A new business survey shows most Canadian executives are retaining GHG reduction strategies even as political and economic pressures prompt many to reassess and soften near-term expectations.

Silence Sued - A US environmental group has sued the US DOE, alleging that the agency violated the Freedom of Information Act over the review and termination of Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations programmes. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) said Thursday that the DOE failed to respond to two information requests filed in 2025 seeking details on those programmes and associated clean industrial and energy project awards. NRDC argues the cancelled funding covered projects that it says would support domestic manufacturing, cut energy costs, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and that the DOE has not adequately explained its rationale for halting the programmes.

Nuclear Option - New Jersey lawmakers are weighing legislation to support construction of a new nuclear power plant, E&E News reports. Opponents warn the proposal would require ratepayers to pay construction costs before the plant produces power, potentially raising utility bills. State consumer advocates estimate monthly increases of up to $55, while the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities projects increases closer to $3. The wide gap in estimates has fuelled controversy over the bill’s cost impact and whether an outgoing administration should advance it as governor-elect Mikie Sherrill prepares to take office.

Price paradox - US environmental and public health groups challenged a central argument of the Trump administration’s push to weaken national fuel economy rules at a federal hearing Wednesday, according to E&E News. The administration, automakers, and oil industry groups argued that easing Biden-era Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards would cut upfront vehicle prices by avoiding the higher costs associated with electric vehicles. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said consumers and automakers could sidestep those EV expenses. Opponents countered that any near-term savings would be offset by higher fuel costs over a vehicle’s lifetime and argued that stronger standards would improve public health and help keep the US auto industry competitive as global markets shift toward EVs.

Uruguay livestock – The Uruguayan branch of Swiss firm Vetos and local company Climit launched ANAVRIN, a livestock feed additive that can cut methane emissions from ruminants by 13-20%, opening the door to future carbon credit issuance, Sarandi 690 reported Thursday. The product was recently registered by the Livestock Ministry and is being rolled out in feedlots and dairy systems.

California carbon allowance prices dropped late Thursday after a consultancy warned clients that the Trump Administration is gearing up for “total war” against US regional carbon markets.

A British Columbia-based climate technology funder appointed its first chief investment officer on Thursday.

Brazil’s ethanol sector could support large-scale deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), capturing around 290 million tonnes of CO2 over a 30-year project lifetime, according to a new non-peer-reviewed preprint assessment of onshore transport and storage options.

Soy takes off – Bunge Brazil received the world’s first certification to use soybeans for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) under the UN’s CORSIA international aviation offsetting scheme. The certification was granted in late Dec. 2025 to the company’s unit in Rondonopolis, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, by SCS Global Services, and confirmed that the soybeans can be traced back to their origin and are produced under strict farming standards.

Blown offtrack - US Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va) said the Trump administration’s suspension of five offshore wind projects, meant to supply power to RGGI states, has her Democratic counterparts icing her out, E&E News reported. Moore Capito said Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-NM) are threatening to walk away from permitting reform negotiations. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and others have filed preliminary injunctions against the suspension.

New England air regulator appointed - Michelle Manion will head the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, a Boston-based coalition of state air regulators. Manion joins the coalition as former VP of policy and advocacy for Massachusetts’ conservation non-profit, Mass Audubon, and leadership roles at the World Resources Institute. She will replace retiring Executive Director Paul Miller.

Investment in durable carbon removal companies fell by a third (36%) last year, the second year on the run that levels have slumped, according to data from an analytics firm.

A climate consultancy has partnered with a carbon market platform to help buyers better access key market information, in a move that illustrates growing consolidation in the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

An Israel-based agricultural technology firm appointed its first carbon removal (CDR) chief.

A late surge helped European carbon prices to post a modest gain on Thursday after the market spent most of the session in negative territory amid sharp price falls in natural gas and bearish power, while traders fretted about the sustainability of the recent rally as EUAs continued to trade in a narrow range.

Captured cash - Carbon Centric has been awarded pre-project funding from Enova for the establishment of a carbon capture facility. The support applies to a carbon capture project at Skogn, located at the bioenergy plant operated by Norske Skog Skogn. With 100% biogenic biomass, the project has the potential to deliver both permanent CDR and the production of sustainable, liquefied CO2. The grant of NOK 9.51 mln (€0.81 mln), awarded under Enova’s Industry 2050 programme, covers 50% of the total budget for the pre-project phase. The objective of the pre-project is to develop the basis for a planned final investment decision in 2027.

Start the year right - Nauru’s newly updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2025-35 targets 50% renewable electricity generation by 2030 and 75% by 2035, alongside energy efficiency improvements, electric mobility planning, and methane reductions from improved waste management. Adaptation is also among the key focal points in the plan, which does not set quantitative emission reduction targets and does not explicitly propose participation in carbon markets or cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Instead, most mitigation and adaptation measures are conditional on international finance, technology transfer, and capacity building. Nauru also explicitly addresses loss and damage and articulates an aspirational goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, emphasising equity and the special circumstances of SIDS.

New Year plans - Burkina Faso’s latest NDC submission for 2026-30 emissions, published at the end of 2025, commits to a 30.87% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to a business-as-usual scenario through mitigation actions, of which 22.37% are unconditional and 8.5% are conditional on international support. Adaptation actions are expected to deliver an additional 41.94% emissions reduction, highlighting the strong integration of resilience and mitigation, particularly in agriculture and land use, the plan states. The NDC introduces a structural innovation by organising interventions into “domains of action” rather than stand-alone projects, covering agriculture, forestry and land use, energy, transport, industry, waste, housing, and infrastructure. Agriculture and AFOLU sectors are central due to their dominant contribution to national emissions and livelihoods, it adds. Measures include climate-smart agriculture, forest restoration, renewable energy deployment, improved transport systems, and sustainable waste management. Burkina Faso explicitly identifies carbon markets and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as key instruments for implementation. The country plans to leverage cooperative approaches under Article 6, including results-based financing and REDD+ mechanisms, to mobilise additional resources and enhance ambition. Carbon market participation is framed as complementary to international climate finance from mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund. Overall implementation is estimated to require $7.76 billion, supported by a strengthened MRV and transparency framework, the NDC states.

Greater fuel efficiency, rather than sustainable fuels, can help airlines cut emissions by over 10%, with changes including less premium class seating, a shift to newer aircraft, and more passengers, according to new research.

Call for revival - France has unveiled a 1-GW national hydrogen tender in which aid will be volume-based and shall support up to 15 years of clean hydrogen production. In a bid to revive the ailing sector, there are no renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO)-style restrictions, aiming to simplify eligibility and accelerate deployment. Final bids are due on Feb. 27, 2026. The tender for 1 GW of electrolysis capacity to supply decarbonised hydrogen to industry users in France is backed by the French environment agency ADEME and the Directorate General for Energy and Climate. (Fuel Cell Works)

Revenue boost - Revenues from the EU ETS and Germany's national emissions trading system (nEHS) totalled €21.4 bln in 2025 - up markedly on the €18.5 bln of the year prior, reported the German Emissions Trading Authority (DEHSt) at the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). The funds are directed to the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), which finances climate protection programmes such as energy-efficient building renovation, industrial decarbonisation, electromobility, and renewable energy. The higher revenues last year were owing to increased revenues from heating and transport in Germany, due to higher emissions from these sectors, leading to the nEHS generating €16 bln in 2025, almost 25% higher than the €13 bln of 2024.

Solar surge - The capacity of renewable electricity generation installations in Germany rose 11%, or nearly 21 GW, last year to just under 210 GW, according to Germany grid agency BNetzA. Solar power once again led the way at 117 GW of capacity at the end of 2025, compared to 68.1 GW for onshore wind. Solar additions amounted to 16.4 GW last year, roughly half and half between ground-mount and rooftop. But an annual average of 19.6 GW of solar capacity would be needed to achieve the target of 215 GW by 2030, said BNetzA. Meanwhile, the combined capacity of onshore wind energy rose to 4.6 GW, but to meet the 2030 target of 115 GW, Germany needs to add an average of 9.4 GW per year. Germany’s total offshore wind capacity now amounts to 9.5 GW, following 0.3 GW brought online in 2025. (Clean Energy Wire)

Investment funds increased their net long positioning in EUAs nearly six-fold across the past calendar year, with analysts warning any sudden future reversal in these bullish bets represents the main downside risk to prices in the opening months of 2026.

A voluntary carbon standard has secured €12.6 million in new financing to accelerate the global rollout of its certification programme for nature-based carbon projects, as it expects demand to grow for high-integrity climate solutions rooted in conservation and restoration.

The average price of carbon credits fell in 2025 but the value of the market as a whole remained steady at $1.4 billion, according to an analytics firm.

Steelmakers say the automotive industry is ideally placed to become a lead market for low-carbon steel in Europe, but carmakers oppose rigid green content mandates, pushing instead for regulatory incentives to reward manufacturers who buy green.

Small-scale clearing of humid forests was responsible for the majority of aboveground carbon losses across the tropics over the past 30 years, according to a paper published this week.

Sustained momentum - Globally, 877 companies achieved a place on CDP's 2025 Corporate A List, in recognition of their environmental disclosure, with 23 of them awarded the 'Triple A' for leadership across climate, forests, and water security. Despite global headwinds, the environmental disclosure platform stressed there is sustained global demand for high-quality environmental data from companies, cities, states, and regions. Some 640 investors with $127 trillion in assets called on companies to disclose through CDP last year, while over 270 major buyers requested environmental data from about 45,000 suppliers via the organisation's supply chain programme. More than 23,100 companies, cities, states and regions disclosed environmental information through CDP in 2025, with countries in Asia and Europe holding the highest proportion of A List companies relative to those scored.

The UK and Ireland last year set the stage for much cleaner electricity generation by 2030, with renewables accounting for a growing proportion of the mix in both countries, according to a report published this week.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has announced the first successful delivery of CORSIA Eligible Emission Units (EEUs) under its ICE CP1 Dec. 2025 futures contract.

Forest-based carbon credits in India may find firmer footing in domestic compliance markets and national climate targets rather than the voluntary market as prices remain too low, an academic paper argued.

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) has appointed a new CEO, chosen from its in-house team of executives.

We make it easier - Tokyo Gas has launched a service for corporate solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) to convert the environmental value of electricity consumed by buildings into domestically issued J-Credits. The gas supplier said the new service helps reduce the administrative burden for its customers to create offsets from solar power generation. Profits generated from carbon credit issuance will be returned to customers through discounts on PPA fees.  

A carbon market insurer has launched a new insurance policy designed to protect lenders and encourage more institutional finance for carbon and nature projects, it announced on Thursday. 

South Korea aims to mobilise KRW 100 billion ($69 million) in international green infrastructure projects this year, as the government seeks to support domestic companies' entry into the global green market.

A large private equity company has acquired an environmental services provider active in emissions monitoring from a US bank.

CORSIA-eligible credits - Spouts International has received approval for CORSIA-eligible carbon credits under the Gold Standard registry generated from its water filter carbon projects in Rwanda. The credits were issued through a collaborative effort with the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), AGS Carbon Advisory, and carbon insurer Oka, the developer stated on LinkedIn. Spouts has so far distributed over 350,000 filters, providing nearly 2 mln people with access to safe drinking water while removing the need to boil water using charcoal or wood to purify water. The CORSIA milestone will allow Spouts to reach millions more people in Rwanda and beyond, the announcement stated.

A subsidiary of energy giant Shell has teamed up with a Tokyo-headquartered project developer for an emissions reduction project under the bilateral Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), according to a company statement released Thursday.

The extraction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US military forces this week has opened new fissures in a fracturing geopolitical order that could see the global carbon market divide along similar lines.

Rising financing costs and weakness in the power sector risk slowing down India’s renewable energy deployment as the country looks to install 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by the end of this decade, according to a new academic review.

More clarity, please - South Korea's trade ministry on Thursday held a meeting with representatives from the steel industry to discuss measures in response to the EU CBAM, which enters into effect this year. Steelmakers have urged the government to help ease policy uncertainties through consultations, as details of some policies, such as those regarding carbon prices paid in third countries, remain unclear. The ministry will communicate directly with EU authorities regarding any ambiguities in the actual implementation of the system, it said.

Wetland drainage across Canada’s prairie provinces is generating substantial GHG emissions that are largely unaccounted for in national inventories, according to recently published research.

Biofuel biz - Oil giant BP’s downstream subsidiary launched a biofuel feedstock joint venture with agricultural company Corteva on Wednesday. Etlas will produce oil from canola, mustard, and sunflower crops for use in the production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The venture aims to produce 1 million tonnes of feedstock per year by mid-2030s, to produce over 800,000 tonnes of biofuels, with initial supply to begin in 2027. The company will plant cover crops on existing cropland.

The principal electric utility of Saskatchewan, which has accrued costs under the federally-mandated industrial carbon pricing system, is asking the province for over C$300 million ($216.3 mln) to minimise its rate increase request.

Canada has seen just a handful of climate cost-recovery lawsuits against major emitters, with litigation to-date largely focused on governments rather than corporations, experts said during a climate litigation panel on Wednesday.

The volume of applications to submit land into New Zealand’s ETS continued to fall in December, according to government data.

US President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum directing the nation's withdrawal from over 60 international organisations, including the UNFCCC.