Connecticut's Power Play - Connecticut's 2026 gubernatorial race centers on electricity affordability as candidates navigate tension between the state's 2040 zero-emission electricity mandate and rising utility costs, according to CT Mirror. Governor Ned Lamont supports expanding natural gas pipeline capacity while backing offshore wind, facing primary challenger Josh Elliott who proposes state bond financing for renewable projects instead of ratepayer charges. Republican Ryan Fazio advocates eliminating or reducing the $1 bln annual public benefits charge funding energy efficiency and renewable programmes. Trump administration offshore wind project suspensions and federal clean energy subsidy rollbacks complicate state climate policy implementation as Connecticut electricity prices rank near highest nationally.

Washington state legislators have prefiled two bills that would increase compliance obligations for certain entities under the state's emissions trading scheme and enable the state to generate revenues from public land via carbon credit project development.

North American carbon traders closed out their Vintage 2025 holdings in the futures and options as well as futures only markets over the Dec. 10-23 period, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed.

Total California-registered accounts under the state's Quebec-linked emissions trading system reached 821 at the end of Q4 as both general market participants and compliance entities opened accounts, state data published Wednesday showed.

California regulator ARB issued more than 5 million offsets in December, the majority of which offered direct environmental benefits (DEBs) to the state, according to data released during the end-of-year holiday period.

Finance flows - Wall Street’s largest banks earned more from financing green projects than from fossil fuel clients in 2025 for a fourth consecutive year, even as broader pressure mounted to curb their involvement in the sector, Bloomberg reported Friday. Lenders generated about $3.7 bln in revenue from climate-related loans and bond underwriting last year, compared with roughly $2.9 bln from oil, gas, and coal. That marked a sharp reversal from 2020, when banks earned nearly twice as much from fossil fuel companies as from green initiatives. However, the total was down from about $4.2 bln in 2024, when banks generated higher fees from climate-related financing.

Taxing turns – Fuel tax revenues worth around $920 bln a year are potentially at risk over time as electric vehicle uptake accelerates worldwide, with lower-income countries facing the sharpest fiscal exposure, according to new research in Nature Sustainability. The study estimates fuel taxes generated over $920 bln in 2023 across 137 taxing countries within a 168-country sample, and finds low-income economies rely on these revenues for over 9% of total government income on average, around three times the relative exposure of high-income states. Many highly exposed countries are associated with weaker institutional capacity and higher debt burdens, constraining their ability to replace revenues as battery-electric vehicles expand and internal combustion engine sales decline.

Alberta’s environment and protected areas minister, responsible for overseeing North America's longest-running carbon pricing system, has tendered her resignation, saying she will step down from cabinet while continuing to serve in the legislature.

A Californian tech company claims to have created an electro-sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) that will be cheaper than the cost of fossil jet fuel at any scale of production.

Retirements across the voluntary carbon market (VCM) grew year-on-year in 2025, while the total value surpassed $10 billion for the first time, according to analysts.

El Salvador’s latest climate pledge under the Paris Agreement places new emphasis on the potential role of international carbon markets, signaling interest in using Article 6 mechanisms to raise finance under its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).