.
• Projects and Platforms in the Spotlight: Verra [confirmed ~15.2M over-issued credits at the Kariba REDD+ project] and moved to cancel/invalidate excess—[removing 10.08M unissued credits and canceling 5.05M buffer pool credits], while seeking voluntary cancellation of ~4.9M active credits. Verra also [digitized a rice methodology] to streamline registration.
• Market Sentiment: By week’s end, participants noted cautious optimism—acknowledging oversupply of low-quality credits, skepticism, and policy uncertainty—while focusing on solutions: quality, transparency, innovation, and regulator collaboration; many expect a smaller but healthier market that can scale to meet finance and mitigation gaps as integrity reforms take hold (synthesized from sources above).

---

This newsletter synthesizes the week's most critical developments for carbon project developers.