Still going up - Global greenhouse gas emissions reached 5.03 bln tonnes CO₂e in October 2025, up 0.40% year-on-year, according to Climate TRACE data released Wednesday. Transportation sector emissions posted the largest sectoral increase at 1.13% as compared to October 2024, while power sector emissions rose 0.81% to 1.28 bln tCO₂e despite renewable energy growth. Year-to-date 2025 global emissions totalled 50.31 bln tonnes CO₂e, up 0.55% versus 2024. China's October emissions increased 0.60% to 1.42 bln tCO₂e , while US emissions rose 0.61% and EU emissions declined 0.46%. The coalition's database now tracks 245 additional power plants globally and nearly 2,300 cattle operations in Japan.

Italy’s largest energy company finalised a deal with a global asset manager to split the stake in its carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) business.

Voluntary carbon market standard Verra has published an initial list of approved insurers to support project developers for credits eligible under the UN’s international aviation emissions scheme, CORSIA.

European carbon allowance prices fluctuated in a wide range on Thursday, falling by as much as 1.4% before clawing back the losses and showing a daily gain in the afternoon, until renewed selling pressure pushed the market into the red at the close, while UK allowances jumped to their highest in 27 months as traders reacted to news that the countries intend to finalise an agreement to link the two markets by the middle of 2026.

The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has succeeded in encouraging more countries to pursue carbon pricing, and will have a minimal impact on the world's poorest countries once its begins charging a carbon fee, the European Commission found in a review of the mechanism's two-year transition.

Road rethink - A new preprint examines how AI and intelligent transport systems (ITS) can improve the prediction of road transport emissions and model potential reduction strategies in polluted urban areas. Using Dilovasi, Turkiye as a case study, researchers compared the COPERT 4 emissions model with AI-based approaches, including artificial neural networks and an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). ANFIS showed superior predictive accuracy for NOx and CO2 emissions. Scenario analysis indicates that ITS-triggered traffic rerouting, especially of passenger vehicles, could reduce modelled emissions, with effectiveness varying seasonally. Cost comparisons suggest locally optimised rerouting may offer a relatively economical mitigation option.

A standard body has published its new approach to calculating baselines for the carbon savings of REDD projects, alongside a series of jurisdictional maps.

More than €630 million in EU climate finance is set to support fossil gas power projects in Czechia and Bulgaria, raising concerns over the misuse of funds under EU’s Modernisation Fund intended for the energy transition, an industry watchdog said Thursday.

Funding innovation - The UK's Royal Academy of Engineering has awarded £39 mln to a group of climate innovations via its Green Future Fellows programme. Thirteen engineering innovations will receive £3 mln each to develop ways to tackle various causes of the climate crisis, mitigate, and adapt to its impacts. Awardee solutions include storing renewable energy in ammonia, turning waste CO2 into useful products like plastics, fuels, and chemicals, and a new type of more energy dense battery. The Fellowships are funded by a £150 mln, long-term investment from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The application period for the second round of funding closed in November with awardees to be announced in early 2027, while a third round is expected to open for applications in Autumn 2026.

The European Parliament’s final decision to delay the bloc’s regulation on deforestation-free products this week has been met with surprise and relief across paper, pulp, and publishing sectors, Carbon Pulse heard Thursday.

UK nuke plans set - The UK's nuclear planning rules came into force on Thursday, with changes that will allow for the country's first small modular reactors, DESNZ announced. The new planning rules (EN7), put forward in February, are aimed at slashing red tape on nuclear power plant developments, creating a clear path for smaller and easier-to-build reactors.

Spain and Denmark are leading the development of green hydrogen and e-fuel projects for maritime use, though a lack of regulatory certainty is holding back progress, according to new research published Thursday.

Right place at the right time - Germany's Battery Storage Systems Association (BVES) expects strong growth in every segment of the industry next year, though the government needs to pull the right regulatory levers to allow the energy system to absorb the expected surge in storage capacity in coming years, said Managing Director Beatrice Schulz. Energy storage is still far from sufficient to meet downtimes on the grid and needs to be added at all levels, including from lithium-ion batteries, and other types like thermal storage. Policymakers still underestimate how much storage can help secure supply and cut cost, and more work is needed to improve grid connection procedures, she said. (Clean Energy Wire)

Poland is eyeing a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of as much as 75% by 2040, driven largely by cuts, and a coal phaseout, in the electricity and heat sectors, according to the country's latest draft energy and climate plan.

Voluntary and regulated carbon markets are converging, a development that could mark a "turning point" for climate finance, according to a new research paper.

Storage support - The UK government's Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 has passed through Parliament, enshrining in law a new mechanism to support delivery of the next generation of long duration electricity storage (LDES). In a letter addressed to industry, Minister of State for Energy Michael Shanks outlines the measures now available to LDES such as pumped storage hydro and liquid air energy storage, which provide more than 8 hours of electricity storage duration. LDES is vital to storing increasing proportions of intermittent wind and solar power on the grid and making Britain a clean energy superpower, he said. A cap and floor scheme is to be introduced to support the sector, delivered by Ofgem, which will be technology neutral and shall provide revenue support to developers. Ofgem plans to make final decisions on successful projects under the cap and floor scheme in Summer 2026, since opening the scheme to applicants in April and shortlisting some of them in September. The scheme delivery remains on track and consumer interests will be protected, wrote Shanks.

The European Commission on Thursday launched a 12-week public consultation to prepare a revision of the EU’s Governance Regulation, the legislative backbone of the Energy Union and the framework for meeting the bloc’s climate and energy objectives on the path to climate neutrality.

CO2 storage approval - The first full-scale CO2 storage facility has been approved in Denmark by the Danish Energy Agency. The permit authorises the Greensand Future project to store up to 2.4 mln tonnes of CO2 in the former Nini West oil and gas field in the Danish part of the North Sea, around 240 km northwest of Esbjerg. Expected operational by mid-2026 and to operate for up to 30 years, the project is being developed by INEOS E&P, Harbour Energy, and Nordsøfonden, and is building on the successful pilot injection carried out in 2023.

Norway's domestic climate measures are now almost sufficient to limit warming to less than 2C, but its efforts are stymied by continued oil and gas exports, according to research released on Thursday.

Responsible for an estimated 14.5% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, projects tackling livestock emissions have historically covered a very small part of the carbon market – but developers are preparing to go mainstream, with methodologies under Verra in development and poised for submission next year.

A UK startup active in biochar carbon removal has secured £4 million in a late seed funding round to expand operations across Northwest England and speed up entry into northern Europe.

An Iceland-based carbon registry launched a public consultation this week for a new methodology aimed at quantifying emissions savings from avoided coal mining and combustion.

The European Commission has unveiled proposals forcing large companies across the EU to switch their new cars and vans to zero- and low-emission models from 2030, in a bid to cut road transport emissions and shore up the bloc’s auto industry.

On fire - Burn has delivered 6.3 mln stoves and avoided 62.3 mln tonnes of CO2 to date, the developer said in an end-of-year update. In 2025, amid rising emissions, policy uncertainty, and pressure on carbon markets, the developer said its mission across Africa is still urgent. It recently saw nearly 200,000 credits labelled as eligible for Phase 1 of CORSIA.

Ireland stands at a pivotal moment in its energy transition, with an opportunity to build on its strong record in renewable electricity to deliver a more resilient power system and meet rapidly rising demand, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a new report.

BP has appointed a new chief executive in a move that could see the oil and gas major move further away from renewables.

Green H2 loan - Nordic Green Bank Nefco has signed a €7 mln financing agreement with Norwegian Hydrogen to accelerate the expansion of green hydrogen production across the Nordics. The Nefco loan will support the introduction of renewable hydrogen, made using renewable electricity, in hard-to-abate industries, and the package also includes equity contributions from shareholders. Part of the funding will go towards development of the Rjukan liquid hydrogen project, which was recently offered €31.5 mln funding from the EU Innovation Fund, €13.2 mln from the EU Hydrogen Bank, and NOK 100 mln (€8 mln) from Innovation Norway.

Priority reshuffling - The UK opposition party The Conservatives have pledged to cut green energy funding in favour of defence spending to ensure the country is ready for war. Under the party's plans, £6 bln would be reallocated from the government's R&D budget to the Ministry of Defence, while the National Wealth Fund would become the National Defence and Resilience Bank. Some £11 bln from the fund allocated to "costly eco-projects" would be redirected to defence, with the remainder used for national resilience like water and transport, The Conservatives said. The Labour-led govt has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, but the Tories are calling for it to be 3%. (BBC)

EV relaxation - The UK government has played down suggestions it is planning to bring forward the publication of a review of electric vehicle sales targets from 2027 to next year, stressing the review will still be published in 2027 with only preparatory work happening next year. In April it said it would weaken its zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate after lobbying from the car industry, with plans to allow flexibilities such as allowing automakers to sell hybrid cars. However, ministers said they would not weaken plans to ban the sale of new petrol or diesel cars from 2035, despite the EU's recent watering down of its 2035 target. (the Guardian)

Another hot year - Global temperatures are expected average 1.46C above pre-industrial levels in 2026, making it one of the four warmest years on record, the UK's Met Office warned on Thursday. This would fall just behind the 1.55C recorded in 2024, the first year temperatures exceeded the Paris Agreement's goal to limit warming to 1.5C. It would also mark the fourth year in a row with warming at 1.4C or more.

The beginnings of a cleaner chemicals industry are starting to take shape in Europe, with new plants coming online in the next few years expected to reduce lifecycle emissions 80% compared to fossil-based production.