1. Carbon management startup Carbon Direct is acquiring Pachama, a nature-based carbon credit startup.
- This merger comes after Pachama had to lay off around 20 employees due to the softening of voluntary carbon markets this summer.
- Notable investors in Pachama include Amazon's Climate Pledge, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and celebrity angel investors like Ellen DeGeneres, Laura Dern, and Serena Williams.

2. Carbon Direct specializes in carbon market advisory and accounting, helping companies track and report their carbon footprints and vet carbon credits for offsetting.
- In contrast, Pachama focuses on nature-based carbon credits, which come from forests preserved or restored through purchases.

3. The global carbon markets have been experiencing uncertainty, with concerns over the effectiveness of voluntary carbon markets being one of the major issues.
- A recent investigation by The Guardian found that more than 90% of one verifier's credits did not result in any actual carbon reductions.
- Despite this, many large companies, such as Microsoft, Shopify, American Express, JP Morgan, Alaska Airlines, and BlackRock, are still interested in their net-zero promises and are customers of Carbon Direct.