Giddy up, RNG - Cowboy Clean Fuels has received final approval to expand its Triangle Unit Project in Wyoming. The company said the recently signed permit means it can advance deployment of its full-scale facility and increase injection operations, expanding RNG output and CO2 storage capacity. It said Cowboy is emerging as a national model for integrated carbon-negative energy systems, demonstrating how CO2 removal and RNG production can work together to strengthen energy security and advance decarbonisation goals.

Both emitters and financial players in the California carbon market built length over the Jan. 7-13 period and maintained activity in trading V25 RGGI Allowances (RGAs), US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published Friday showed.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced Friday a rulemaking for specific manufacturing facilities under its Climate Protection Program (CPP).

The Mexican state of Queretaro, one of the first in the country to operationalise a carbon tax, recently published the official guidelines for its Low Carbon Seal and Emissions Offsetting System linked to 2025 contributions onward, allowing selected companies to offset up to 50% of their taxed emissions through a hierarchical supply of carbon credits.

Maryland solar bill – Maryland lawmakers opened the 2026 legislative session Wednesday by unveiling the Affordable Solar Act, with sponsors saying the proposal would accelerate solar deployment without increasing bills in its initial implementation, Fox News in Baltimore reported. Backers argue a new competitive procurement model could connect up to 4,000 MW of additional solar capacity to the grid by 2035 using funds already being collected from ratepayers, and put downward pressure on energy costs over time. Republican critics warned state energy policies favouring renewables have raised costs and threaten reliability, blaming renewable portfolio standards and PJM capacity market dynamics for higher bills.

Last stand at Centralia - Washington state attorney general and environmental groups including Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and Environmental Defense Fund filed separate administrative appeals Wednesday challenging the US DOE emergency order requiring the Centralia coal plant to remain available for operations, Seattle Times reported. Recent data suggests the facility has not burned coal for electricity since Dec. 19 and remains in cold standby. The DOE order conflicts with Washington's ban on utilities buying coal-fired electricity that took effect this month under the Clean Energy Transformation Act. The federal order lapses 16 Mar. 16 unless reissued. The Centralia plant typically does not operate between April and June due to flush spring hydropower. TransAlta had planned to close the facility in December under a 2011 agreement with the state and climate advocates and convert it to natural gas.

High demand - The Brazilian development bank (BNDES) and the state-owned oil company Petrobras received 16 proposals for their first call for carbon credit projects. The result was better than expected, the institutions announced on Friday. The round is part of the ProFloresta+ initiative, which incentivises forest restoration in the Amazon. The goal is to acquire 5 mln carbon credits in five contracts of 1 mln units each. The proposals will now be evaluated for their technical efficiency. The results, including winners, contracted volumes and prices to be paid for credits are expected in the first half of 2026.

Gevo has appointed Alex Clayton as its new chief carbon officer, the renewable fuels producer announced Friday.

A US state would explore nature-based credits to expand its environmental markets under a new legislative proposal.

Tamaulipas CCS - Representative Ana Laura Huerta Valdovinos of the Tamaulipas legislature is proposing a reform to the Climate Change Law that seeks to position the state as a regional hub for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), reported Tamaulipas Note. The proposed reform would introduce a legal definition of CCUS, aiming for alignment with international standards. It would recognise CCUS as a priority mitigation strategy and establish a state CCUS programme, including targets, lines of action, pilot projects and evaluation mechanisms. The initiative would also mandate coordination on mitigation efforts among state public agencies, including the ministries of environmental, energy, and economic ministries. Carbon credits are envisioned as a mechanism to incentivise private sector participation.

Fifteen new projects, in countries including Egypt, India and South Korea, have been proposed under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), while Brazil signed agreements with Singapore and Switzerland paving the way for future bilateral trade under Article 6.2, a UN body said on Thursday.

The Trump administration’s plans to ramp up oil extraction in Venezuela could generate additional annual emissions equivalent to the entire global shipping sector, according to an analysis released by a London-based non-profit research organisation on Friday.

Turbine troubles – A Massachusetts offshore wind developer has sued the Trump administration, accusing it of unlawfully threatening its financial viability, E&E News reported. Vineyard Wind filed the complaint in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Thursday, arguing that the US government exceeded its authority by halting work. The lawsuit follows recent court rulings allowing other stalled offshore wind projects off New York and Rhode Island to resume construction. Vineyard Wind said its project is around 95% complete and already partially operational, with capacity to supply power to the New England grid.

A carbon market veteran has announced the launch of a Singapore-based climate advisory and solutions company focused on supporting the development of high-integrity carbon markets.

Greener shipping - Chemicals maker CF Industries, along with commodities trading giant Trafigura, signed a partnership this week with Singapore-based marine fuel supplier TFG Marine to advance the use of low-carbon ammonia as shipping fuel, the companies announced. The partners will work on market development and bunkering logistics, initially focusing on the US Gulf Coast and northwest Europe. CF Industries, one of the world's largest ammonia producers, will supply low-carbon ammonia from its Donaldsonville, Louisiana complex.

A former lead regulator in California discussed the strength of the state’s environmental programmes with conference attendees earlier this week.

A biomass power facility in California will be converted into what its new owners call a carbon-negative data centre for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Alberta has opened its biomass waste combustion for energy generation protocol for public comment, according to a draft published Thursday.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) prices continued to drop following the release of a proposed rulemaking document on Tuesday by state regulator ARB and amid volatility in the market.

Capture vs coal - The Trump administration's move redirecting more than $500 mln in funds originally set aside under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for carbon capture and clean energy demonstrations to support the restart and retrofit of coal-fired power plants, according to a US DOE funding notice, E&E News reported. The DOE said it has legal authority to repurpose unobligated funds to address grid reliability and energy affordability, but former officials, legal experts, and Democratic lawmakers argue the move undermines congressional intent and weakens requirements to deploy carbon capture, potentially locking in higher GHG emissions.

Three private carbon crediting standards based in Colombia show notable strengths at the programme level, but must enhance emissions quantification systems, transparency, and governance structures to align with Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, according to a new assessment.

A new report showed solar power is meeting nearly two-thirds of rising US electricity demand - more than ever before - with power helping meet the boom rather than displacing fossil-fuelled energy.