Guyana will for a second consecutive year tweak the share of proceeds (SOP) from carbon credits that is allocated to Amerindian communities, keeping absolute financial benefits the same, the vice president announced at an Indigenous national assembly on Tuesday.

RGGI permits held in excess of compliance requirements declined 11.4% year-on-year in 2024, according to an annual market analysis.

Entities emitting about one-tenth of Alberta’s industrial emissions risk falling outside the scope of being regulated for their CO2 output following removal of Canada's consumer-facing carbon tax, an expert said during a conference Wednesday.

The Bezos Earth Fund on Tuesday unveiled the recipients of 24 inaugural Phase I grants under its AI Grand Challenge for Climate and Nature, awarding a total of $1.2 million to support the development of artificial intelligence solutions targeting some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges.

Not axing the tax - Quebec's Coalition Avenir Quebec government, led by Francois Legault, has rejected a Parti Quebecois (PQ) motion to cut the province’s gas tax, arguing it would undermine climate goals. Finance Minister Eric Girard called the proposed reduction "incompatible with the objectives of the fight against climate change". The PQ’s motion, introduced Tuesday, responded to both a new Leger poll showing majority support for scrapping Quebec’s carbon pricing system and to Conservative Party of Quebec leader Eric Duhaime’s campaign proposal to eliminate the carbon levy, which adds roughly C$0.10/litre to gasoline prices.

Cuts and delays - Climeworks Co-CEO Jan Wurzbacher told Bloomberg Wednesday that the DAC removal company will cut 106 jobs or 22% of staff. The Swiss firm, which operates the “Mammoth” carbon removal facility in Iceland, said last week that it may delay its Louisiana plant, citing US President Donald Trump’s rollback of climate incentives. A $50-mln US grant for the project remains active, but future phases now face uncertainty.

End of an era - Alberta-based Hempalta has completed the closure and decommissioning of its Calgary hemp processing facility as part of a strategic shift to focus solely on its growing carbon credit business, the company announced Tuesday. The wind-down triggered a technical default notice from Farm Credit Canada (FCC) due to the cessation of operations, though no monetary default has occurred. In response, Hempalta’s subsidiary has signed a binding agreement to sell its hemp and biochar processing equipment for USD $1.15 mln. A 50% deposit has been received, with closing subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Proceeds from the sale will be used to resolve the FCC default and reduce corporate liabilities. Meanwhile, Hempalta reported strong progress in its carbon credit operations. Around 29,000 tonnes of CO2 removals from the 2024 crop year are undergoing final verification, expected to bring total verified credits to more than 44,000 tonnes. The company plans to provide 2025 projections in its second-quarter results due at the end of May. Hempalta in March announced that it was refocusing its business towards carbon credits, as its Q1 2025 financial results showed a significant drop in revenue.

A validation and verification body unveiled a new third-party certification programme for measuring GHG intensity levels and reduction levels of chemical materials, according to a Wednesday announcement.

Renewable request - A bipartisan group of 28 US lawmakers, led by Reps. Ashley Hinson (R) and Angie Craig (D), urged President Donald Trump on Tuesday to adopt timely and robust Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs) for 2026 and future years under the Renewable Fuel Standard. In a letter, the lawmakers called for conventional biofuel RVOs of at least 15 bln gal, a 2026 biomass-based diesel RVO of 5.3 bln gal with annual increases, and a rejection of improper use of the US EPA’s small refinery exemption authority. The PA's proposed RVO rule is currently under White House review.

Toll tussle - The US Department of Transportation may begin withholding highway funding and project approvals for Manhattan starting May 28 if New York does not comply with a federal order to end its congestion pricing programme by May 21, Smart Cities Dive reported. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rescinded federal approval of the programme in February and warned of “serious consequences” for noncompliance.

Watt a deal - California ARB will reopen applications for its E-Bike Incentive Project on May 29, offering up to 1,000 income-eligible residents vouchers of up to $2,000 toward the purchase of a new electric bike. The programme, California's Legislature funds, aims to reduce transportation emissions and costs by promoting e-bike adoption. ARB plans to award a third round of vouchers in 2026.

Biomass backed - The Government of Ontario announced it is investing C$11.3 mln ($8.2 mln) in five projects through its Forest Biomass Program to support the forest sector in northeastern Ontario. The funding aims to help recipients modernise operations and explore new uses for wood byproducts. Hornepayne Power expects to increase regional energy production and explore on-site green hydrogen generation, while GreenFirst Forest Products plans to upgrade its biomass cogeneration plant and research alternative fuels. Circular Carbon Canada is studying the feasibility of biochar production at sawmills, and Wikwemikong Development Commission aims to advance a pellet and biocoal facility.

California diesel sales in February plunged to the lowest monthly consumption going back to Feb. 2001 – the earliest records of state data, according to a report published Tuesday.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has released its first report from the Continuous Improvement Work Programme (CIWP) focused on permanence, which welcomed the strong foundation of approaches to have been implemented across the market to date, but recognised that many of these have not been standardised.

Microsoft has signed the “world’s largest" biochar carbon removals deal with a South American project developer, agreeing to buy 1.24 million credits over the next decade.

The impact of US tariffs on EUA prices has been minimal, according to an analyst on a webinar on Wednesday, who sees benchmark European carbon permit price rises in 2026 driven by decreases in free allocations and tighter auction volumes. 

Cheaper gas – Canada’s inflation declined to a 1.7% YoY upturn in April, down from a 2.3% YoY increase in March, according to Statistics Canada. The slowdown was attributed to lower energy prices, which fell 12.7% YoY as a result of removal of the federal carbon tax on retail fuel consumption, compared to a 0.3% YoY decline in March. Gasoline costs led the decline, plummeting 18.1% YoY in April, following a 1.6% YoY decline in March. Lower crude oil prices also contributed to the decline, along with increasing supply from OPEC countries, and a dip in global oil demand faced with international trade tariff uncertainty. According to Statistics Canada, average retail gasoline prices across Canada dropped to C$1.39 per litre ($1/litre) in April from C$1.55/litre in March, while costs in Quebec City in the one province that has retained its carbon tax on fuel inched up to C$1.55/litre, nearly unchanged from March’s C$1.54/litre. Natural gas prices also contributed to cooling inflation in April, sliding 14.1% YoY, after a 6.4% gain in March.

Verra’s new methodology for crediting avoided deforestation REDD+ projects will slash issuance levels and create a minimum floor price of $15/tonne, but the current value of units is still too low to incentivise many project developers to take the risk, according to new analysis.

Belem bookings - Brazil has hired the accommodation management company Bnetwork to provide an official booking platform for November's COP30 summit in Belem, the summit presidency announced on Tuesday. Bnetwork has already managed accommodation bookings at the past two COPs, in Baku and Dubai. The platform will consolidate the available rooms in hotels and private properties into one digital platform — which in Belem will also include hotel boats. The presidency did not say when the service will launch, but only that it depends on when Bnetwork, the local governments, and the local tourism sector can finish compiling an inventory of Belem's lodging capacity. The Brazilian government has said in the past that it will charter cruise ships to accommodate the tens of thousands of delegates expected to descend on the small Amazonian city.

A research initiative between academics, and companies in the chemicals and oil & gas business has started measuring emissions from hydrogen infrastructure in North America and Europe, in an effort to fill a gap in empirical data in a growing international market, the group announced on Wednesday.

BlueGrace Bolivia - The Bluegrace Amazon Carbon Token (BGACT) backs 1 tonne of carbon captured across 20.5 mln acres of protected Amazon rainforest and offers an institutional-grade financial instrument in line with the UK vision for trusted voluntary carbon markets, Fox59 reports. The BGACT is the world's first ISIN-certified, blockchain-tokenized voluntary carbon credit, and aligns with standards including MiCA (EU), CFTC (US), and VARA (Dubai) compliance. BlueGrace Energy Bolivia developed BGACT, offering a blueprint for the trustworthy and compliance-backed carbon market the UK envisions. BGACT's structure claims to deliver auditable carbon sequestration, ESG-compliant asset credentials, and compatibility with ESG-linked loans and sustainable portfolios.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday released an updated critical minerals report, saying there are potential supply crunches for the majority of minerals needed for a clean energy transition.

Last year saw a record surge in global forest loss, with fires overtaking agriculture as the main driver of tropical primary forest destruction, being responsible for nearly 50% of the total loss, according to a study published Wednesday.

Made-in-Canada renewable fuel mandates - brought upon by a provincial government in response to US trade war pressure - have encouraged domestic production, as the industry pushes other governments to follow suit, a conference heard Tuesday.

Market expectations for California-Quebec’s Q2 allowance sale clear were toned down as a result of the overhang of potential federal legal action and prolonged programme extension negotiations with state lawmakers.

A New Mexico agency this month published a draft proposal for its clean transportation fuel programme, advancing the state’s efforts to establish its Clean Transportation Fuel Standard (CTFS).

During a closed-door event in the first Climate Week in Panama City, Honduras announced it is joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), becoming the 10th Latin American country to commit to building no new coal power plants.