European carbon prices bounced off their two-week lows of Thursday to post their first rise of the week, settling back into the middle of their recent trading range on Friday, with options hedging appearing to be the main driver, while energy markets gave up some of their recent gains after President Trump indicated he would delay any strike on Iran to give more time for diplomacy.

An environmental services company has made a biodiversity impact indicator to help a French car company monitor biodiversity across 30 of its manufacturing plants.

The EU’s landmark deforestation regulation is facing renewed struggles, as the European Parliament's majority centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) attempt to reintroduce scrapped exemptions, risking WTO breaches and undermining enforcement.

An NGO investigation published this week claimed that an area in Estonia hosting an EU nature credit pilot project is being threatened by deforestation.

EU, Italy, and Africa work together - European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were in Rome with African Authorities from Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia, on Friday to reaffirm their strategic partnership under the framework of the EU's Global Gateway strategy and the Mattei Plan for Africa. This partnership is intended to promote sustainable growth, resilience, and mutually beneficial cooperation. The participants committed to advancing cooperation in sustainable agriculture, focusing on climate-resilient value chains like coffee. The partnerships also involves sectors such as digital connectivity, renewable energy and transport in Sub-Saharan Africa. The overall value of the EU-Italy shared commitments towards the African continent announced at the summit amounted to €1.2 billion. (European Commission)

Solar record - Europe's largest floating solar park, 'Les Ilots Blandin' in France's Haute-Marne region, was officially inaugurated on June 20 by Q Energy and Velto Renewables, reports webzine Plein Soleil. Built on 127 hectares of former gravel pits, the park comprises over 135,000 photovoltaic modules installed on floating platforms developed in France. With a total capacity of 74.3 MWp, the plant will generate enough renewable electricity to supply 37,000 people every year. It is also expected to prevent 18,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted each year. (Plein Soleil)

The European Commission is set to unveil a new state aid framework in support of its Clean Industrial Deal initiative next week, amid calls for greater “flexibility” from steelmakers and other heavy industries when using natural gas as a transition fuel towards net zero.

The South African G20 presidency and a group of NGOs are spearheading a programme to scale financing for the bioeconomy in Africa, with nature credits among the instruments that will be explored, as they seek to pave the way for other regions to follow suit.

Spotlight on Spain - Spain’s EU Commissioner, Teresa Ribera, quietly led efforts behind the scenes to weaken Brussels’ flagship plan to phase out Russian gas, sources have told Politico. A spokesperson for Ribera dismissed the allegations, insisting that the Spanish commissioner has consistently encouraged companies to halt purchases of Russian energy and has long championed measures to phase out all fossil fuels. However, multiple officials told the news outlet that Ribera repeatedly stepped in during the drafting of the strategy by the European Commission in recent months. They allege her interventions were driven by concerns that Spanish companies could be hit with a wave of legal challenges from Moscow. On Tuesday, the European Union unveiled a long-anticipated legal proposal aimed at halting Russian gas imports by 2027, part of a broader strategy to cut off a key source of funding for the country's war in Ukraine.

Insuring the transition - Insurance brokers Howdens has released a Climate Insurability Framework that provides guidance in navigating the green transition over four areas: risk modelling; risk management; risk sharing; and public policy and regulation. It also presents lessons from historical insurability crises – from 19th century fire insurance to modern catastrophe risk – and offers a case study on European agriculture and sovereign resilience. The approach to insurance aims to optimise ongoing access to risk capital, resilience, and investment to enable the transition, said Rowan Douglas, chief executive, Climate Risk and Resilience, at Howden.

A large portion of emissions from the global LNG trade could be cut using existing technology, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday.

A large European steelmaker has pulled out of two key decarbonisation projects in Germany due to excessively high energy costs and policy uncertainty.

Landing the deal - US private equity firm Apollo is set to provide £4.5 bln in debt financing for the UK’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, easing growing financial strain on the delayed and over-budget project, the Financial Times reports. Sources told the newspaper that the investment-grade debt will be unsecured and carry an interest rate just under 7%. This funding helps close a major financial gap for the planned plant, which has faced challenges since China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) ceased its financial contributions in 2023. CGN had originally committed to funding one-third of the project’s cost but exited after being removed from another UK nuclear project, Sizewell C, due to concerns over Chinese involvement.

A US-based carbon removal (CDR) buyers' coalition is close to unveiling its first afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) offtake agreements after announcing that final due diligence processes are now underway.

Debate around the role of international credits to meet the EU’s upcoming 2040 climate target can be a catalyst for the UN to strengthen oversight, and quality of projects delivered under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, according to a German researcher.

The European Commission on Friday announced an intention to withdraw its proposal for the Green Claims Directive, in answer to a question by Carbon Pulse at its daily press briefing.

It's all Greek to me - Greece’s ambition to install over 5 GW of battery energy storage systems by 2030 is at risk of delays due to regulatory hurdles and a lack of clarity in market rules, said Sympower, a large flexibility aggregator in the country. According to Montel reporting, the unclear rules are threatening the country's end-of-decade goals.

Power shift into gear - Africa could save between $3 trillion and $5 trillion by transitioning to a fully renewable energy system by 2050, according to new analysis by Power Shift Africa. The transition would not only offer the lowest-cost energy option but also create millions of jobs, boost economic development, and greatly expand access to electricity, according to the think tank. The report also outlined a continent-wide 100% renewable energy pathway, demonstrating that such a system would be far more cost-effective than continuing to rely on fossil fuels.

It's all about the Moneypoint - Starting Friday, Ireland's Electricity Supply Board (ESB) has officially ceased coal-fired operations at its Moneypoint Power Station in County Clare. Originally commissioned in the mid-1980s, Moneypoint has burned coal continuously since then. As recently as 2000, the plant produced around one-third of Ireland's power. Under the ESB’s 2019 Climate Action Plan, coal use at the station was scheduled to end by 2025, with Moneypoint set to shift to alternative fuels and prepare for integration into Ireland’s future renewable energy infrastructure. The plant, however, will now burn oil to generate power until the end of the decade, if called upon for security supply reasons. (RTE)

EU citizens energy package – The European Commission on Thursday launched a call for evidence for an initiative, called the Citizens Energy Package, aimed at “protecting and empowering consumers in the just transition”. The initiative will seek to tackle the disproportionate impact of the transition on some population groups, such as regions with high economic dependence on fossil fuels, and the “lack of citizen and consumer engagement in the energy market”, which according to the Commission, hinders the uptake of innovative energy efficiency services and renewable energy options. A communication on the matter is expected in Q4 2025.

EU ETS aviation update – The European Commission on Thursday published its final updated rules for the verification of emissions data submitted by airlines under the EU ETS, as well as for the accreditation of verifiers to perform the checks. The rules provide details for airlines to submit reports detailing progress towards their climate-neutrality plans, as reported earlier. Verifiers are then required check the conformity of these measures with the climate-neutrality plan, focusing on milestones, and investments. The rules also cover reporting and verification of non-CO2 effects of aviation (e.g., contrails, nitrogen oxides), as well as for the emissions attribution of alternative aviation fuels, and their verification. The draft implementing regulation is now being submitted to a climate change committee composed of EU member state representatives, which will vote to accept or reject it. If approved, it will then return to the Commission for final adoption and publication in the EU’s Official Journal.

Caspian subsea power cable - Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are partnering to export clean energy to Europe by building a high-voltage subsea transmission line across the Caspian Sea, which will connect the two countries’ power grids and feed into the larger Black Sea Submarine Cable project, Qazaq Green reported. Through this initiative, the partners will be able to export solar and wind power from Central Asia to the EU market, supporting the EU’s climate goals. The project aims to boost regional energy integration, requiring huge funding from international institutions and public-private partnerships. Efforts are underway to establish a unified electricity market across Central Asia and the South Caucasus, including other countries such as Georgia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. (Qazaq Green)