More than markets - Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in a letter published Friday that, without a global carbon tax, which he said was "politically unachievable", market forces alone won't be sufficiently incentivise emissions reductions to combat climate change. Only by replacing all emitting activities with cheaper alternatives would stopping temperature increases be achieved, according to Gates. He also emphasised the importance of adaptation, which he discussed previously in a controversial pre-COP30 climate memo.

The world's richest 1% surpassed their fair share of carbon emissions in line with a 1.5C temperature limit in the first 10 days of the year, according to analysis released on Saturday.

A large carbon project developer and consultancy has reported a 43% drop in revenue for the year 2024 in its latest UK accounts as post-tax losses rose 11-fold.

European carbon rallied for a fourth session and set a new 26-month high as a strong German auction result appeared to reflect a generally bullish assessment of the market balance, while energy also prices climbed despite updated weather forecasts calling for milder weather in the coming week.

Nearly 21 GW of renewable electricity capacity were installed in Germany last year – three-quarters of that solar PV – as the country issued a record number of grid permits and primary energy consumption stayed stable.

More than 12,500 tonnes of durable carbon removal (CDR) have been pre-purchased by a funding platform covering six removal approaches, according to an announcement on Friday.

Pending, pending - The construction of new gas power plants in Germany is currently stalled due to pending EU approval of planned state aid, reported media outlet taz. The economy ministry has said that talks with the European Commission on details of the tenders to build the plants are nearing completion, but no specification has been given for when the talks might end. The new plants won't be ready before end-2031 at the earliest, even if tenders happen mid this year, the newspaper wrote. Germany plans to exit coal-fired power nationwide by 2038 at the latest, but the state of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to complete the phaseout by 2030. Alternative capacity from renewables plus gas power, and later hydrogen, will be needed to replace coal. But the business case for the new gas plants is reliant on additional state support as they'll only run occasionally, so the govt is negotiating a state aid scheme with the Commission. (Clean Energy Wire)

Analysts and industry associations have weighed in on the European Commission’s proposed temporary exemption of fertilisers from the EU’s carbon border fee, expressing concern over potential consequences for the overall stability of the new climate policy.

MoU signing - Scotland and the Ile-de-France region of the French republic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to cooperate on areas including combating climate change and biodiversity loss. Under this, joint initiatives may include supporting renewable energy development in Ile-de-France drawing on Scotland's expertise, exchanging knowledge on green hydrogen, and sharing experience on the governance of green finance by Ile-de-France.

A UK-based bank has unveiled its inaugural green bond, a €1 billion issuance to fund projects including renewable energy, green buildings, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Record cookstove credits - Global Cookstoves, a joint venture between Key Carbon and cookstove manufacturer BURN, has secured the issuance of nearly 270,000 carbon credits from Gold Standard following the distribution of 111,280 highly efficient cookstoves in Somalia. Issued in December, the credits represent the largest volume of CCP-labelled clean cooking credits released by Gold Standard to date. The project is expected to deliver significant emissions reductions while helping households in Somalia cut cooking fuel costs by about 43%, reduce cooking time, and improve indoor air quality, generating substantial health benefits, according to the company.

As ice thins in Antarctica due to climate change, more iron-rich sediments could be transported through glaciers to the sea, bolstering the growth of phytoplankton that absorbs carbon, according to a recent study by Northumbria University. Carbon Pulse interviewed one of its authors.

Czechia's populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico called for a multi-year freeze of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) on Thursday, escalating central European resistance to the bloc’s flagship climate policy.

Banks that lend to CO2-intensive companies consistently tend to pay a “carbon premium” to borrow in Europe’s core short-term funding market, and that climate-related surcharge grows sharply during periods of financial stress, according to new research from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Dutch grid acceleration – On Jan. 1, the Dutch government launched several new measures to speed up grid expansion – a major blocker to more renewables – so that land owners now face a standard obligation to grant permission for preparatory work to grid operators. The government estimates this could save from several months to 18 months of procedural delays. The measure takes effect six months earlier than planned. Further, the government is also expanding an Energy Infrastructure Expert Pool that will give municipalities and regions faster and better support with location selection, permitting, and other activities related to energy infrastructure. The expert pool is being extended from high-voltage to medium-voltage projects. It offers support for hydrogen pipelines, CO2 transport, and large-scale storage, as well as grid expansion projects. (Government press release)

Dutch solar slashed – The number of households and businesses that installed new solar PV panels of up to 1 MW dropped by almost 50% in the Netherlands in 2025, reported Solar & Storage Magazine this week. There were about 160,000 installations last year, compared to almost 300,000 in 2024, it said on the basis of data from Energieleveren.nl. The figures appeared to stabilise in Q4, the article added. The data only pertains to installations of up to 1 MW. The Netherlands has nearly 3.29 million solar installations, equivalent to almost 20 GW. Battery installations are on the up, the magazine also reported, with regional network operators registering more than 20,000 new battery installations in 2025 – and the total is probably even higher, the article said, since not everyone registers their batteries despite an obligation to do so. (Solar & Storage Magazine)