Global Climate News

President Ilham Aliyev delivered a speech at the 80th UN General Assembly announcing the completion of a bilateral peace process with Armenia and highlighting Azerbaijan’s role at COP29 and climate finance outcomes. - **Main announcement/action:** President Ilham Aliyev announced the **initialing and signing of a peace agreement** process: negotiations ran from **October 2022 to summer 2025**, the peace agreement text was **initialed on 8 August 2025 in Washington** and a **Joint Declaration** was signed the same day with **President Donald Trump** as a witness; Azerbaijan and Armenia jointly requested the **permanent closure of the OSCE Minsk Group**, and the **OSCE adopted the decision to close those structures on 1 September 2025**. The Washington summit also produced the **"Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP)"** to ensure transit through the **Zangazur corridor**, and Azerbaijan and the US signed a **Memorandum of Understanding** to establish a **Strategic Working Group** to develop a Charter on strategic partnership. - **Background and other details:** **COP29 (hosted by Azerbaijan in 2024)** delivered climate finance outcomes including adoption of the **New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG / Baku Finance Goal)** to increase the previous **100 billion USD** target to **at least 300 billion USD per year through 2035** from public sources in developed countries to developing countries; Azerbaijan stated it **supplies natural gas to 14 countries**, aims for **almost 40% renewables by 2030**, reported **>400** civilian and military casualties from landmines since November 2020, **nearly 4,000** missing persons from the 1990s conflict, **foreign debt 6.5% of GDP** and foreign reserves **~16 times** foreign debt, and cited recent rating upgrades by **Moody’s and Fitch**.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced that more than 11.5 million California households will automatically receive refunds on their October electric bills through the California Climate Credit, and that refunds are expected to increase next year after legislation allocating up to $60 billion to the electric Climate Credit through 2045. - **Main announcement:** More than **11.5 million households** will automatically receive an average **$61** electric bill credit in October; the state will provide **payments exceeding $700 million** for residential electric customers and **$60 million** for qualifying small business customers in October. The Governor signed legislation that anticipates **up to $60 billion** directed to the electric Climate Credit through **2045**. - **Background and program details:** The California Climate Credit is funded by the **Cap-and-Invest Program** administered by the **California Air Resources Board**; since 2014 the program has delivered **$14.6 billion** in bill refunds and has funded **$33 billion in climate investments** (including housing, high-speed rail, and zero-emission transportation). For 2025 the state will provide **$2.4 billion** in residential credits this year: **$1.4 billion** electric, **$1 billion** natural gas, plus **$122 million** for small businesses. Refund amounts range **$35 to $259** (most households between **$56 to $81**); combined April and October credits average **$198** per household this year.

The World Bank has approved and is financing the second phase of the Transforming Landscapes for Resilience and Development project (TRALARD II) in Zambia. - **Main action:** The World Bank approved **TRALARD II** with **$137 million** in investments to improve sustainable management of over **680,000 hectares** and enhance livelihood resilience for over **650,000 people** in Zambia’s Miombo ecoregion; financing includes an **IDA grant of $100 million** plus grants of **$3M (GEF)**, **$7M (LDCF)**, **$10M (ACP/NDF)**, **$10M (SCF/CIF)**, and **$7M (SCALE)**. - **Program details & implementation focus:** TRALARD II will support **climate-smart agriculture**, **landscape restoration**, **hydromet modernization**, strengthening of **Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD)** capacities, establishment/support of **Community Forest Management Groups (CFMGs)**, participatory land-use and water planning, and will develop a **jurisdictional Emission Reduction Program** to strengthen Zambia’s capacity to participate in carbon markets.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced an expanded partnership between California and Brazil to scale cooperation on climate, clean energy, pollution reduction, and related policy ahead of COP30. - **Main announcement:** The State of California signed a **Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)** with Brazil during Climate Week to pursue joint work on **market-based carbon pricing**, **high-quality carbon offsets**, **clean transportation** (including low-carbon fuels and expansion of zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure), **conservation of 30% of lands and oceans by 2030**, and **strengthening air quality management**; the MOU text is available (see document URLs) and the collaboration is timed ahead of **UN COP30 in November 2025**. - **Background and details:** The partnership builds on a February 2025 MOU with **21 Brazilian state governors (Consórcio Brasil Verde)** and ongoing cooperation through the **Governors’ Climate and Forests (GCF) Task Force** and **Subnational Methane Action Coalition (SMAC)**; cited metrics include **California GHGs down 20% since 2000**, **GDP +78% since 2000**, **~15,000 MW battery storage**, and **two-thirds clean energy in 2023**.

The European Commission will publish the available surrender and compliance data 2024 by 6 October 2025. - **Main announcement:** The **European Commission** (referred to as *The Commission*) will **publish the available surrender and compliance data 2024** **on October 6, 2025, at the latest**; the notice was posted on **23 September 2025**. - **Background / source details:** Publication is issued by the **Directorate-General for Climate Action** (DG CLIMA); original notice author and link provided (**Directorate-General for Climate Action** — https://commission.europa.eu/about/departments-and-executive-agencies/climate-action_en).

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Guangzhou Emissions Exchange (CEEX), Shenzhen Green Exchange (SGE) and Maco International Carbon Emission Exchange (MEX) to cooperate in accelerating carbon markets and the green finance ecosystem across the Greater Bay Area. - **MOU signed among HKEX, CEEX, SGE, MEX:** the four exchanges will **explore new opportunities in carbon markets and green finance**, **facilitate the exchange of expertise**, and **foster deeper dialogue** to support a regional green finance ecosystem across **Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area**. Kicking off the partnership, the four exchanges **jointly hosted a seminar** at the annual **China Carbon Market Conference** in Shanghai. - **Implementation and background details:** the exchanges agreed to **work closely** to identify market opportunities, **enhance the connection between mandatory and voluntary carbon markets**, and support market participants; quoted official **Paul Chow, HKEX Group Chief Sustainability Officer**, emphasised unlocking opportunities and building a regional marketplace. Event details: - Date: "today (Tuesday)" (as stated in the release) - Location: Shanghai - Agenda/subject: driving the **innovative development of carbon markets in the Greater Bay Area**

McKinsey has published an analysis highlighting the role and potential of ocean carbon dioxide removal (ocean CDR) and calls for urgent, coordinated R&D, regulatory, philanthropic, and industry action to build a foundational ocean CDR ecosystem over the next decade. - **Main announcement and findings:** The report outlines **five major ocean CDR approaches** (coastal ecosystem restoration; direct ocean capture (DOC); ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE); algae cultivation and harvesting; open-ocean microalgae fertilization), estimates the ocean could support **more than ten gigatons** of annual CO2 removals, and notes **pilot DOC costs of $900 to $3,000 per ton**. It highlights **high efficiency** and **high scaling potential** but warns of scientific uncertainty and ecological risks that require R&D and robust methodologies. - **Background, evidence, and specific details:** Authors include **Emma Parry, Mark Patel, Gualtiero Jaeger, Jonathan Scott, and Shruti Badri** (McKinsey offices: London, Bay Area, Nairobi). The report cites bodies such as the **IPCC**, **London Convention and London Protocol** (which flagged possible "deleterious effects that are widespread, long-lasting, or severe" for some approaches), and research collaborators including **CarbonPlan** and **[C]Worthy**. It calls for **shared research results, regulatory frameworks, Indigenous and community engagement, and stakeholder funding** to derisk and scale ocean CDR within the next decade.