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

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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).

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