Welcome to Carbon Insider - Carbon Unbound's weekly briefing on the deals, data, and developments shaping the global carbon removal market. Let's get into it. Have we missed anything? Get in touch here to send news for feature or publish.
Frontier strikes $12 million CDR deal with 44.01 to permanently mineralise CO2 in UAE peridotite rock
Corporate buyers’ coalition Frontier has committed $11.7 million to purchase 20,932 tonnes of carbon removal from 44.01 between 2028 and 2031 — its first-ever purchase using in-situ mineralisation technology. Biogenic CO2 captured at a wastewater treatment plant in the UAE will be dissolved in water and injected into peridotite rock, where it reacts to form stable solid carbonates. The agreement is designed to test whether the process can operate continuously at scale over several years, generating data on injection rates, water requirements, and operating costs ahead of wider commercial deployment.
CarbonFarm raises €7 million to scale AI-powered methane reduction across global rice farming
Paris-based CarbonFarm has closed an oversubscribed €7 million Series A led by Colam Impact to expand its rice decarbonisation platform across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The company uses satellite imagery, AI, and field data collection to monitor farming practices and quantify methane emissions at field level, enabling the development of high-integrity carbon credits from Alternate Wetting and Drying programmes. Rice cultivation accounts for around 12% of human-caused methane emissions and up to 28% of global freshwater use. CarbonFarm has now expanded to 19 countries.
Puro.earth certifies Europe’s first biogas BECCS project for permanent carbon removal
Puro.earth has certified the first biogas-powered bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project in Europe, marking a significant expansion of the BECCS carbon removal pathway into the biogas sector and creating a new crediting route for biogas plant operators across the continent.
South Korea unveils $747 billion green industrial plan to decarbonise heavy industry
South Korea has announced one of the largest national industrial decarbonisation investment plans ever published, targeting $747 billion to restructure the country’s heavy industry, energy, and manufacturing sectors — with carbon capture and clean hydrogen among the core technology pillars.
Microsoft cuts carbon removal purchases by 80% as AI spending reshapes climate commitments
Microsoft bought 8.55 million tonnes of carbon removal credits in the year through mid-July 2026 — around 80% less than the same period in 2025, according to BloombergNEF data — putting it on track for its first retreat from the CDR market since 2023. The pullback coincides with a 25% rise in the company’s own emissions driven by AI data centre expansion. Despite the reduction, Microsoft still accounts for 41% of all carbon removal purchased globally since 2020, and just under half of all 2026 transactions to date. Global CDR credit sales through mid-July are tracking 66% below 2025 levels as a result. Microsoft told Bloomberg the cuts reflect “disciplined approach, not a change in ambition.”
State of the Climate 2026: warming rate has accelerated sevenfold since 1970, scientists warn
A new State of the Climate report published in BioScience finds that 7 of 16 planetary vital signs are now at record extremes, including sea levels and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The rate of global warming has accelerated from roughly 0.05°C per decade between 1880 and 1970 to around 0.36°C per decade between 2010 and 2024 — a sevenfold increase — with the 2°C threshold now potentially reachable before 2050. Atmospheric CO2 exceeded 428 parts per million in May 2026, around 50% above pre-industrial levels. Fossil fuel consumption rose 0.9% in 2025, with energy-related CO2 surpassing 41 gigatons annually for the first time. The report’s conclusion is stark: cutting emissions alone is no longer sufficient, and carbon removal alongside adaptation measures are now essential responses.
UN tightens cookstove carbon credits with new forest-loss buffer reserve
The UN’s carbon crediting mechanism has introduced a forest-loss reserve requirement for cookstove carbon projects, adding a new integrity safeguard that requires projects to set aside a portion of credits to account for potential reversal risks from forest degradation — a development that will raise the quality floor for one of the VCM’s largest credit categories.
Gevo signs first multi-year CDR credit supply deal with carbon management platform CEEZER
US renewable fuels and BECCS company Gevo has signed a three-year carbon removal credit supply agreement with CEEZER, marking its first multi-year CDR offtake deal and adding another institutional buyer to a customer list that already includes Nasdaq, Delta Airlines, Monzo Bank, and the Bank of Montreal. Gevo’s North Dakota BECCS facility has now generated over 700,000 tonnes of carbon removal, making it one of the world’s largest engineered removal producers.
Cheshire East Council unanimously rejects Peak Cluster’s $6.6 billion CO2 pipeline application
Cheshire East Council voted unanimously against the Peak Cluster CO2 pipeline — a £5 billion CCS project designed to capture CO2 from cement and lime plants in the Peak District and transport it 121 miles via underground pipeline to Irish Sea storage — in a significant setback for one of the UK’s most contentious industrial carbon capture infrastructure projects. The rejection follows earlier unanimous opposition from Wirral Council and sustained community resistance across Cheshire and Derbyshire.
University of Houston achieves 90% carbon capture efficiency designed for AI data centre emissions
Researchers at the University of Houston have demonstrated a carbon capture system achieving 90% efficiency in conditions modelled on the exhaust streams of AI data centre power generation — addressing one of the fastest-growing emissions challenges in the technology sector and opening a potential new application for post-combustion CCS alongside conventional industrial deployment.
remove CDR accelerator announces 20 new startups across biochar, DAC, BECCS, and blue carbon
CDR accelerator remove has revealed the next 20 early-stage startups joining its programme, drawn from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Kenya, and Ireland. Sixteen of the cohort are deploying novel approaches, with biochar the most represented pathway followed by DAC and BECCS. Highlights include Octavia Carbon (Kenya, BECCS), Arrhenius (Switzerland, DACCS), Captur Tower (Spain, DAC), and Blusink (UK, blue carbon management).
BURN unlocks 5.2 million CORSIA-eligible carbon credits in Nigeria from advanced cookstove programme
BURN Manufacturing has unlocked 5.2 million CORSIA-eligible carbon credits from its advanced cookstove programme in Nigeria — one of the largest single batches of aviation-compliant credits to emerge from sub-Saharan Africa — positioning the project as a major supplier for airlines facing CORSIA obligations ahead of the scheme’s mandatory phase from 2027.
Colorado becomes third US state to win EPA Class VI primacy for underground CO2 storage wells
Colorado has received Class VI Underground Injection Control primacy from the US Environmental Protection Agency, giving the state authority to permit and regulate its own underground carbon storage wells, a critical step that shortens permitting timelines for CCS projects and positions Colorado as a major US carbon storage jurisdiction alongside Wyoming and Louisiana.
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BeZero Carbon partners with Korea Exchange to establish voluntary carbon market ratings infrastructure in South Korea
Carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon has signed a partnership with Korea Exchange (KRX) — operator of South Korea’s financial markets — to support the development of a high-integrity voluntary carbon market framework in Korea, combining BeZero’s project rating capability with KRX’s exchange infrastructure as the country prepares for expanded carbon market activity.
Capture6 officially launches Project Tortuga in Western Australia, producing freshwater and carbon removal from brine
Capture6 has begun operations at Project Tortuga in Western Australia, deploying its technology that combines direct air capture with brine processing to simultaneously remove atmospheric CO2 and produce freshwater from saline water sources — targeting a dual commercial product model that reduces the effective cost of carbon removal while addressing regional water scarcity.
CarbiCrete issues first carbon removal tonnes from CO2-negative concrete, locking CO2 into building materials
Montreal-based CarbiCrete has issued its first verified carbon removal tonnes generated through its CO2-negative concrete process, which cures cement-free concrete using captured CO2 in place of water — permanently locking carbon into construction materials at industrial scale. The milestone marks the first issuance of carbon removal credits from the building materials sector via this approach.
Groundwork BioAg receives BeZero BBB carbon rating for mycorrhizal soil carbon programme
Groundwork BioAg has secured a BBB rating from BeZero Carbon for its Rootella Carbon programme, which applies mycorrhizal fungi to agricultural soils to increase carbon sequestration. The rating is the first BeZero has issued for a mycorrhizal-based carbon removal methodology, providing institutional buyers with an independent quality signal for an emerging soil carbon pathway.
Welcome to Carbon Insider - Carbon Unbound's weekly briefing on the deals, data, and developments shaping the global carbon removal market. Let's get into it. Have we missed anything? Get in touch here to send news for feature or publish.
Frontier strikes $12 million CDR deal with 44.01 to permanently mineralise CO2 in UAE peridotite rock
Corporate buyers’ coalition Frontier has committed $11.7 million to purchase 20,932 tonnes of carbon removal from 44.01 between 2028 and 2031 — its first-ever purchase using in-situ mineralisation technology. Biogenic CO2 captured at a wastewater treatment plant in the UAE will be dissolved in water and injected into peridotite rock, where it reacts to form stable solid carbonates. The agreement is designed to test whether the process can operate continuously at scale over several years, generating data on injection rates, water requirements, and operating costs ahead of wider commercial deployment.
CarbonFarm raises €7 million to scale AI-powered methane reduction across global rice farming
Paris-based CarbonFarm has closed an oversubscribed €7 million Series A led by Colam Impact to expand its rice decarbonisation platform across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. The company uses satellite imagery, AI, and field data collection to monitor farming practices and quantify methane emissions at field level, enabling the development of high-integrity carbon credits from Alternate Wetting and Drying programmes. Rice cultivation accounts for around 12% of human-caused methane emissions and up to 28% of global freshwater use. CarbonFarm has now expanded to 19 countries.
Puro.earth certifies Europe’s first biogas BECCS project for permanent carbon removal
Puro.earth has certified the first biogas-powered bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project in Europe, marking a significant expansion of the BECCS carbon removal pathway into the biogas sector and creating a new crediting route for biogas plant operators across the continent.
South Korea unveils $747 billion green industrial plan to decarbonise heavy industry
South Korea has announced one of the largest national industrial decarbonisation investment plans ever published, targeting $747 billion to restructure the country’s heavy industry, energy, and manufacturing sectors — with carbon capture and clean hydrogen among the core technology pillars.
Microsoft cuts carbon removal purchases by 80% as AI spending reshapes climate commitments
Microsoft bought 8.55 million tonnes of carbon removal credits in the year through mid-July 2026 — around 80% less than the same period in 2025, according to BloombergNEF data — putting it on track for its first retreat from the CDR market since 2023. The pullback coincides with a 25% rise in the company’s own emissions driven by AI data centre expansion. Despite the reduction, Microsoft still accounts for 41% of all carbon removal purchased globally since 2020, and just under half of all 2026 transactions to date. Global CDR credit sales through mid-July are tracking 66% below 2025 levels as a result. Microsoft told Bloomberg the cuts reflect “disciplined approach, not a change in ambition.”
State of the Climate 2026: warming rate has accelerated sevenfold since 1970, scientists warn
A new State of the Climate report published in BioScience finds that 7 of 16 planetary vital signs are now at record extremes, including sea levels and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The rate of global warming has accelerated from roughly 0.05°C per decade between 1880 and 1970 to around 0.36°C per decade between 2010 and 2024 — a sevenfold increase — with the 2°C threshold now potentially reachable before 2050. Atmospheric CO2 exceeded 428 parts per million in May 2026, around 50% above pre-industrial levels. Fossil fuel consumption rose 0.9% in 2025, with energy-related CO2 surpassing 41 gigatons annually for the first time. The report’s conclusion is stark: cutting emissions alone is no longer sufficient, and carbon removal alongside adaptation measures are now essential responses.
UN tightens cookstove carbon credits with new forest-loss buffer reserve
The UN’s carbon crediting mechanism has introduced a forest-loss reserve requirement for cookstove carbon projects, adding a new integrity safeguard that requires projects to set aside a portion of credits to account for potential reversal risks from forest degradation — a development that will raise the quality floor for one of the VCM’s largest credit categories.
Gevo signs first multi-year CDR credit supply deal with carbon management platform CEEZER
US renewable fuels and BECCS company Gevo has signed a three-year carbon removal credit supply agreement with CEEZER, marking its first multi-year CDR offtake deal and adding another institutional buyer to a customer list that already includes Nasdaq, Delta Airlines, Monzo Bank, and the Bank of Montreal. Gevo’s North Dakota BECCS facility has now generated over 700,000 tonnes of carbon removal, making it one of the world’s largest engineered removal producers.
Cheshire East Council unanimously rejects Peak Cluster’s $6.6 billion CO2 pipeline application
Cheshire East Council voted unanimously against the Peak Cluster CO2 pipeline — a £5 billion CCS project designed to capture CO2 from cement and lime plants in the Peak District and transport it 121 miles via underground pipeline to Irish Sea storage — in a significant setback for one of the UK’s most contentious industrial carbon capture infrastructure projects. The rejection follows earlier unanimous opposition from Wirral Council and sustained community resistance across Cheshire and Derbyshire.
University of Houston achieves 90% carbon capture efficiency designed for AI data centre emissions
Researchers at the University of Houston have demonstrated a carbon capture system achieving 90% efficiency in conditions modelled on the exhaust streams of AI data centre power generation — addressing one of the fastest-growing emissions challenges in the technology sector and opening a potential new application for post-combustion CCS alongside conventional industrial deployment.
remove CDR accelerator announces 20 new startups across biochar, DAC, BECCS, and blue carbon
CDR accelerator remove has revealed the next 20 early-stage startups joining its programme, drawn from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Kenya, and Ireland. Sixteen of the cohort are deploying novel approaches, with biochar the most represented pathway followed by DAC and BECCS. Highlights include Octavia Carbon (Kenya, BECCS), Arrhenius (Switzerland, DACCS), Captur Tower (Spain, DAC), and Blusink (UK, blue carbon management).
BURN unlocks 5.2 million CORSIA-eligible carbon credits in Nigeria from advanced cookstove programme
BURN Manufacturing has unlocked 5.2 million CORSIA-eligible carbon credits from its advanced cookstove programme in Nigeria — one of the largest single batches of aviation-compliant credits to emerge from sub-Saharan Africa — positioning the project as a major supplier for airlines facing CORSIA obligations ahead of the scheme’s mandatory phase from 2027.
Colorado becomes third US state to win EPA Class VI primacy for underground CO2 storage wells
Colorado has received Class VI Underground Injection Control primacy from the US Environmental Protection Agency, giving the state authority to permit and regulate its own underground carbon storage wells, a critical step that shortens permitting timelines for CCS projects and positions Colorado as a major US carbon storage jurisdiction alongside Wyoming and Louisiana.
BeZero Carbon partners with Korea Exchange to establish voluntary carbon market ratings infrastructure in South Korea
Carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon has signed a partnership with Korea Exchange (KRX) — operator of South Korea’s financial markets — to support the development of a high-integrity voluntary carbon market framework in Korea, combining BeZero’s project rating capability with KRX’s exchange infrastructure as the country prepares for expanded carbon market activity.
Capture6 officially launches Project Tortuga in Western Australia, producing freshwater and carbon removal from brine
Capture6 has begun operations at Project Tortuga in Western Australia, deploying its technology that combines direct air capture with brine processing to simultaneously remove atmospheric CO2 and produce freshwater from saline water sources — targeting a dual commercial product model that reduces the effective cost of carbon removal while addressing regional water scarcity.
CarbiCrete issues first carbon removal tonnes from CO2-negative concrete, locking CO2 into building materials
Montreal-based CarbiCrete has issued its first verified carbon removal tonnes generated through its CO2-negative concrete process, which cures cement-free concrete using captured CO2 in place of water — permanently locking carbon into construction materials at industrial scale. The milestone marks the first issuance of carbon removal credits from the building materials sector via this approach.
Groundwork BioAg receives BeZero BBB carbon rating for mycorrhizal soil carbon programme
Groundwork BioAg has secured a BBB rating from BeZero Carbon for its Rootella Carbon programme, which applies mycorrhizal fungi to agricultural soils to increase carbon sequestration. The rating is the first BeZero has issued for a mycorrhizal-based carbon removal methodology, providing institutional buyers with an independent quality signal for an emerging soil carbon pathway.
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