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.

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.

EU carbon prices finished up nearly 3.5% on Monday, hitting a five-week high after strong days for the power and gas markets pulled carbon from a summer lull.

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. 

Last week's decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), reframing climate action as a legal obligation, means the EU's push to water down climate policies may breach both EU and international law, according to a new legal analysis.

A carbon trading startup, headquartered in the UK and specialising in blockchain technology and removal projects, will cease operations due to insolvency.

The European Civil Society Observatory on Methane (CSO-M) has launched a tracker to monitor national implementation of the EU’s landmark Methane Regulation, one year after the rules entered into force.

Germany plans to cut energy costs for businesses and consumers by €42 billion in 2026-29, and provide €111 million in support for carbon removals (CDR), according to a draft federal budget seen by Reuters.

A UK workplace pension scheme has committed £330 million to clean energy infrastructure through two private market funds, the firm announced Tuesday.

Two European companies announced their merger on Tuesday, creating a single forest carbon project developer with more than 80,000 hectares of forest under contract.

Danish SAF – The European Commission announced on Tuesday the approval of a €36 million (DKK 268 mln) Danish state aid scheme aimed at encouraging the use of sustainable aviation fuel (‘SAF') for domestic flights. In a statement, the Commission said it was the first time it had approved a national aid scheme to promote the use of SAF. The scheme’s goal is to support at least one domestic air route using 40% SAF in Denmark. This is very close to the current technical limit of 50%, and exceeds the minimum set by the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation, which requires fuel suppliers to achieve a minimum share of 2% during the period of the Danish scheme, which runs until Dec. 31, 2027.

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.

Russian offsets – Center-Invest Bank, the leading private bank in southern Russia, has purchased 300 carbon offset credits from EL5-Energo, an energy generating company, according to a statement by the Russian carbon registry, published on July 28. The statement did not provide details of the transaction, such as the price paid by Center-Invest Bank. The offsets were verified and result from the construction of a new wind farm, called Azovskaya WES, the statement said.

Indonesian clean energy - Indonesia’s Pertamina New & Renewable Energy and France’s Verso Energy signed an MoU Tuesday to co-develop clean energy projects, including synthetic fuels based on green hydrogen and biogenic CO2, the companies said in a press release. The deal includes a cross-investment scheme and aims to boost technology transfer and decarbonisation efforts in both countries.

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 EU’s 2040 climate target proposal has left lingering uncertainties surrounding the role of international carbon credits, with potential massive consequences for the Union’s finances and carbon market, says Michal Bloss, a Green lawmaker in the European Parliament.

Data centre deal - Iberdrola and Echelon are creating a joint venture to develop data centres in Spain - marking the largest agreement of its kind in Europe. The Spanish utility will hold 20% of the company and will contribute land with grid connection and supply 24/7 electricity to the centres. Whilst data centre operator Echelon will hold the remaining 80% and will manage permits, design, marketing and day-to-day operations of the JV. The partnership's first project will be a data centre with 144 MW of processing capacity and a secured power connection of 230 MW.

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.

Boomitra has made its first steps into biomass carbon removal with a project in Botswana, with an initiative that goes beyond soil credits.