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Chevrolet is buying up emissions credits linked to 11,000 acres of grasslands in North Dakota. In exchange for payments from Chevrolet, the ranchers who own the land agree not to till their properties, reducing carbon emissions. "The amount of carbon dioxide removed from our atmosphere by Chevrolet's purchase of these credits equals the amount that would be reduced by taking more than 5,000 cars off the road," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Commercial wind and solar developers looking to sign up for New Mexico's Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (REPTC) in the near future will have to take a number and get in line. The program has been so popular that production tax credits for solar are maxed out through 2022. All of the available credits for wind are claimed from 2016-2020.

Microsoft became the first company to purchase carbon credits generated by the Makira conservation project in Madagascar, which intends to preserve 320,000 hectares of forests and prevent 32.5 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

Kenya-based Wildlife Works Carbon employs "wildlife rangers" on about 500,000 acres in and around two national parks to protect elephants from poachers. The company sells carbon credits to raise the funds needed to pay the rangers. The cash raised also goes to compensate landowners for leaving land and resources in their natural condition, and to fund educational and community projects. It's the country's pilot project as part of its belonging to the United Nations' Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program.

The first crop-land agricultural credits were introduced to the carbon market this summer, but the biggest functioning U.S. cap and trade market - California's - hangs in limbo.

The International Finance Corporation issued a $152 million bond to support private sector development and prevent deforestation in developing countries. The bond gives investors the option of getting repaid in either cash or a carbon-credit coupon - a move to bolster carbon-credit markets.

580+ groups, businesses call for extension of clean energy tax credits  Over 580 organizations and businesses, including the American Wind Energy Association, have written a letter to Congress calling for the extension of tax credits relating to clean energy. "Businesses and investors need stable, predictable federal tax policy to create jobs, invest capital, and deploy pollution-reducing energy technologies," they wrote. 

Net zero energy (NZE) buildings-responsible for the production of as much (or more) clean energy as they use annually-have been gaining global momentum. In our newly released Insight Brief, RMI presents an innovative business model for developing net zero energy or ultra-low energy districts in a way that creates significant business value. Net zero energy business models are financially attractive to investors because the large capital investments in solar PV, district heating and cooling, and energy efficiency are repaid over time on utility bills, generating a steady return that benefits from enhanced credit because of the utility-customer relationship.

The cost of wind energy in the US will continue to decline over the next three to five years as the industry prepares for the wind energy Production Tax Credit to lapse, according to Pattern Energy CEO and President Mike Garland. He said that Pattern has begun retrofitting its turbines to boost performance.

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has updated the LEED green building rating system in an attempt to stop illegal logging.

The clothing company will now take your old clothes back and give you store credit. But they won't throw them away-they'll be fixed up and then resold.

Forest carbon-credit proponents say serious government backing is needed to develop a global market for their offsets. "Once speculators believe that government is committed to doing this, they will rush in -- it will happen overnight," predicts Jim Procanik, managing director of InfiniteEARTH.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be elephant-free by 2018, with the troupe's 13 performing pachyderms sent into retirement at a Florida conservation center. The move is a response to growing consumer concerns about the animals' welfare, coupled with the prospect of local bans on elephant performances. "It's a shame this took so long, but it's a creditable step toward treating animals with respect and dignity," writes Andrew Revkin

Samsung IT says its subsidiary will not pursue any business with the Korean-Indonesian conglomerate Korindo, a company linked to rainforest destruction practices. A petition, launched by SumOfUs.org and delivered by Mighty Earth directly to Samsung's Corporate Social Responsibility team, was part of an extensive two-month campaign, calling on Samsung to drop the joint venture or any business partnership with Korindo. But Samsung IT still needs to clean up its palm oil practices, the groups say.

Indonesia has reported a second straight year of declining deforestation, and credited more stringent land management policies for the trend. However, the government's insistence on counting pulpwood plantations as reforested areas has once again sparked controversy over how the very concept of a forest should be defined.

The EU added a record-breaking 12.8 gigawatts of installed wind capacity last year, according to the European Wind Energy Association. The group says wind has surpassed hydro power, becoming the third-biggest source of generation in the EU. "Wind power accounts for one-third of all new power installations since 2000 in the EU. Conventional power sources such as fuel oil and coal continue to decommission more capacity than they install," EWEA said.