Climate analysts considered the extent to which climate policy and carbon markets have had an impact on emission curves versus economic trends during a Thursday panel discussion, with all agreeing that it’s virtually impossible to objectively know for sure.

Unresolved - Finland has approved two major climate policy documents – a medium-term climate plan and a new energy and climate strategy – intended to help meet national and EU emissions reduction obligations, but the government has not yet resolved how to address the sharp decline in the country’s forest carbon sinks, which are essential for its 2035 carbon neutrality goal. The medium-term plan focuses mainly on transport, including a car-scrapping incentive to accelerate low-emission and electric vehicle uptake, renewed subsidies to convert petrol cars to ethanol or gas, and targeted support for low-income households purchasing EVs. The energy and climate strategy introduces investment incentives for clean energy and low-carbon industry, including a €50 mln tax credit for electricity-based industrial projects and €90 mln for carbon capture solutions, alongside planning reforms to speed up wind and solar deployment. Climate and Environment Minister Sari Multala said the measures keep Finland on track to meet its 2030 Effort Sharing Regulation target and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035. She added that decisions on forest sinks are delayed due to inadequate data, prompting a new methodological review. Updated assessments from the Natural Resources Institute Finland indicate the land-use sector has shifted from a net sink to a net source of emissions, putting both EU and domestic targets at risk. Current government actions – including forest fertilisation, afforestation, denser forest management and longer harvesting cycles – are expected to increase sequestration by only a few million tonnes, while the gap is estimated at up to several tens of millions of tonnes. (Xinhua)

The Council of EU member states and the European Parliament struck a political deal on Thursday to delay and simplify implementation of the bloc’s regulation on deforestation-free products, pushing back core obligations by a year to give companies and national authorities more time to prepare.

Italy, supported by Greece and Malta, wants to temporarily exclude the maritime sector from the EU's Emissions Trading System until a UN agreement is reached on the adoption of a global carbon pricing mechanism.

EU carbon prices look set to climb further into 2026 before easing later in the decade, a team of analysts said Thursday, as tightening supply, record fund positioning, and a growing structural deficit collide with weakening industrial demand, a rapidly decarbonising power mix, and possible market intervention.

Scope 3 farming guidance - Guidance published by South Pole and WBCSD has called on companies to adopt more consistent approaches to engaging farmers in agricultural supply chain decarbonisation, with recommendations to ensure fair benefit-sharing, flexible financing, capacity building, and long-term investment. The document outlined strategies for different farm types and stressed the importance of tracking social outcomes such as livelihoods and food security alongside carbon metrics.

The UK ETS Authority confirmed on Thursday in a response to a public consultation that it will extend the British carbon market for a second phase beyond 2030, when the current first phase ends, and also announced some key changes for the system in a response to a second consultation that align the scheme more closely to the EU system ahead of a planned linkage.

European carbon prices snapped their three-day losing streak on Thursday as the market broke free in the afternoon from the pull of the main options expiry in a week's time, while the energy complex resumed its downward trend amid forecasts for milder weather.

Green zones - Turkiye has expanded its certified green industrial zones to 27 nationwide. This follows the recent certification of the Ankara-based OSTIM zone that mandates solar panels on all new buildings, as well as other energy and infrastructure standards. The national green push is largely driven by external market forces such as the EU Green Deal and incoming carbon border fee, which incentivise Turkish exporters to adopt low-carbon production processes. The Green OSB Certificate is intended to help companies in these zones meet stringent environmental compliance standards, thereby boosting the country's trade positioning. (YeniSafak)

A large Romanian energy company may have underpaid on its carbon compliance costs linked to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), according to a media investigation published on Thursday, although the utility had denied the accusations.

The European Parliament and Council of EU member states are expected to reach a deal on the bloc's 2040 climate targets when they next meet on Tuesday, although the issue of international carbon credits remains a sticking point, according to sources.

Joining forces - The UK and the Philippines are teaming up to accelerate the clean energy transition, by way of the Philippines-UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) programme, launched on Dec. 2 in Manila. The initiave aligns with the Philippines' target to cut GHG emissions 75% by 2030, and to reach 50% renewable energy in the power generation mix by 2040. PACT will fund interventions including on offshore wind, electric power system cost simulation, and speeding up microgrid deployment.

Zimbabwe has opened negotiations with several countries to develop bilateral agreements for carbon credit trade under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, including Singapore, Switzerland, and Malaysia, a government official said Thursday.

Eight EU countries have banded together form an early movers' coalition to develop electro-sustainable aviation fuels (eSAFs), in an effort to push more production and uptake, the European Commission announced on Thursday. 

The UK's energy regulator has signed off on company plans to invest £28 billion in gas and power network upgrades, in an effort to accommodate the country's changing energy mix and planned renewables surge over the next five years.

A study published Thursday has highlighted structural price inequalities at the heart of the voluntary carbon market (VCM), showing that carbon credits generated in advanced economies command nearly 30% higher prices than otherwise similar projects in emerging and developing countries.

The European ceramics industry has warned of looming 30-40% cost inflation driven by rising energy and CO2 prices, calling for “emergency measures” to keep production in Europe as hundreds of small businesses struggle to meet their obligations under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Climate policy ambition is accelerating in Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, with carbon markets growing and policy ambition sometimes overtaking that of the EU, UK, and North America, found a new report.

Rising imbalance - The risk of climate change exacerbating social inequalities was highlighted by the German government in a new report. The annual poverty and wealth report included for the first time a chapter on the social challenges of climate change and emissions reduction. It found low-income households spend up to 13% of their budget on energy - more than twice that of wealthy households, which have a larger carbon footprint and are more able to invest in building renovations or electric cars to lower the impact of CO2 prices. Germany's rising CO2 prices lead to higher heating and transport costs, which could exacerbate social inequalities, it warned.

High-integrity natural climate solutions (NCS) carbon credits are essential to effective, efficient and equitable climate policy, including under Paris Article 6.4, write eleven scientists and researchers in response to a recent Nature comment.

The European Commission launched three new funding windows worth a combined €5.2 billion in EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) revenues to support net zero technologies and industrial decarbonisation, it announced on Thursday.

DAC innovation - Climeworks has opened a direct air capture (DAC) innovation hub in Zurich, employing more than 50 engineers. The centre aims to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of DAC, as well as investigating sorbent performance and system design. The idea is to unite R&D under one roof and thereby speed up innovation and large-scale deployment.

A key investor in one of Scotland’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects is preparing to sell its stake, introducing fresh uncertainty around the future of the initiative.

Domino effect - Software provider CarbonChain has launched a new partner programme to help advisers, consultancies, and tech platforms deliver deeper decarbonisation impact for their clients. The programme allows partners to refer, co-sell, or integrate CarbonChain’s platform to help expand carbon intelligence across their value chain. CarbonChain's software helps companies and banks to decarbonise their supply chains and provides emissions datasets, CBAM-ready workflows, and reporting tools.    

Re-election - Eve Tamme has been re-elected as chair of the Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP), which from Apr. 2026 will be known as Carbon Management Europe. Her election follows a competitive process with six candidates, she said on LinkedIn. ZEP is a non-profit advising the EU on industrial carbon management. Tamme also acts as managing director of climate policy advisory Climate Principles, among other roles including board member at Puro.earth, Carbon Gap, and Patch.

Brussels will propose that companies from countries where significant Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) avoidance is detected be limited to using default, country-level emissions reporting values, the centre-right European Parliament lawmaker leading on climate issues told Carbon Pulse on Thursday.

A roadmap for financial institutions to develop mangrove-positive lending approaches has been launched by a financing initiative focused on these coastal trees.

The Sizewell C nuclear power station could generate £1.6 billion annually for the UK economy during its construction, supporting 15,000 jobs each year nationwide, according to a report published Thursday.

Slashing steel emissions - Deep.Meta is using artificial intelligence (AI) to transform the climate impact of steel production. The startup has reduced emissions by almost 10% at Spartan UK's steel plant in Newcastle, northeast England, it said in a release Thursday. Spartan UK is the only producer of steel plates in the country, and the UK steel industry contributed £1.7 bln to the British economy last year. Deep.Meta's technology uses an AI-powered digital twin plus sensor data to more accurately predict steel slab temperatures, and improve scheduling and energy efficiency. It will now enter live pilot stage at Spartan UK.

Banned for greenwashing - Adverts for Nike, Superdry, and Lacoste have been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for making misleading claims about their green credentials. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the identified three adverts lacked evidence to back up the claims about the product's sustainability, and the companies were warned future promotions must contain "a high level of substantiation" for any sustainability claims. The rulings form part of a broader ASA crackdown on brands making misleading green claims. (BBC)

Uncertain elements of the EU's carbon border fee, such as whether it covers indirect emissions, will determine whether the policy acts as an effective trade barrier, or poses a competitive advantage, an industry conference heard this week.

Digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) could significantly accelerate investment in industrial CO2 capture and removal projects, researchers have found, with measurement estimated to account for up to 15% of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and 13% direct air capture and storage (DACCS) project costs.

An annual global asset owner survey, published Thursday, has revealed that sustainable investment continues to hold a central place in institutional strategies, as concerns about climate risk and regulatory complexity grow.

A UK-backed climate programme will help Indonesia develop carbon market infrastructure via a 15-month technical assistance contract as the country seeks to close a $473 bln climate finance gap by 2035.

Carbon credits of a low quality saw their prices rise last month, moving close to an average $6 per tonne, according to updated analysts indices.

A startup risk management company is investing in electric cookstoves in Sub-Saharan Africa to ward off integrity concerns that is sees as undermining Article 6 trading, an executive told Carbon Pulse.

Nuclear power is set for a revival global because it will be a cheaper option for countries seeking to decarbonize their electricity grid compared to just relying on renewable energy, a study claims.  

A French company developing a plasma-based process to decarbonise high-temperature industrial processes has raised €30 million in Series A funding, it announced Thursday.

A state-backed Saudi company spearheading the development of the domestic voluntary carbon market on Thursday announced a partnership with a Singapore-based developer, seeking advice on project origination.

Europe must triple installed solar and wind capacity and lift electricity demand by about 71% by 2050 to reach net zero emissions by 2050, requiring significantly faster grid upgrades across the region, a new report has found.

A group of major glass, packaging, mining, and automotive companies on Thursday announced the launch of a global certification programme to cut emissions and raise sustainability standards across the glass supply chain.