A new study modelling the entire US energy system has found that the total lifetime economic damage from the climate and air pollution of a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) car is two to three and a half times greater than that of a battery-electric vehicle (BEV).

Farming Air for Profit - Livestock producers in Valle Fertil, Argentina, are launching an ambitious 15,000-hectare regenerative agriculture project, reported local media. Partnering state agronomical institute INTA, the Sol Naciente producer group aims to restore pastures, enhance sustainability, and enter the international carbon credit market. The project will focus on implementing regenerative practices to quantify and certify carbon sequestration, looking to create new income streams for producers while improving environmental resilience.

LA's H2O Bet - Los Angeles is pressing ahead with an $800+ mln retrofit of the Scattergood natural gas plant to hydrogen-ready turbines despite the Trump administration cancelling $1.2 bln in federal funding for California's hydrogen hub, reported CalMatters. The LA Board of Water and Power Commissioners will decide Tuesday whether to advance the project, which environmental groups oppose as costly and inefficient. The plant would continue running on gas with an option to blend up to 30% hydrogen if available.

Resilient renewables - Renewable energy companies reported mixed fortunes after nine months under President Donald Trump, as policy reversals challenge but do not halt the sector’s growth, E&E News reported. Florida-based utility, NextEra Energy, highlighted solar and battery projects as key to meeting surging data centre demand, while Spain’s Iberdrola pointed to rising US electricity prices as a boost for its American renewables arm. Norway’s Equinor, a major oil and gas producer, confirmed completion of turbine installations at New York’s Empire Wind but said it plans limited future investment in offshore wind. The updates reflect a turbulent yet resilient market shaped by the Trump administration’s rollback of clean energy subsidies and restrictions on federal land development.

CCUS Cooperation – Colombia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy has signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy to strengthen bilateral cooperation across the energy sector, the Colombian government announced on Wednesday. The five-year renewable agreement, signed by Ministers Edwin Palma Egea and Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, establishes a framework for joint projects in clean hydrogen, renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage, and digital innovation. According to the ministry, the MoU will also promote technology transfer and knowledge exchange through a binational working group tasked with defining roadmaps and collaborative programmes across the full energy value chain.

Region running a fever - A Lancet Countdown report finds heat-related deaths in Latin America more than doubled over the last 20 years, comparing 1990-1999 to 2012-2021, reported El Pais. The study warns the region is not adapting urgently enough to the health impacts of climate change.

Not adding up - A Wednesday article in the science and tech magazine Wired explored the gap between Mexico’s 2030 NDC and its current fossil fuel policies, describing the twin goals as an “energy paradox". While the Sheinbaum administration has sought to strengthen the nation’s refining system, maintain crude output levels, and encourage state-owned oil company Pemex’ natural gas exploration activities, the 2026 Expenditure Budget reduces resources for climate adaptation and mitigation. This includes a 4% budget reduction for SEMARNAT, the federal environmental ministry, compared to the previous year, contrasting with a 7.7% increase for Pemex.

A coalition of US groups focused on subnational climate action announced Thursday that they are sending a delegation of over 100 representatives to COP30 and other climate conferences next month in Brazil.

The proliferation of Chinese clean-tech exports is causing several large developing nations to consider tariffs to protect their own nascent low-carbon industries, which could increase the cost of the energy transition, according to a new report.

Chinese multinational technology conglomerate Tencent has unveiled 50 finalists from 12 countries for its second CarbonX programme, a global climate innovation initiative offering RMB 200 million ($28.1 mln) in catalytic funding to scale breakthrough technologies toward net zero by 2050.

Between Aug. 2024 and July 2025, Brazil recorded the third-lowest rate of deforestation in the Amazon since records began in 1988, according to official data released on Thursday.

Canadian industrial mineralisation company Arca selected registry Isometric on Thursday to issue its major offtake agreement with Microsoft, which promises hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon direct removal (CDR).

Canada is among the countries best positioned to scale direct air capture (DAC) technology thanks to its strong infrastructure, a skilled workforce, regulatory experience, and vast CO2 storage potential, according to a recent report.

The Article 6.4 Supervisory Body (SBM) on Thursday approved the first methodology under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM).

The US Chamber of Commerce has filed an emergency motion to speed up its appeal against California’s climate disclosure laws, according to recent filings viewed by Carbon Pulse.

Two defendants in a Delaware carbon credit investment dispute have asked the state’s Court of Chancery to let them send a single message to an arbitrator, saying the communication is needed to prevent the dismissal of a stayed emergency proceeding.

New York urged a federal court to reject the Trump administration’s motion for summary judgment seeking to strike down the state’s Climate Change Superfund Act in a Monday filing. 

US House Democrats are mounting an effort to revive several Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) clean energy tax credits that were curbed by Republicans last summer, arguing that these incentives would help address energy affordability.

The Brazilian government on Thursday launched a new policy and financial instrument to strengthen environmental conservation and implementation of the Forest Code.

The world will adopt a pragmatic balance between fossil fuels and renewables, leading to warming of 1.8 to 2.1C by century end, according to an analyst group.

Governments should send clear signals at COP30 that high-integrity forest carbon credit purchases are a legitimate part of corporate climate strategies, business and policy experts told a media briefing Thursday.

The UNFCCC-accredited Green Climate Fund (GCF) this week approved new climate action projects in the developing world, bringing the year’s total funding approvals up to 50 projects and a record $3.26 billion.

Two European oil majors have reported rising fossil fuel production in the third quarter, while downplaying investment in clean energy.

The World Bank has paid the Dominican Republic (DR) $4.2 million for REDD+ efforts, which the bank says will position the country for greater carbon market involvement.

Another lawsuit - California has filed a lawsuit against four major truck manufacturers - Daimler Truck North America, International Motors, Paccar, and Volvo North America - accusing them of breaching a 2023 voluntary agreement to comply with the state’s stringent emissions rules. The complaint, lodged by Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office in Alameda County Superior Court, alleges that the companies violated an enforceable contract with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) known as the Clean Truck Partnership. The legal action follows a separate federal lawsuit filed in August by the same manufacturers, who argue that the agreement is void after Republicans in Congress repealed California’s Advanced Clean Truck rule in June under the Congressional Review Act. The dispute could determine whether federal or state courts have jurisdiction - a key factor that may shape the outcome, as CARB is seen to have a stronger case in state court. (E&E News)

COP30 in Brazil could be undermined by the fossil fuel lobby unless there is greater transparency about attendees, warns a new report by a non-profit.

Two sustainable agriculture methodologies have been approved for Core Carbon Principle status by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), although both require extra conditions before they can boast the high-integrity badge.

Standards body Verra has parted ways with two senior executives following another round of internal restructuring, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Another goose egg - Canadian forestry firm Acadian Timber Corp. once again reported no carbon credit sales in its latest financial quarter, as it transitions its forest carbon project to a new methodology under ACR’s Improved Forest Management (IFM) version 2.1 protocol. The company sold 752,100 credits in the first nine months of 2024, earning C$24.6 mln in revenue and C$19.8 mln in adjusted EBITDA, but said in its Q3 results published Wednesday that registration of new credits has been delayed until late 2025 due to the shift to the revised standard. ACR’s updated IFM protocol maintains the same core approach as previous versions but introduces dynamic baselines intended to improve accuracy and alignment with evolving market expectations. Acadian said that while the change may result in the issuance of fewer total credits, the new methodology is expected to yield higher-value carbon removal units, rather than the conservation credits previously generated. The company added that the update should make future issuances more appealing to buyers and improve pricing prospects. Acadian said the project has provided valuable experience to its management team and would form the foundation for further carbon credit development. The firm expects additional credit registration later this year, with demand and pricing in the voluntary carbon market projected to remain stable. Acadian’s 2025 results underscore the financial impact of the pause in offset activity: total sales for the first nine months of the year fell to C$65 mln, compared to C$95.9 mln a year earlier, when carbon credits contributed roughly a quarter of total revenue. Adjusted EBITDA for the period dropped by C$24.6 mln, largely reflecting the absence of offset sales. The company continues to manage around 2.4 mln acres of timberland in eastern Canada and the northeastern US, including 775,000 acres of freehold forests in New Brunswick and 300,000 acres in Maine, and said it plans to expand internal logging operations while pursuing new environmental and carbon-related opportunities.

The international carbon removal (CDR) community is calling on G7 countries to agree on a set of standards or criteria to help scale CDR, a roundtable heard Wednesday.

Emissions from Colorado's oil and gas midstream sector last year exceeded the 2030 regulatory cap by more than 6%, but companies are cumulatively planning to close the gap through a combination of emissions reductions projects and credit buying, according to a state report published Tuesday.

The commercial lead for carbon removal (CDR) at one of the world's largest tech companies told a conference audience on Wednesday that he would prioritise projects that also tackle super pollutants, such as methane.

California regulator ARB is walking back the emissions reduction ambition under its cap-and-invest programme relative to workshops held last year, following new considerations such as consumer affordability and broader decarbonisation challenges under the Trump administration, the agency presented in a webinar Wednesday.

Take a pause - A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, a watchdog group, found that all seven of the US’s LNG terminals operating through 2024 violated air pollution permits at least once since 2020. These seven terminals released 18.2 MtCO2e in 2023. And LNG terminals along the Gulf Coast reported 425 emissions incidents, from chemical releases and fires to excessive flaring, that have released nearly 14,200 tonnes of air pollution since they began operating. As the Trump administration speeds along permitting to expand the number of LNG terminals, the watchdog group urges policymakers to consider LNG companies’ repeated violations of environmental laws.

A carbon removal (CDR) buyers group backed by major tech companies will be sharing findings from its first forestry-based request for proposals (RFP) next year with carbon credit registries and standard bodies, attendees at the Trellis Impact 2025 conference heard on Tuesday.

Scaling up carbon removals (CDR) and strengthening standards in carbon markets are essential steps to delivering real mitigation, a scientific assessment said Thursday, laying out 10 of the most policy-relevant climate findings from the past 18 months.

Global offshore wind capacity is expected to almost triple by 2030 despite recent setbacks in the US, according to research published on Thursday.