Pipeline question - The US Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition to take up a case on whether two Iowa counties can impose restrictions on where CO2 pipelines are built. Summit Carbon Solutions (SCS) sued Shelby and Story counties after they passed ordinances regulating CO2 pipelines, arguing the rules conflicted with state and federal law. The counties lost at the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in June and voted in August to continue pursuing the case. Summit plans to transport captured CO2 from ethanol plants in Iowa and North Dakota for underground storage. The project has faced opposition from some landowners over property rights and safety concerns.

The new year began by providing a glance at what might be expected in Latin America in 2026: the advancement of carbon regulations in the region amid the backdrop of political tensions.

Offtake volumes for carbon removal (CDR) credits surged in December, driven largely by major biochar and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) deals, analysts reported on Monday, with issuances also up month-on-month and retirements on the rise.

Voluntary prices rallied at the start of the year, and sources reported healthy liquidity in Clean Development Mechanism credits as traders and project owners scramble to sell inventory ahead of the proposed closure of the UN registry.

Step forward – ART TREES accepted a set of Para’s jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) programme documents last Thursday, the Brazilian state announced on Saturday. The certifier confirmed that Para’s TREES Registration Document (TRD) and 2023 TREES Monitoring Report (TMR) are complete and meet the requirements for this phase. As a result, the state can proceed towards its first issuance of 38 mln carbon credits. The state government said it expects issuance to reach 260 mln carbon credits by 2027.

The EU has an opportunity to raise the standard of international forestry carbon credits – and strengthen the impact of the new Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) – as it begins to allow international credits into its domestic climate targets from 2036, according to a new report. 

The voluntary carbon market is heading into 2026 as a mature, pragmatic instrument for delivering credible net zero strategies at scale.

A Stockholm-based carbon removal finance platform has issued a call for proposals aimed at three distinct stages of project development.

Explain yourself – The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) was ordered last week by the country's Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) to respond formally to a letter from a losing bidder, Sintmond Group Ltd, over the Sh2.5 bln ($19 mln) tender for the sale of 6.38 mln carbon credits. The decision followed a court ruling from October that the losing bidder was denied the right to be heard. (Business Daily Africa)

Biogas boost – India’s biogas sector has called on the government to create a $1.2 bln capital subsidy fund in the Union Budget 2026 to accelerate project deployment and improve financial viability, the Economic Times reported. The Indian Biogas Association (IBA) said the proposed fund would help bridge high upfront costs, attract private investment, and support the scaling up of compressed biogas (CBG) plants across the country. The association urged policy support to strengthen feedstock supply chains and ensure long-term offtake certainty, arguing that targeted fiscal backing could speed up the sector’s contribution to energy security, waste management, and emissions reduction. As well, the IBA urged the government to create a framework enabling biogas and CBG producers to sell carbon credits in domestic and international markets to support industry growth.