Global Climate News

The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (Mr. Muto) visited Kuala Lumpur (16–18 October 2025) and co-hosted the 3rd Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting with Malaysia. - **Main announcement/action:** - **Co-hosted 3rd AZEC Ministerial Meeting (16–18 Oct 2025)** in **Kuala Lumpur**, attended by **11 AZEC partner countries** and international organisations; Japanese delegation included **Minister Muto**, **Vice Minister Kobayashi**, and **Ambassador Yamada**. The meeting **adopted a joint statement** reviewing one year of AZEC achievements and reported on **transition finance** materials, progress reports, and enhanced bilateral and practitioner dialogues. - **MOUs and bilateral agreements:** METI confirmed about **50 new MOUs** on energy transition measures (bringing AZEC-related projects to **approximately 540 total**). METI signed an **MOU with the Malaysian Ministry of Economy on CCS** and an **MOU with the Philippine Department of Energy on energy cooperation**. - **Background and additional details:** - **Reports and participating organisations:** ERIA presented an AZEC progress report covering power, transport and industry; **ACE, ADB, and IEA** also reported related activities. Joint reports by **ERIA-ADB-METI** and by **IEA** on **transition finance** were released at the forum. - **Business and stakeholder engagement:** An **AZEC Business Forum** convened **300+ business leaders**, with participants including the **ASEAN Business Advisory Council, Keidanren, ACE, JBIC, TNB, PETRONAS**; topics included **regional grid interconnection**, **sustainable vehicle biofuels**, and **transition finance**. - Events (dates, time, location, agenda): - AZEC Ministerial Meeting: - Date: 16–18 October 2025 - Time: not specified - Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Agenda/subject: Ministerial reviews of AZEC progress, adoption of joint statement, transition finance, sectoral decarbonisation (power, transport, industry), presentation of progress reports and AZEC Eminent Persons recommendations. - AZEC Business Forum / 8th CEFIA Public-Private Forum: - Date: 17 October 2025 - Time: not specified - Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Agenda/subject: Business engagement on grid interconnection, sustainable biofuels for vehicles, transition finance; release of ERIA-ADB-METI and IEA transition finance reports.

A research team has published a preprint arguing Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) in Brazil can drive gigatonne-scale Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) by 2040. - **Main announcement/action:** The preprint presents ERW as a method that **accelerates natural rock weathering** by spreading rock powders in agricultural settings to **remove atmospheric CO2**, with potential co-benefits to **restore degraded soils**, **increase nutrient use efficiency**, and **reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers**; it sets a target of **Gt-scale CDR by 2040** and identifies enabling conditions including **pioneering research**, an **established community movement and representation body**, and a **'first-of-its-kind' national legal framework for feedstock production**. - **Background and implementation details:** This is a **version 1 preprint (not peer reviewed)** published on **2025-10-17** (DOI: https://doi.org/10.31223/X56J15); the paper emphasizes implementing ERW via **regional development hubs** and **feedstock valorization** to create positive feedbacks that accelerate diffusion. Conflict of interest notes that multiple authors **work for InPlanet GmbH** (a for-profit ERW operator in Brazil) and the manuscript's **data are available** at https://doi.org/10.31223/X5JJ18.

MIT Energy Initiative announces the release of the book "Carbon Removal" by Howard J. Herzog and Niall Mac Dowell, published in October by MIT Press. - **Main announcement:** The book **Carbon Removal** (published in October) by **Howard J. Herzog** (senior research engineer, MIT Energy Initiative) and **Niall Mac Dowell** (professor, Imperial College London) surveys the full range of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) pathways, including **direct air capture (DAC)** and **nature-based approaches** (trees, biomass, ocean interventions), and evaluates them across multiple metrics such as **Accounting**, **Permanence**, **Cost**, **Additionality**, and **Permitting and governance**. - **Background and details:** The volume is part of the **MIT Press Essential Knowledge** series (Herzog previously authored **Carbon Capture** in 2018); it explains the science and engineering of each pathway, highlights measurement and timing challenges (e.g., immediate measurable removal by DAC vs. decades-long sequestration by trees), and concludes that no single CDR strategy is a clear winner on all metrics but that CDR could **supplement** emissions reductions if challenges are addressed.

The Environment Agency has started construction on the Greatham Marsh Restoration Scheme, a £4m project that will restore Greatham Beck's historic alignment and re-establish marshland as part of the £30 million Tees Tidelands Programme (officially on site October 2025). - **Main action:** The Environment Agency, working with **The Greatham Foundation** and **Northumbrian Water**, has begun on-site work for a **£4m Greatham Marsh Restoration Scheme** to open channels to tidal influence, remove a redundant tidal structure, and re-establish marshland; **Northumbrian Water contributed £2million** to the project. The scheme will **create/enhance 21.3 hectares of saltmarsh and mudflat**, plant **1.5 kilometres of native hedgerow**, and is expected to increase carbon sequestration by **129 tonnes per year**. - **Background and partners:** The project is part of the **£30 million Tees Tidelands Programme** which will deliver over **50 hectares** of mudflats, saltmarsh and estuarine habitat across Teesside. Partners on the Greatham scheme include **BAM Nuttall**, **JBA Consulting**, and **Turner & Townsend**; work started during the Environment Agency's **Flood Action Week (13-19 October 2025)**. - Flood Action Week: **13-19 October 2025** — campaign to encourage communities to **get flood ready** (sign up for flood warnings, prepare flood plans).

MIT researchers (led by Professor Kripa Varanasi) have developed an electrochemical bubble-based method to detach cells from surfaces on demand, demonstrated in a lab prototype and published in Science Advances. - **Main announcement:** The team created a 3-square-inch glass prototype with a **thin gold electrode** and a **proton-selective membrane** that allows electric current to generate surface bubbles without producing bleach at the anode; the system detached **algae, ovarian-cancer, and bone cells** without harming cell viability, and the researchers developed a **model linking current density to bubble formation and cell removal** (higher current density → more bubbles → greater removal). - **Background and details:** The method targets fouling in **photobioreactors** (algae systems that otherwise may need shutdown and cleaning **as frequently as every two weeks**) and replaces enzyme or chemical detachment methods that generate **large volumes of biowaste**; prior electrical approaches produced bleach at the anode. The team envisions scale-up options (robotic electrode for cell-culture plates, coiled electrodes for algae harvesting). Work was supported in part by **Eni S.p.A via the MIT Energy Initiative**, the **Belgian American Educational Foundation Fellowship**, and the **Maria Zambrano Fellowship**.