A US DOE funding proposal would divert carbon capture and storage (CCS) funding toward extending coal plant operations rather than advancing transformative capture technology, according to an analysis released on Monday.

The Mexican state of Colima has formalised the operational rules for its state-level emissions offset system and Low Carbon Seal, as it moves to implement one of the country’s highest subnational carbon taxes.

Jumping the carbon gun - Consumer Watchdog and two law firms filed a class action lawsuit against Chevron, Valero, PBF Energy, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66, alleging the companies illegally raised California gasoline prices before Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) amendments took effect July 1 of last year, Politico reported. Data from California ARB showed prices jumped 5-8 cents per gallon starting in January, costing consumers over $300 mln in premature charges linked to LCFS credit costs. The lawsuit seeks $350 mln in restitution and independent audit of LCFS cost reporting.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) futures posted modest gains over the holiday period, with traders saying upcoming price movements will be underpinned by power market fundamentals.

More than half of offshore wind developers halted in late December by the Trump administration are seeking court action to get back up and running, saying they're losing millions of dollars per day of the delay.

Forced to run - The US DOE ordered Tri-State Generation and Transmission's 427 MW Craig Generating Station Unit 1 in northwestern Colorado to remain online through end of March, with extension option, one day before the nearly 50-year-old coal plant's scheduled closure, EnergyWire reported. Energy Secretary Chris Wright cited emergency authority to prevent power outages, referencing a NERC 2024 assessment showing 5 GW baseload generation retiring by 2028 in the Western region with potential battery storage supply chain issues. State leaders opposed the order.

Climate Action Reserve (CAR) announced on Monday its first hire in the Asia-Pacific region – a role intended to advance the carbon credit registry’s market development strategy.

Brazil’s National Bank for Economic & Social Development (BNDES) opened on Monday a R$10 million ($1.9 mln) public selection notice to support the technical study of national carbon credit certification.

Amazon deforestation slows – Deforestation in the Colombian Amazon fell by 25% during the first nine months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, data published by Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Minambiente) showed. In the first three quarters of 2025, 36,280 ha were cleared, down from 48,500 ha over the same period a year earlier. The estimates were produced by the country’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (Ideam).

Brazil recently defined the mandatory carbon emissions reduction targets for the next decade under the country’s biofuels-based carbon pricing policy.

Peru has published a regulation to clarify the generation and sale of carbon credits in state-managed protected natural areas, adopting a new framework that seeks to balance environmental safeguards with greater legal certainty for market-based conservation projects.

California energy regulators have recommended approving a large-scale solar and energy storage development after concluding that its benefits outweigh expected impacts on the local landscape.

CFS results - Washington's Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) eliminated approximately 2 MtCO2 in 2023, according to a report published by the state's Department of Ecology (ECY). This was achieved at a cost of less than 1 cent per gallon of gasoline, the agency said. Washington regulators approved changes to the programme in fall last year targetting reductions in hard-to-abate sectors in the state. Transportation is Washington’s largest source of GHG output, accounting for about 40% of statewide emissions, according to the ECY.

Insurance inquiry - US Senate Democrats on three committees have opened an investigation into Demotech, a financial analysis firm accused of inflating ratings for small property insurers operating in disaster-prone areas, raising concerns that homeowners may be relying on insurers that could become insolvent after major natural disasters, E&E News reported. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Ron Wyden (OR), and Elizabeth Warren (MA) said the firm’s ratings, which are accepted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – federally backed mortgage giants – play a growing role in the stability of the US housing market as climate change drives more frequent and severe losses, though Demotech has defended its rating practices.

Superfund support - US Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) have filed an amicus brief backing New York’s climate Superfund law, telling a federal court that Congress has not barred states from seeking compensation from energy producers for climate-related harms, E&E News reported. The brief responded to lawsuits brought by a coalition of Republican attorneys general and separately by the Trump administration, which argue the law is unconstitutional and preempted by the Clean Air Act. Whitehouse and Gillibrand contend that those challenges would improperly limit state authority and that federal law does not prevent states from pursuing claims tied to the impacts of past GHG emissions.

Aviation emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) grew 3.9% year-on-year in 2025, while those in the industry and power sectors continued to fall, according to new analysis.

European carbon recorded a 1.2% drop on Monday as a robust rally in the morning saw prices test their recent highs, before sellers swarmed into the market and pushed EUAs lower, while participants waited for the resumption of daily auctions and a clearer signal on the scale of demand amid a 9% year-on-year drop in auction supply.

The voluntary carbon market’s credibility has been undermined by reliance on static, assumption-based deforestation baselines that over-credit avoided emissions, but can be restored through dynamic, data-driven baselines that continuously measure real-world outcomes using scientific controls, advanced satellite data, and adaptive modelling.

Carbon offsetting under Colombia's national CO2 tax scheme jumped by more than one-fifth in Q3 2025, according to recently published state data.

Strong promise - Calcium-looping direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) demonstrates net removal efficiencies ranging from 85% to 96% by 2050, according to a scientific report published on ChemRxiv. The analysis shows strong potential for the technology to be used in cement production, using the dual-use of limestone as both a DAC sorbent and a cement feedstock. By cycling the CaCO3 sorbent once through the DAC unit before its calcination in the cement kiln, the integrated system achieves net-negative cement production with a final footprint of around -0.15tCO2 per tonne of cement, the scientists found. Therefore, the technology has strong promise both in CDR and for industrial decarbonisation.

Cyprus, which has taken over the rotating EU Council presidency for the next six months, will aim to clinch a deal between the 27 EU countries on the extension of the bloc's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on Mar. 10, as well as secure agreements on the European Grids Package and the Competitiveness Fund in June.

Voluntary carbon credit issuances surged at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, while the market now gears up for the expected impact of the first wave of CORSIA demand and advancements on Article 6.

Grid expansion - Germany's grid agency BNetzA issued permits to build about 2,000 km of high-voltage transmission lines last year, up 45% on the 1,280 km installed in 2024. Among the approvals were several major high-voltage DC lines to connect industrial hubs in the country's south to wind power in its north. These north-south powerlines called A-Nord, Ultranet, SuedLink and SuedOstLink are expected to help absorb the growing amounts of renewable energy as electrification rises. The country plans to extend its transmission grid by a total of 16,800 km, of which around 3,500 km had been built by June 2025. Doing so is necessary to ensure a secure and reliable supply of renewables, said the BNetzA agency.

UK energy sustainability - The UK's National Energy System Operator (NESO) intends to press ahead this year with what it says is a first-of-a-kind spatial energy plans, nationally and regionally, as part of its effort to create a more sustainable energy system, CEO Fintan Slye said in a statement on Monday. The spatial plans will look to the future and prioritise what's needed, and where it's needed, in order to support sustainable and low-carbon energy. NESO is looking to create an energy system that works for the UK's people, society, and economy - which requires greater energy security, lower energy prices, and emission reductions, Slye added.  

Scaling tech-based carbon removal will not necessarily prove detrimental to the nature-based solutions market, with some technological solutions also bringing biodiversity co-benefits, a carbon finance consultancy told Carbon Pulse.

Climate checkmate - Young activists who won a landmark climate case in Montana failed to convince the Montana Supreme Court to enforce the ruling after the court unanimously rejected their petition in late December, E&E News reported. The youths had asked the court to strike down new state laws they said conflicted with a 2024 decision affirming residents’ constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, but a five-justice panel ruled against the request on Dec. 23. The youths, represented by Our Children’s Trust, argued that measures enacted this spring by Governor Greg Gianforte (R) and the legislature continued to restrict consideration of climate impacts in state energy decisions.

Trust Issues - A new review drawing on a systematic literature review finds that sustainability reporting assurance is associated with reduced corporate greenwashing and is positively valued by capital markets via lower equity capital costs. However, its effectiveness is highly contingent on regulatory strength, enforcement, and assurance quality. Third-party verification can increase perceived risk and reputational cost of misleading ESG disclosures by exposing gaps between public claims and internal practices, but in weak legal environments or under permissive assurance standards, firms may use assurance as a legitimising signal rather than a binding constraint. The study proposes a five-pillar anti-greenwashing framework spanning regulation, stakeholder engagement, third-party verification, corporate culture and internal controls, and technology.

South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment (MCEE) has announced plans to operate its largest-ever climate response fund in 2026, as the government seeks to meet its carbon neutrality goals.

Renewables rush - Europe's push to install renewable energy is being held up by grid connection queues, operators have warned. Rising power demand from industry, households, and data centres is putting a huge strain on energy networks. Queues to be connected stretch over seven years in the Netherlands, while in Germany there are double the number of requests to add battery storage to the grid as is planned in the country's grid development plan. Network operators should be able to allocate connections to projects on their readiness status rather than those that applied first, said the CEO of Elia Group, which operates grid in Belgium and Germany. Meanwhile, grid congestion costs could rise to as much as €26 bln by 2030, according to EU energy regulator Acer. (FT)

Capital raise - Carbonxt Group has secured $600,000 in additional funding through a placement of fully paid ordinary shares supported by major shareholder Phelbe and high net-worth individuals. The company that develops activate carbon products to capture contaminants in industrial processes such as cement plants and coal-fired power plants completed the placement of 6,666,667 shares at $0.09 per share. The proceeds shall be used for working capital and a further investment of $250,000 in New Carbon Processing, increasing Carbonxt’s ownership interest to 46.7%. (Finance News Network)

Environmental groups condemned the US attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3 as illegal, saying the move illustrates the geopolitical instability caused by oil interests and highlights the need to accelerate the transition to clean energy.

UK ETS expansion - In order to prepare for the expansion of the UK ETS to energy from waste and waste incineration from 2028, stakeholders are invited to participate in the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) period, the UK government has announced. The voluntary MRV period is open from Jan. 1, 2026. Further details on the installations in scope and how operators can participate are available here.

CBAM hit - EU's CBAM could hit Thailand's industry by as much as THB 28 bln ($1 bln), or 3.8% of exports to the EU, the Nation reported. Steel industry is particularly troubled, chairman at the Federation of Thai Industries said. The group's data for last year showed that Thailand’s exports of iron and steel products to the EU rose by more than 250% year-on-year. That is now under risk, but EAF steel can help reduce a buyer’s carbon-related costs in the EU by 5-10%. Additionally, efforts to have the EU recognise accredited verifiers in Thailand, work on a Climate Change Act, and an emissions trading system could help blunt the impact. In neighbouring Malaysia, a carbon price of RM 200 ($47) per tCO2e by 2030 is seen as ideal to spur low-carbon steel production.

Greenhouse gas emissions covered by compliance carbon pricing schemes are expected to swell by an additional 2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by the end of 2026, despite political volatility and cost-of-living pressures, according to analysts.

The biggest oil and gas company in India will soon launch its first carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot project, with plans to inject captured CO2 into depleted wells at its Gandhar oil field in Gujarat.

Australia is set to meet its 82% renewables by 2030 target, the government said Monday, pointing to data from last year that showed the energy transition is gathering steam.

Floating farm - Japan’s first commercial floating offshore wind farm has started operating, with power generation beginning Monday, Goto Floating Wind Farm said in a statement. Located off the Goto Islands, the 16.8 MW project is the first-of-its-kind in the country to receive certification from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, and uses a new floating structure that combines steel and concrete. Built with the help of  local companies, the wind farm will mainly supply electricity to local power providers, supporting renewable energy use, and benefiting nearby communities.

Plantation drive - Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry said last week that it planted about 20.9 mln mangrove trees across 15,574 ha in 2024-25 under its Mangroves for Coastal Resilience (M4CR) programme, focused on the regions of North Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Riau, and East Kalimantan. Most of the planting took place in 2024, when 14.6 mln trees were planted over 13,307 ha, involving more than 15,000 local participants, with further planting continuing in 2025. The ministry said the initiative is aimed at strengthening coastal protection, restoring ecosystems, and increasing community participation in mangrove management.

Green loan - The Asian Development Bank has signed a $50 mln loan with Georgia’s only fertiliser maker JSC Rustavi Azot, owned by Singapore-based Indorama Corporation, to upgrade its plants with energy-efficient technology, the bank announced Monday. The project will modernise ammonia and ammonium nitrate facilities, aiming to cut energy use and lower  emissions by about 120,000 tCO2e,  ADB said. It will also provide $500,000 in technical assistance to support sustainable farming practices in Georgia, with a focus on women smallholders, with its total loans, grants, and technical assistance in the country now coming to $5 bln.

Agreement extension - Foresta Group has signed a deed of agreement to extend and amend its exclusive technology licence agreement with E3 Carbon, it told the ASX last week. The updated agreement extends arrangements to Dec. 31, 2027 including requiring E3 Carbon to deliver a comprehensive intellectual property strategy and Foresta's exclusive rights to use the advance torrefaction technology in Australia and New Zealand. Foresta said the extension provides greater certainty to advance its biocarbon strategy and potentially convert the license to a perpetual, royalty-bearing arrangement once further conditions are met.

Working capital - Material science and CCS company Dotz Nano has received binding commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors to raise around A$2 mln ($1.3 mln) through a placement of new fully-paid ordinary shares for working capital purposes, it announced. The company told the ASX last month around 50% of the funds were secured from new investors, underscoring recognition of its CCS technology, with the placement expected to position the company well for further development and commercialisation. Dotz focuses on developing sorbent materials engineered for DAC and point source CO2 mitigation.

Tank testing - ASX-listed Provaris Energy has raised A$500,000 ($334,000) via a placement of new ordinary shares at a discounted price which will be used to fabricate and test its proprietary hydrogen tank technology and advance its low-pressure liquid CO2 tank joint venture, it announced last month. The JV is with Malaysia-headquartered Yinson Production and includes engaging with a marine classification society for approvals. The company said the placement demonstrates confidence in its strategy to develop compressed H2 and C02 storage and transport solutions that support the energy transition.