Trader asked by Carbon Pulse ahead of Wednesday's Q4 RGGI auction held a wide range of predicted settlements ranging between a deep discount to smaller premium to recent historically high secondary market prices, while analysts polled said they expected a discount.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has finalised regulations for a reporting mechanism on GHG emissions, featuring some changes from earlier iterations following a public consultation.

Countries could reduce reporting burdens and strengthen the transparency and accuracy of land-sector data by aligning national forest assessments with Paris Agreement transparency requirements, suggested a new report.

Filing delay – Intervenor-defendants Conservation Law Foundation and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont filed on Dec. 1 a joinder supporting the State Defendants’ motion to extend their deadline to file reply briefs in the two cases, including the Vermont Superfund case, aligning their request with an earlier extension sought by the State Defendants. The groups seek to move the reply-brief deadline from Dec. 29 to Jan. 29, 2026, citing lengthy summary-judgment filings, the year-end holidays and efficiencies gained by coordinating schedules, while noting that plaintiffs oppose any extension beyond Jan. 12.

On to the senate – Belize's Carbon Market Bill has passed its second and third readings in the lower House of Representatives and now heads to the upper Senate chamber for final approval, according to Climate Spotlight. The bill was originally introduced in September. It offers a legal framework, including a national registry, authorisation procedures, MRV systems, and new institutions for climate oversight. Key regulations – for example, on social safeguarding and benefit-sharing – are slated to come later, as per comments by Sustainable Development Minister Orlando Habet. The government has also consulted with the World Bank and international partners like Taiwan for support in developing these guardrails, Habet said. The bill experienced pushback from opposition leader Tracy Taeger Panton, who raised the issue of carbon credit ownership, claiming that there could still be confusion over who owns or may sell these units.

The Article 6.4 Methodological Expert Panel (MEP) is expected in the first half of next year to respond to resubmitted versions of the first four bottom-up methodologies applying to the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), according to a member of the UNFCCC Secretariat.

A Canadian climate tech developer would incentivise a modal shift in everyday commuters by monetising reductions in their transportation emissions, producing carbon credits for tech giants who are already tracking their movements.

Lab rebrand - The US DOE has renamed the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado as the National Laboratory of the Rockies, marking another Trump administration move to rebrand offices associated with wind, solar, and low-carbon technologies, E&E News reported. Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said the shift reflects a broader mandate to support all energy sources and prioritise scientific capabilities that can bolster manufacturing, reduce costs, and meet rising national power demand. While the change has raised questions about potential impacts on clean energy work, wind and solar remain listed as research areas, and a spokesperson for the lab said no programme cuts or other renamings are currently planned.

All breaks, no gas - Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission adopted a stricter ‘clean heat’ target on Monday, ordering gas utilities to cut GHG emissions 41% below 2015 levels by 2035, despite Democratic Governor Jared Polis’ office urging a 31% goal, E&E News reported. The updated standard builds on a 22% reduction required by 2030 and keeps Colorado’s 2021 clean heat law among the country’s most ambitious efforts to curb emissions from buildings, directing utilities to help customers shift to electric heat pumps and other appliances amid concerns over rising utility costs.

Policymakers can’t assume demand for clean technology will materialise based on net zero commitments and a want to save the environment, attendees of a Toronto-based climate event heard Tuesday.

The EU’s incoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) did not cause as much uproar at COP30 as in previous years, suggesting that opposition has peaked, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said on Tuesday.

Two major calls for stakeholder input have been launched by the Supervisory Body for the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 crediting mechanism, concerning corresponding adjustments and proposed new crediting approaches, as experts ramp up technical work in a methodology meeting running this week.

Bilateral cooperation through Article 6.2 could lead to a more efficient deployment of global carbon removal technologies, according to a World Bank-backed study published this week.

MA market monitor - The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released the Q3 market monitor report from Potomac Economics for the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) cap-and-trade scheme. According to the report, allowance prices averaged $9.45/t for 133,000 allowance transfers in 2025, nearly all of which occurred in January or February ahead of the compliance deadline for 2024. Potomac Economics found many entities holding more allowances than their latest 12-month emissions, concluding that those with holdings below their obligations would be in position to fulfil their compliance requirements either through the limited secondary market, moderating emissions, or emergency deferred compliance. Emissions under the scheme have risen more than 10% in 2025, while the latest auction in September showed a record-high settlement. In the auctions in which allowances have been sold for both 2025 and 2026 vintages, the clearing prices for the current vintage were at a premium compared to the prices for the future vintage, but given the large quantity of banked allowances after each compliance year, the prices of current vintage and future vintage allowances are expected to converge, according to Potomac Economics.

Article 6 may now be the only way of truly connecting international carbon markets, according to a veteran analyst, with the EU credit demand signal a make-or-break moment for scaling Paris-era trading.

A Chilean resolution published Friday identifies “disqualifications and incompatibilities” for verification bodies reviewing projects that issue offsets used within the national carbon tax, reserving the right to dismiss verification outcomes where there has been a violation.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has teamed up with a carbon market ratings agency to support governments in developing countries.

Youth pushback against oil and gas – Ten Utah youth filed a suit against the state’s Board and Division of Oil, Gas and Mining on Monday, arguing that fossil-fuel permits for coal, oil, and gas development are unnecessary, costly, and harming them by worsening Utah’s severe air pollution while ignoring safer, cleaner, cheaper alternatives. The case follows a 2025 Utah Supreme Court ruling that mooted an earlier youth case and clarified that plaintiffs must target specific government conduct rather than broad energy policies to obtain meaningful relief. The plaintiffs want the permits declared unconstitutional, harmful ones reviewed or revoked, and a halt to new fossil-fuel permits unless they serve a compelling interest and consider lifecycle GHGs, health harms, and safer alternatives.

Exxon lawsuit moves ahead – Connecticut advanced its deceptive-practices lawsuit against ExxonMobil after a state judge last week denied in full the company’s motion to strike, rejecting arguments that the case was precluded by federal law, insufficient under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act or barred by the First Amendment, among other grounds. The ruling follows earlier unsuccessful efforts by ExxonMobil to remove the case or dismiss the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction, including losses in federal district court and the Second Circuit. Connecticut filed the suit in September 2020 under the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, alleging ExxonMobil ran a decades-long campaign to mislead the public about climate risks from fossil fuels.

A US platform for buying sustainable products is adding a tool to enable customers to claw back tax on credit purchases, by teaming up with a non-profit investor in the carbon removal (CDR) sector.

A UK energy efficiency firm announced Tuesday it has partnered with a global infrastructure provider to launch a carbon credit registry for the built environment.

A US direct air capture (DAC) developer has secured investment from a Japanese financial institution and one of the country’s major engineering firms, according to an announcement made on Tuesday.

There is no single best way to design support schemes to help alleviate the cost of carbon pricing schemes for consumers that may need support, a study has found. 

Private assets will be more exposed to climate risks in 2026, but next year’s reporting landscape will likely be haphazard, with some regulators ramping up requirements despite policy rollbacks, according to analysts.

Mineral precipitation occurred within hours of alkalinity addition in a series of ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) experiments in the North Atlantic, in some cases removing more alkalinity than was initially added and potentially rendering the approach counterproductive, a new study has found.

A financial emissions accounting initiative has Monday published an updated version of its emissions accounting standard for financial institutions.

The California-Quebec joint carbon market and Washington’s cap-and-invest programme announced auction dates and reserve prices for 2026 on Monday, along with next year’s sale volumes.

Canada could increase its GDP by C$16 billion ($11.5 bln) by 2050 with more research and investment in the nascent marine CDR (mCDR) industry, said a report.

A UN-managed climate fund announced on Thursday that it will begin partnering with project developers, in addition to investment fund managers and advisors, to support the scale-up of nature-based investments.

Grant gridlock – The US EPA is urging recipients of the Biden-era Community Change Grant Program to complete closeout paperwork that would finalise the Trump administration’s cancellations of the $1.6 bln environmental justice initiative, a move that would prevent awardees from challenging the terminations in court, E&E News reported. The agency’s push comes as multiple non-profits and local governments pursue litigation over the cancellations, among other programme funding freezes. Some grantees say the EPA is pressing them to close out grants while simultaneously failing to release reimbursement funds, raising concerns that the agency is using the process to gain leverage in ongoing cases. Attorneys have asked a federal court to issue an injunction, alleging the EPA is withholding closeout funds and warning that forced compliance could undermine awardees’ ability to contest what they call unlawful terminations.

A Latin American country has received its first payment from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) for verified REDD+ emission reductions.

The Dec-25 V25 RGA futures contract jumped $1.72 or 6.4% over the Nov. 24-28 period to settle at $28.64 on ICE Friday, before breaching the $29 threshold for the first time on Monday.

Power-hungry projections – BloombergNEF raised its forecast for US data-centre electricity demand to 106 GW by 2035, a 36% jump from its April outlook, citing a surge of early-stage project announcements, it reported on Monday. The analysis found that power needs tied to artificial intelligence (AI) training and use are transforming the energy system, even as AI’s commercial returns remain uncertain and spark questions about overinvestment. BNEF estimated AI workloads will climb from about 12% of data centre capacity today to nearly 40% by 2035, pushing utilisation rates higher across the sector.

A veteran European carbon markets analyst has joined a US-based investment advisor to help drive expansion of the company's activities and develop greater investor awareness of carbon markets, according to a press release issued Tuesday.