African nations warned against relying on carbon removal markets for development

## OzelCarbonOS VCM Intelligence Brief **Removals & the Global South:** A new report cautions that African nations should engage selectively with carbon dioxide removal (CDR) markets rather than treat them as a broad-based development strategy, noting the market remains "fragile and largely shaped elsewhere" ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558941/)). The finding has direct implications for VCM buyers seeking high-integrity removal credits from the continent — supply may remain constrained and project pipelines uncertain. Separately, El Niño–level heat may become an annual norm for tropical forests before 2100, raising permanence concerns for nature-based credits including REDD+ and ARR in equatorial belts ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558921/)). **Registry & Methodology Developments:** Verra announced the approval of its first credits under the new Food Loss and Waste methodology, opening a novel credit type that could diversify supply away from traditional forestry and cookstove categories ([Verra](https://verra.org/verra-approves-first-credits-under-food-loss-and-waste-methodology/)). This milestone signals Verra's ongoing push to broaden its portfolio amid continued scrutiny of legacy REDD+ methodologies. In Australia, the Nature Repair Market saw its fourth project registered, as an investment fund expanded its footprint under the government-backed scheme ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558990/)). **Policy & Regulation — Americas:** Bolivia is poised to approve carbon market and climate finance legislation within two to three weeks, which would for the first time create a formal regulatory framework for carbon credit activities in the country ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558953/)). In the US, the SEC issued a fresh warning to asset managers against aligning with climate-activist organisations, signaling continued regulatory headwinds for ESG-driven VCM demand from American institutional buyers ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558942/)). Buyer caution in the US voluntary space may intensify as a result. **Compliance Markets — Asia-Pacific:** Vietnam's draft ETS decree proposes auctioning 5% of allocated allowances in 2029–30 and includes market stabilisation mechanisms ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/559032/)), while Japan has put forward trigger criteria for stabilisation measures under its GX-ETS ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/559000/)). Both developments could shape future VCM-compliance linkages under Article 6. Australia's mining lobby is pushing back against tightening the Safeguard Mechanism, arguing the current design is sufficient ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/559017/)); any relaxation would reduce demand for ACCUs and linked offset products. **Compliance Markets — North America & EU:** California CCA benchmark futures edged toward $33, with Washington WCA futures also firming and the spread between the two tightening — a signal of growing investor confidence in long-dated allowance value ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/558842/)). In Europe, NGO Fern called on the EU to end the zero-rating of biomass emissions under the ETS, arguing current incentives are "adding to the problem" ([Carbon Pulse](https://carbon-pulse.com/556825/)).