Another one bites the dust – US carbon removal developer Alkali Earth is closing down, the company announced on LinkedIn Tuesday. The developer was focused on decarbonising steel mill operations via mineralisation and received federal funding to advance on its approach, but struggled to commercialise. Alkali Earth will publish its findings openly over the coming months, it said.

The US EPA aims to issue CO2 injection well permits within two years, but is not on track to meet that target despite additional resources available to increase expertise and capacity, an independent agency watchdog said Tuesday.

RGGI’s smallest participating state could miss its legally-binding emissions targets as early as next year if it stalls on policy intervention, new data by the state’s climate arm has revealed.

Overruled – The North Carolina legislature on Tuesday overrode Gov. Josh Stein’s (D) veto of an energy bill that eliminated the state’s 2030 climate goal. North Carolina’s 2021 climate law mandated a 70% reduction in emissions from power companies by 2030. The rule's repeal will also allow Duke Energy, the state’s largest electric provider, to charge customers in advance for costs related to new gas and nuclear plants before they come online. While the 2030 target is eliminated, the 2050 net zero mandate remains in place, according to WRAL News.

SusPicious composting – The Canadian environmental and renewables company SusGlobal Energy announced Tuesday that it has sold 4,600 verified emission reductions and removals units (VERRs) from its composting offset project in Ontario. The sale brings the total number of VERRs sold to-date from the project to 64,402. The Belleville Composting Offset Project is listed on the GHG CleanProjects Registry from CSA Group. The company’s announcement did not identify the buyer nor disclose any financial details.

The US DOE issued an emergency order Monday to allow a RGGI-regulated Maryland power plant to operate beyond its environmental run-hour limitations until October.

Powering ahead – BC Hydro, the provincial corporation responsible for generating and delivering electricity in British Columbia, has launched its 2025 call for power to secure up to 5,000 GWh of clean or renewable energy annually. The process targets projects of at least 40 MW with a minimum 25% First Nations ownership, with contracts expected to be awarded in early 2026 and projects operational by 2033. The call follows a 2024 round that secured 10 projects worth up to C$6 bln ($4.4 bln) and is part of BC Hydro’s long-term plan to expand grid capacity and meet provincial clean-energy targets.

Stop the slowdown – A New York Supreme Court judge signalled last week that he is likely to rule the state is violating its climate law by failing to issue required emissions-cutting regulations, according to local media. Justice Julian Schreibman questioned state lawyers defending Governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to pause a planned “cap and invest” programme, which was intended to meet the law’s 2024 regulatory deadline. Four climate groups sued the state in March, alleging non-compliance with the 2019 law, which mandates steep GHG reductions this decade. Schreibman indicated he may side with the plaintiffs but is unlikely to order an expedited timeline for new rules, leaving the case potentially unresolved until 2027 if the state appeals.

Manage what you measure – The City of Vancouver has begun to phase in carbon reporting requirements for large buildings, prompting a retrofit rush, Business in Vancouver reported last week. Commercial buildings above 50,000 sq ft were required to begin reporting emissions on June 1, while requirements for multi-family buildings over 100,000 sq ft kick in Sep. 1. Future caps and fees follow for 2026.

Florida’s attorney general (AG) launched an investigation this week into two climate reporting organisations, examining whether their activities could breach state consumer protection or antitrust laws.

A Swiss developer of forestry projects and a China-based manufacturer of biomass pyrolysis technology on Tuesday announced a partnership to develop durable carbon removal (CDR) projects in Paraguay.

US EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin travelled to a truck dealership in Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon to announce the long-anticipated repeal of the endangerment finding, setting up the final blow to a 16-year-old rule that has served as the foundation of national GHG standards.

Stump Trump request - Hawaii has asked a federal judge to throw out the Trump administration’s effort to block the state’s climate change lawsuit against big oil, Law360 has reported. The US DOJ has filed a clutch of suits against Hawaii, Michigan, Vermont, and New York in an attempt to their seeking climate damages against fossil fuel companies. Michigan has also asked for a dismissal.  

Oh no, EVs won’t go - New data by EV-charging consultancy Paren has found EV chargers in the US are growing, dodging a federal funding freeze by the Trump administration with private investment, E&E News reported. The outlet said America’s rapid EV chargers are getting bigger, faster, and appearing more often, according to the study.

Incompatible trade - The centrepiece of the new EU-US trade deal - the EU's €700 bln pledge to buy US fossil fuels and nuclear energy over the next three years – is "fundamentally incompatible" with the bloc's 2030 climate targets, the NGO network European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said on Tuesday. The EEB poked holes in the claim that the US volumes will substitute Russian imports, noting EU energy imports last year were valued at €370 bln last year, which means it will take a big increase to reach the target in the deal. The group called on EU parliamentarians and states to scrutinise and reject parts of the deal that undermine climate goals, energy sovereignty, or international credibility.

A Danish public utility has signed a deal with a US-based carbon removals (CDR) company to look at the potential for developing a large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility in Copenhagen, the companies announced this week. 

DAC for data - Avnos, a US-based direct air capture (DAC) technology company, is promoting its hybrid DAC (HDAC) system as a way to reduce the environmental impact of data centres amid rising demand from artificial intelligence. The company says its system can use waste heat from data centres to capture CO2 emissions, generate water for cooling needs, and lower overall energy use. According to the company, data centres are projected to emit 2.5 bln tCO2 by 2030 and consume millions of gallons of water daily, raising concerns over emissions and water scarcity. Avnos claims its modular HDAC technology can help operators cut emissions and water use without affecting performance.

Cordoba province has launched a subnational carbon credit standard for methane emissions reductions, underpinned by local demand from an infrastructure compensation programme, which is part of a regional 58% GHG reduction target by 2030.

A US-based company has secured its first methane monitoring contract worth approximately $800,000 under a federal emissions reduction programme, it announced this week.

Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export plants are becoming more popular on the global LNG market, boasting speed, flexibility, and cost efficiency, and with capacity expected to triple by 2030, analysts predict.

A growing need for decarbonised data centres is fueling demand for gas-fired power plants coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS), and hyperscalers are possibly the only ones willing to pay the cost premium even though the plants are far from economic, experts say.

The world’s richest economies are failing to deliver on steel decarbonisation, despite improved policy frameworks, with project cancellations, high energy costs and geopolitical tensions threatening progress, according to a scorecard published Tuesday.

The nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of the G20 countries will be the most influential in ensuring the earth’s temperature returns to a liveable warming trajectory, an international NGO has said.

Catastrophic costs – Insurers are consistently seeing insured losses in excess of $100 bln annually due to natural catastrophes, said insurance company Willis on Monday. In the latest installment of its biannual Natural Catastrophe Review, the firm said this is putting a strain on global insurance markets and that events in 2025 so far indicate that this year will again see losses exceed $100 bln – with the Los Angeles fires in February alone accounting for an estimated $40 bln. Amid a changing climate, risk managers need to reassess things and integrate climate forecasts into their plans, and ensure their risk frameworks are set up for evolving threats, the firm said.

Acquisition - New York-based Green Project Technologies has acquired the software platform of Emitwise in the UK to add automated product carbon footprint tracking and supplier tools to its existing services in a bid to strengthen its Scope 3 carbon accounting, it said in a press release Monday. Emitwise co-founders Ben Peddie and Eduardo Gomez, along with several team members, will join Green Project. The deal follows Green Project’s 2023 acquisition by ACT Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.