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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.