Verra Approves First Credits Under Food Loss and Waste Methodology

**Methodology & Registry Developments.** Verra has approved the first tranche of carbon credits under its new Food Loss and Waste methodology, opening a fresh credit type within the VCS programme ([Verra](https://verra.org/verra-approves-first-credits-under-food-loss-and-waste-methodology/)). This broadens the tradeable credit palette beyond traditional nature-based solutions and cookstove categories, and could attract corporate buyers seeking diversification from REDD+ and ARR credits at a time when credit-type spreads remain a key portfolio consideration. The registry also opened a new batch of projects for public comment ([Verra](https://verra.org/projects-open-for-public-comment-october-5-2026/)), signalling a steady pipeline of VCS supply. **Article 6 & Compliance Policy Signals.** Chile's Ministry of the Environment has formally recognised the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) as eligible for carbon-tax compliance, marking a significant Article 6 demand-side milestone that could channel PACM-labelled credits into a sovereign compliance market ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/557959/)). Meanwhile, a new scientific report cautioned that Article 6 carbon markets must incorporate robust integrity safeguards and should not serve as a vehicle to delay domestic fossil fuel phaseouts ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/557996/)). The findings reinforce the IC-VCM narrative that high-integrity standards are essential if transferred mitigation outcomes are to be credible under the Paris framework. **Removals & CDR Watch.** Research published this week argues that ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) should be deployed as a flexible, site-specific coastal CO₂ management tool rather than a uniform geoengineering strategy ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558042/)). For VCM participants evaluating removal credit pipelines—particularly buyers with a preference for engineered or ocean-based CDR—this nuance suggests that methodology development and MRV protocols for OAE will need to accommodate significant regional variability, potentially complicating standardisation under registries. **Compliance & Litigation Risk.** Australia's High Court ruled that a New South Wales coal mine expansion approval was invalid because it failed to consider the project's climate impacts, establishing a landmark judicial precedent ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558016/)). In the US, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments on whether state-level tort claims can hold oil and gas companies liable for climate damages ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558000/)). Both cases raise the litigation risk premium for fossil-fuel-exposed corporates, indirectly supporting demand for offset and transition instruments. **Broader Market Context.** A pan-European survey found that nearly two-thirds of citizens prioritise cost of living over faster energy transition ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/557759/)), a sentiment that could temper regulatory ambition and, by extension, voluntary demand from consumer-facing brands. In New Zealand, forestry area in the ETS remained flat month-on-month even as new forest applications edged higher ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/557963/)), and a biodiversity risk study linked higher ecological exposure to increased corporate debt costs ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/557971/)), underscoring the growing intersection of nature risk and financial markets. An Australian seaweed feed-additive firm meanwhile signed a distribution deal targeting large-scale methane inhibition in cattle ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/557989/)), potentially generating future agricultural emission-reduction credits for the voluntary market.