Daily Digest for

Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at NUS and Enterprise Singapore launch a Sustainable Protein Startup Competition (applications 1 Aug–8 Sep 2025) to pick three winners that will receive up to $175,000 each plus up to $925,000 in-kind support, as part of a US$3 million, five-year grant program; final pitches in Nov 2025.

Copernicus (EU Space Programme) provides Sentinel satellite data and services (CLMS/LCFM, C3S, CAMS, CEMS, Galileo/EGNOS) to monitor and manage forests; the 100 m global land cover product will be succeeded by a 10 m LCFM product in late 2025 with annual updates begun June 2025 and monthly updates planned from 2026.

Mars announces the five-year “Protect the Peanut Plan” with a $5 million investment to fund genomic and agriscience research with partners including the University of Georgia, HudsonAlpha, USDA ARS, INTA, IAC and EMBRAPA to develop drought- and disease-resistant peanut varieties.

CEPR Discussion Paper (Berg et al., 2025) using World Bank Enterprise Survey data for 160,000 firms in 134 countries finds SMEs in low- and lower-middle income countries suffer a 12% revenue decline when temperatures are 0.5°C above historical averages, only one-third adopt adaptation measures, and limited financing and burdensome regulation constrain adaptation.

Humify GmbH, a start-up based in Potsdam, Germany, has developed a hydrothermal process to produce artificial humic substances from organic waste that can reactivate soil as a carbon sink and improve soil fertility.

• The process produces superhumus enriched with microbacteria in weeks, accelerating soil renaturation that would naturally take thousands of years; one tonne per hectare can bind up to 50 tonnes of carbon in the first year.
• Humify plans to build a pilot plant with 3,000 tonnes annual output and aims for cost-effective, scalable production with optimized heat management; the business model integrates circular economy principles by processing biomass residues from biogas plants into humus for agricultural use.

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) Carbon Markets Initiative (CMI) has published a detailed technical explainer on carbon credits for improved rice cultivation.

• The explainer analyzes the invalidation of nearly all rice methane avoidance credits in 2024 due to additionality concerns, and highlights the release of updated, more rigorous methodologies by Verra (2025), Gold Standard (2023), and Climate Action Reserve (2013, 2023). It details the primary and secondary rice cultivation practices eligible for crediting, quality risks (notably baseline setting, additionality, and MRV), and mitigation measures including use of site-specific methane emissions factors and digital MRV technologies.
• The report emphasizes the potential for improved rice cultivation projects to generate high-quality methane reduction credits, contributing to climate mitigation, water savings, and rural development, especially in Asia where over 90% of rice is grown by smallholder farmers. It also notes the invalidation of 4.5 million credits from 37 projects by Verra in 2024 and the transition to updated methodologies with currently limited credit issuance.

ECB working paper finds temperature extremes reduce firm-level productivity and, after aggregating with input frictions, estimate Italy’s aggregate productivity losses of ~1.68% under 2°C warming (6.82% under 4°C), with indirect allocative-efficiency effects accounting for ~50% of the total.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Vestas and Nippon Steel to collaborate on supplying steel for wind turbine towers targeting European, Asian, and Japanese markets.

• Vestas and Nippon Steel signed an MoU to strengthen supply chains and facilitate domestic and international wind power projects, focusing on steel supply from Nippon Steel’s East Japan and Kyushu plants.
• METI and Vestas established a public-private cooperation framework to promote stable wind power introduction, investment in domestic wind turbine manufacturing, and address challenges such as Japanese companies’ participation in Vestas’ supply chain and investment in key wind turbine components in Japan.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan have designated two new offshore areas, Hokkaido Matsumae and Hokkaido Hiyama, as promotion zones under the Act on Promotion of Utilization of Sea Areas for Marine Renewable Energy Power Generation Facilities.

• The designation followed public inspection, consultations with related administrative agencies, and opinion hearings with prefectural governors and councils, confirming compliance with legal standards.
• Future steps include formulating public recruitment guidelines under Article 13 of the Act to select operators for marine renewable energy power projects within these promotion zones.

The New Zealand Government, led by Resources Minister Shane Jones, has launched a draft strategy titled ‘From the Ground Up’ to double geothermal energy production by 2040.

• The strategy aims to position New Zealand as a global leader in sustainable geothermal development, focusing on electricity generation, direct heat applications, innovation, resilience, and economic growth, including strengthening the Māori economy and regional development.
• Key proposed actions include improving access to geothermal data, updating regulatory frameworks, advancing geothermal technology uptake, and investing in supercritical geothermal technology; public consultation is open until 12 September 2025.