Low-carbon banks – London School of Economics’ TPI Global Climate Transition Centre opened a public consultation last week on proposed design updates to its banking assessment tool, seeking feedback from investors, banks, multilaterals, and IFIs on methodological changes to the Net Zero Banking Assessment Framework and its Carbon Performance for Banks metrics. The centre, which independently evaluates institutions using publicly disclosed data, said the consultation runs until Jan. 31, 2026.

The private branch of the World Bank has announced its first investment in a renewable hydrogen production project, selecting a Uruguay project focused on freight in the forestry sector.

A new batch of more than 2 million carbon credits has been issued in the US using an updated forest carbon accounting approach, according to a Tuesday announcement.

Solar + battery deal done – BayWa r.e. closed $416 mln in financing for the Jacumba Valley Ranch Energy Park in San Diego County, according to PV Magazine. The project, comprised of 90 MW of solar and 70 MW/280 MWh of battery storage, is expected to begin operations in autumn 2026, delivering electricity to approximately 57,000 homes through San Diego Community Power. The project is expected to avoid approximately 500,000 MtCO2 of emissions over its lifetime.

Climate rewrite – The US EPA has removed references to human-driven warming from several climate webpages, replacing prior explanations of anthropogenic GHG emissions with content that highlights only natural factors such as orbital shifts, solar variation, and volcanism, E&E News reported. The overhaul also scrapped pages on climate indicators and impacts that previously linked to data and models showing how CO2, methane, and other pollutants affect US communities. An EPA spokesperson framed the changes as routine updates aligned with President Trump’s priorities, while outside scientists said the agency has erased authoritative material that once served as a key resource for researchers. Critics argued the edits appear aimed at bolstering the administration’s planned repeal of the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding for GHGs, which relies on a DOE report now the subject of litigation over its contentious development.

83 GW of hope – Ten US East Coast states targeting 83 GW of offshore wind by 2050, but 2020-23 crises revealed that governance, not turbine technology, is the real bottleneck, according to analysis published in Energy Research & Social Science. Thirteen of 23 offtake agreements were terminated after cost increases of roughly 50% from Covid-19, Ukraine war, and supply chain disruptions. State institutions adapted through this challenging time via institutional learning: New York developed inflation adjustment mechanisms and technology certification requirements; Massachusetts negotiated an 11-state fisheries mitigation framework; and New Jersey coordinated regional transmission planning. By 2024, the first utility-scale project (South Fork, 132 MW) became operational, with over 15 GW fully approved and 6 GW under construction at present.  

Toll tactics – A new study published in Nature found that New York City’s new congestion pricing programme led to a sharp fall in air pollution during its first six months. Particulate matter levels in the toll zone dropped by about 22%, compared with what researchers estimated would have occurred without the policy. Using data from 42 regional monitors, the authors also found smaller but consistent reductions across the city and wider metro area, with no sign that pollution was pushed into neighbouring districts. The study linked the improvements to fewer vehicles entering the zone, including an 18% decline in heavy-duty trucks.

A power reshuffle – The US DOJ approved Constellation Energy's $26.6 bln acquisition of Calpine Corporation on condition that the merged entity divest six power plants, including two in RGGI state Delaware – Hay Road Energy Center and Edge Moor Energy Center – according to a company announcement. Calpine in total owns 48 power facilities across CAISO, PJM, NYISO and the NE-ISO regions. The consent decree, the first in an electricity merger in 14 years, resolves antitrust concerns over Constellation's control of more than 20 GW of generating capacity across the US.

Rail, road, revolution – California Governor Gavin Newsom announced $1.1 bln in zero-emission transit investments on Monday, following approval from the California Transportation Commission. The funding will be used for electric buses, charging stations, and infrastructure, including $53 mln for 12 clean-energy locomotives to replace diesel ones on southern California's commuter train system Metrolink. California's GHG emissions have dropped 21% since 2000 despite 81% GDP growth, with over 200,000 public EV charging stations statewide and two-thirds clean energy powering the state in 2023.

The harmonisation of emissions reporting will be a key theme of 2026 as consensus grows over the need for product-level carbon accounting in global trade and climate policy, according to an end-of-year outlook report.

Stop the robots – A coalition of US environmental groups has published an open letter to Congress demanding a national moratorium on new data centres as the nation faces rapidly increasing energy demand and electricity pricing. The coalition consists of groups from 30 US states as well as dozens of regional and national organisations, including Greenpeace USA, Friends of the Earth, and the US Climate Action Network. In addition to driving up energy usage, the coalition decries data centres’ massive water consumption, fossil fuel-sourced energy, and job losses linked to the proliferation of AI. The groups call for a national moratorium until more adequate regulations can be enacted to protect communities and the environment.

ExxonMobil has reduced the level of capital it plans to allocate to low-carbon investments this decade, outlining around $20 billion of lower-emissions spending between 2025 and 2030 in its updated corporate plan released on Tuesday.

US Senator Michael Bennet (D) on Monday announced a plan to develop a state-wide cap-and-invest programme that would place an enforceable cap on emissions across major economic sectors if he wins Colorado's gubernatorial race.

A US federal judge has vacated a Trump administration order that halted permitting for wind energy projects nationwide, finding the action unlawful and arbitrary under administrative law.

Voluntary carbon credit retirements were down by 30% month-on-month in November, and at 50% of the levels seen over the same period last year, as issuance also fell away, while CORSIA supply started to filter in as new credits were tagged as eligible for the UN's international aviation offsetting scheme.

Progress for Article 6.4 - The expert panel (MEP) working on Article 6.4 methodologies, have tentatively agreed to recommend a tool for assessing the risk of reversals across activity types, such as biochar, forestry, and subsurface CO2 storage, at the end of its 10th meeting. Major work was also undertaken on revising CDM methodologies for grid-connected electricity and the associated emission factor tools. A merged and updated tool for calculating grid emission factors was also finalised and is due for public consultation. The MEP also worked on revisions to the clean cooking energy transition methodology, and a consolidated framework will include updated sampling guidelines, efficiency methodologies, and renewable biomass considerations. Details of the meeting will be published on the UNFCCC website shortly, and the next meeting will be Jan. 26-30.

Carbon-storing roads - Carbon Crusher has launched the 'Carbon Rover' - a road refurbishment machine that sequesters hundreds of tonnes of CO2 per mile, it said in a release Tuesday. The American and Norwegian startup claims the AI-guided machine also delivers roads up to three times stronger and longer-lasting. The Carbon Rover's capabilities have been proven on road projects in five countries, from Arctic conditions to the desert. The startup claims a fleet of six machines - each able to sequester up to 940 tonnes of CO2e per day - could, even at 50% capacity, remove 1 mln tonnes of CO2 within two years as the concept scales globally. Carbon Crusher is backed by investors including Y Combinator and Lowercarbon Capital.

Verra has launched a review into the verification and validation assessments of a large avoided deforestation project in the Brazilian Amazon following accusations that it has generated millions of carbon credits from land inside federally-protected areas.

Five countries are leading the way in developing legal frameworks to support blue carbon, which are urgently needed to tackle the persistent barriers thwarting market growth, found a non-profit in a new report.

The Republic of the Congo and Costa Rica have submitted their host party participation requirements documents to the UNFCCC as a prerequisite to engage the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), prioritising forestry, transport, and energy.

Reaching net zero emissions globally by 2050, which will conserve and restore biodiversity, will cost about $8 trillion per year over the next 25 years – which is much lower than the escalating costs of climate change for health, nature, productivity, agriculture, infrastructure, and more, the UN warned on Tuesday.

A rating agency has teamed up with a satellite-based biomass measurement company to advance the accuracy and transparency of forest carbon assessments worldwide.

You get an allowance - Washington regulator Department of Ecology (ECY) published an updated no-cost allowance allocation schedule to electric utilities for 2023-2026 on Monday. The latest round of updates detail utility-specific calculations under the state’s cap-and-invest programme.

Preparing a Big Mac report - California's Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee (IEMAC) will circulate draft chapters for its 2025 annual report the week of Jan. 5 and meet mid-January to finalise the document, as per the carbon market watchdog's meeting Monday. The report will examine affordability and cost containment mechanisms as California regulator ARB develops rules under AB 1207. The committee is waiting on end-of-year ARB reports before completing some chapters. After the mid-January meeting, IEMAC will release the report and hold webinar sessions with ARB on the findings.

An Ohio-based company has received limited notice to begin engineering and procurement on a CO2 capture system for an existing US power plant with an estimated value of $80 million.

A new modelling tool could help middle-income countries come up with policies capable of cutting global greenhouse gases by about 5% by 2040, by tackling emissions from cooling and refrigeration, according to the researchers who announced it on Tuesday.