India opens farm imports in ‘calibrated manner’ under India-US trade deal

Farmer organisations expressed concern over India-US trade agreement’s potential impact on prices of maize, jowar, soybean and other crops used for animal feed and fodder

Farmer groups have argued that reduced tariffs on imports of soybean oil could further depress domestic soybean prices. Since last year, soybean farmers — especially in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Rajasthan — have been facing a prolonged price crisis, DTE reported.

“The all-India weighted average market price of soybean in October 2025 stood at Rs 3,942, nearly 26% below the MSP of ₹5,328. Similarly, maize prices in October and November 2025 averaged ₹1,821, about 24% lower than the MSP of ₹2,400. Despite the Government of India’s assurances on soybean procurement, the actual procurement has been abysmal, pushing farmers into heavy losses. The India-US trade deal will worsen the situation. We question how the government plans to uphold its commitment to Minimum Support Price for Indian farmers,” said the Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA-Kisan Swaraj) according to the DTE report. 

Businesses both depend on, and harm, nature: IPBES report

The “undervaluing” of nature by business companies is fuelling its decline and putting the global economy at risk, according to a major new report. The world spends $33 on destroying nature for every $1 spent saving it, says the new global assessment 

CarbonCopy reported the findings that said that large subsidies that drive losses of biodiversity are directed to business activities with the support of lobbying by businesses and trade associations. In 2023, global public and private finance flows with directly negative impacts on nature were estimated at $7.3 trillion, of which private finance accounted for $4.9 trillion, with public spending on environmentally harmful subsidies of about $2.4 trillion.

In contrast to this, $220 billion in public and private finance flows were directed in 2023 to activities contributing to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, representing just 3% of the public funds and incentives that encourage harmful business behaviour or prevent behaviour beneficial to biodiversity. 

Carbon Brief reported that the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) outlined over 100 actions for measuring and reducing impacts on nature across business, government, financial institutions and civil society. 

A co-chair of the assessment says that nature loss is one of the most “serious threats” to businesses, but the “twisted reality is that it often seems more profitable to businesses to degrade biodiversity than to protect it”. 

The “business and biodiversity” report said global “finance flows” of more than $7tn (£5.1tn) had “direct negative impacts on nature” in 2023. Written by 79 experts from around the world over the course of three years, this is the “first report of its kind” to provide guidance on how businesses can contribute to 2030 nature goals, says IPBES executive secretary Dr Luthando Dziba in a statement. 

The report said these businesses do not address their impacts and dependencies on nature, “in part due to their lack of awareness”. They also often do not have the data or knowledge to “quantify their impacts on dependencies on biodiversity and much of the relevant scientific literature is not written for a business audience”, the report claims. “Lack of transparency across value chains, including of the risks and opportunities related to the sustainability of resource extraction, use, reuse and waste management, is a further barrier to action.” 

India’s agroforestry starved of finance despite ambitious 50 million ha target by 2050

The sector of agroforestry (integration of trees with crops and livestock) in India is facing difficulty accessing finance, experts gathered for the first South Asian Agroforestry & Trees Outside Forests (AF-TOF) Congress, noted. Of the nearly Rs 20 lakh crore in institutional agricultural credit available annually, less than 5% is directed towards agroforestry, largely due to tenure complexities, collateral limitations, and long gestation periods that can range from five to 30 years, DTE reported. 

Experts said limited awareness among farmers about India’s National Agroforestry Policy 2014, particularly regarding harvesting rights and regulatory clearances — continued to restrict wider adoption and income generation, the outlet reported. 

India has nearly 28 million hectares of land under agroforestry and aims to expand to 50 million hectares by 2050.

Despite India’s tree systems holding nearly 20% of national carbon stocks, the country continues to import over $7 billion worth of wood annually, exposing a major missed opportunity for farmers and the green economy, Manoj Dabas of Centre for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) said to DTE.

China’s emissions fell last year in first decline since 2022

A new analysis published by Carbon Brief and reported by BBC showed that China’s CO2 emissions fell in 2025, the first full year to show such a decline. The analysis suggested the reduction is modest – just 0.3%, but campaigners said it raises hopes that emissions from the world’s biggest polluter might be peaking ahead of schedule.” Agence France-Presse reported  that in 2025 emissions fell in almost all major sectors, including power generation as China’s massive renewable expansion meets growing demand, according to the analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for climate website Carbon Brief. According to Bloomberg the decline is “important” because it is a “reduction that’s happened even as energy demand growth remains strong”. 

Donald Trump scraps legal basis underpinning US climate regulation

The Trump administration formally withdrew a landmark scientific finding that has been the central basis for US action to regulate emissions and tackle climate change for around two decades. Trump announced the repeal of the “endangerment finding” – originally made in 2009 during Barack Obama’s administration – describing it as the “legal foundation for the green new scam”. Lee Zeldin, administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrated the “elimination” of the finding, describing the move [again] as the “single largest act of deregulation” in US history, according to CNN. The Associated Press reported that it was “the most aggressive move by the Republican president to roll back climate regulations” as the finding provided the legal underpinning for the EPA to regulate emissions from vehicles, power plants and other emissions sources under the Clean Air Act. 

Reuters said the finding’s repeal removes the regulatory requirements to measure, report, certify and comply with federal greenhouse gas emission standards for cars, but “may not initially apply” to power plants. 

Green Credit Programme: Eco-restoration begins on 4,258 ha, Centre tells Lok Sabha

Eco-restoration has begun on 4,258 hectares under the Green Credit Programme, with 17 entities participating, the Centre informed the Lok Sabha, HT reported. 

The newspaper said the government informed the house that the scheme degraded land parcels are identified and restored with financial support from various public and private entities. The land parcels proposed to be taken up under the Green Credit Programme are selected and registered by the State Forest Department after due verification on the ground.

The government said the Green Credits can be claimed only after a minimum five years of restoration work have been completed and a minimum canopy density of 40% has been achieved. A five-year establishment period is prescribed to allow the planted seedlings and natural regenerations to mature and develop adequate canopy cover, so as to achieve the prescribed 40% canopy density, corresponding to a moderately dense forest.”

The “designated agency” under the Green Credit Programme shall conduct verification of the claim for the Green Credits and submit a report to the Administrator as regard to the verification of the activities undertaken by an applicant for issuance of green credit, Singh said, adding that transparency and accountability of the Green Credit Programme is enabled through methodologies, guidelines and digital processes.

Services boom fails to deliver better jobs in poorest countries: UN report

A UN report found that services expansion has created work in least developed countries, but the expansion is not turning into higher productivity, rising incomes or broad-based development. Services now account for nearly half of economic output in least developed countries but most new jobs remain informal, low-productivity and poorly paid, the report said. Weak links to industry, exports and technology have curbed development gains and skills gaps and digital divides hold back higher-value growth in services, the outlet reported. 

China steps up carbon reporting for petchems, copper, airlines

According to Bloomberg, Chinese companies from specific sectors with emissions equivalent to at least 26,000 tonnes of CO2 must report their 2025 emissions to the government by the end of March. These sectors include petrochemicals, copper, aerospace, chemicals, glass and paper, representing a “key” step in China’s plans to expand its national carbon market by 2027.