The Oregon Department of Energy (DOE) shared modelling of energy demand during a public meeting on Thursday to express the need for early adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), which could provide a net benefit to the grid.

A new international carbon offsetting code from the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), as well as eventual obligations under the UN aviation sector offsetting scheme, are reshaping voluntary carbon market (VCM) demand, panellists said during a Thursday webinar.

Long-term offtake agreements are critical to unlocking capital and scaling engineered CO2 removal (CDR) technologies, experts said Thursday, warning that expectations of falling prices may be misplaced as the burgeoning market enters delivery phase.

Tarmac targets - Airports Council International - Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) recently announced that 100 airports in the region have achieved accreditation under the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, which serves as the global standard for airport carbon management. The milestone makes Latin America and the Caribbean the third-highest region globally in terms of accredited airports. The programme evaluates airport efforts across seven levels of certification, with Quito International Airport being the only one in the region to reach Level 4+, indicating alignment with global climate goals such as the Paris Agreement.

Employment Purging Agency - Rewiring America, a non-profit that focuses on housing electrification, has laid off more than a quarter of its staff after the EPA blocked it from accessing its grant dollars. E&E News reported that the non-profit has been barred from accessing its grant dollars for nearly three months, leading to the layoff of 36 employees. The non-profit was part of a coalition awarded $2 bln last year under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund programme, which was terminated by the EPA last month based on alleged fraud, waste, and abuse. The termination of that programme is currently being challenged in court.

The Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA) released on Thursday a revised edition of its High-level Principles to Guide the Biodiversity Credit Market, featuring 21 principles covering the certification process for biodiversity credits, the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and the governance of this emerging market.

Greening NY - A New York fund for environmental projects will be getting a boost under the governor’s budget plan. The Environmental Protection Fund will get $425 mln this year, a $25 mln increase over levels the fund has been at in recent years, according to reporting by E&E News. The Environmental Protection Fund supports capital projects like park improvements, solid waste management, habitat restoration, and more. E&E News said that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) agreed to boost the fund under pressure from Democratic lawmakers.

Pick me - A bipartisan pair of Indiana lawmakers are urging the US DOE to include and prioritise their state as part of a regional hydrogen hub. US Senator Jim Banks (R) and Congressman Frank Mrvan (D) sent a letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright Monday pushing for hydrogen production in the state’s northwest region along the Lake Michigan coast. In particular, the letter identifies the Whiting Refinery as an ideal location for blue hydrogen generation. The northwest region of Indiana is within the conceptual boundary of the Midwest Hydrogen Hub, which also includes Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

New hire - Carbon data platform CTrees announced Thursday that Christopher Woodall is joining as director of US forest science and policy. Woodall previously served in senior science and policy roles in the US Forest Service, and in his new role, will lead CTrees’ work on US forest carbon accounting, overseeing development and application of technology to quantify forest biomass carbon and assess the impacts of land use activities, forest management, and wildfires. He also plans to engage with CTrees’ partners in government agencies, civil society, and the private sector to try to ensure that stakeholders working on natural climate solutions have access to scientific data for estimating land carbon stocks, emissions, and removals at spatial and temporal scale.

A study published Thursday suggests that co-practising enhanced rock weathering (ERW) near geologic carbon sequestration sites could serve as a prewarning system for CO2 leakage while also mitigating seepage.

No news is good news - Despite the drop-off of Canada’s biggest bank from its climate commitments, other major financial institutions in the country seem to be holding on to their targets, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The publication reached out to Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and National Bank of Canada, all of whom directed Bloomberg to their most recent sustainability reports or other publications including the targets. RBC pointed to new greenwashing provisions under Canada’s Competition Act as part of its rationale for its withdrawal from climate finance commitments.

Carney carbon can-can – Canadian PM Mark Carney should step up on modernising industrial carbon pricing, said think tank Canadian Climate Institute on Thursday. The organisation noted that the measure can help Canada address economic threats, particularly as the EU maintains its climate targets and China has committed to stronger emissions reductions and seize new market share in light of US pullbacks. It recommended three approaches: 1) to strengthen emissions performance standards predictably over time; 2) to support linkage between regional carbon markets; and 3) to set clear expectations for the future of industrial carbon pricing in Canada. Improving Canada's industrial carbon pricing system was a campaign trail promise of the PM, as stakeholders are following closely to see what he may implement.

The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a best-practices-sharing group comprising 144 central banks, published on Wednesday its first report on the effects of short-term (2025-2030) climate policy scenarios over GDP, trade, unemployment, inflation, and other financial and economic outcomes.

A committee in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved Wednesday a proposal to allow the use of forestry-based carbon offsets against agricultural tax obligations.

A ‘brutal reality’ is coming to many project developers of durable carbon removal (CDR) because buyers are increasingly baulking at the high price of credits, a new survey has found.

A US hyperscale data centre developer is tapping natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) to power its flagship project.

New governance - The Brazilian presidency of COP30, this year's UN climate summit, has called for new global climate governance mechanisms to help nations implement their commitments to curb global warming, according to a letter released Thursday. Countries have so far committed to plans that would limit warming to around 2.6C, but are struggling to adopt plans to limit emissions enough to prevent catastrophic heating levels. The proposal was first introduced by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva last November, when he proposed creating a "United Nations climate change council" to help countries implement commitments they made. It has now been adopted by Brazilian ambassador Andre Correa do Lago, who will preside over COP30, and is calling for ways to institutionally strengthen implementation capacity. The COP Presidency letter proposes that the United Nations General Assembly, not COP30 itself, should be the forum for this discussion. (Reuters)

Challenge accepted - A growing group of influential voluntary carbon market participants have urged the greater use of the sector to address Scope 3 emissions. A joint statement issued by VCMI, now has backing from the International Chamber of Commerce, We Mean Business Coalition, The Nature Conservancy, Emergent, Verra, Carbon Market Institute (CMI), Anthesis Group, Patch, CNaught, Climate Impact Partners, GenZero, and Puro.earth. The collective want more organisations to sign up to the Scope 3 'challenge' to push for greater carbon credit use and pressure governments and corporate leaders to adopt more supportive policies for the market.

A Web3 carbon startup has announced it will open source its digital infrastructure, also unveiling a new venture to help sustainability teams meet reporting and regulatory requirements.

Only a minuscule fraction of the deep seafloor has been visually observed over the past 70 years, with scientists defining the lack of knowledge "a critical problem" as interest in ocean mining grows.

US-based tech giant Google on Thursday announced carbon credit deals for the equivalent of 1 million tonnes of CO2e over the next century from a commercial cooling project in Indonesia and a landfill activity in Brazil.

National pledges to the Paris Agreement are often disconnected from national policy and investment plans because they are developed by consultants rather than integrated into government processes, a former EU minister told the Carbon Forward Turkiye conference on Thursday.

A specialist investor focused on decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors has announced the launch of its Latin America strategy and also completed a merger with another investment manager.

A group of carbon market governance bodies and participants on Thursday called on national governments to recognise and support voluntary climate action by companies, saying it can work alongside official efforts under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 framework.

Energy giant ExxonMobil has signed a long-term offtake agreement with a Japanese trading house for roughly 250,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per year, the companies announced Thursday.

Multiple carbon market participants have responded to a call for input on the standards that underpin the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), welcoming the progress made already this year, but citing concerns with some of the draft documents published ahead of a crunch meeting of UNFCCC officials next week.

The US could support a variety of sectors to decarbonise while boosting federal and state economy by leveraging the 45V production tax credit and encouraging the development of blue hydrogen, according to a report published on Monday.

Canada's Clean Fuel Regulation (CFR) credit values moved higher following re-election of the Liberal government late April, while programmes across the US largely stabilised heading into May anticipating actions that would direct price trajectory.

Cap-and-trade reauthorisation post 2030 presented California lawmakers with an opportunity to redesign elements of the ETS based on policy priorities, rather than defer key decisions to ARB, a legislative agency recommended in a report Wednesday.

Attorneys general (AGs) from more than 15 states filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a federal agency following its February suspension of a $5 billion electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure programme.