RGGI's fast track - Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring said Democrats plan to introduce a budget amendment to accelerate the state's return to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) after Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) announced Virginia would rejoin the multi-state cap-and-trade programme, WAVY reported. Mike Rolband, Department of Environmental Quality director and former Youngkin appointee retained by Spanberger, told a House subcommittee Wednesday the administration supports rejoining RGGI and DEQ staff proposed technical amendments that were adopted, Virginia Public Radio reported. Virginia Chamber of Commerce opposed the move, citing cost concerns for businesses. Virginians paid approximately $4.50 per month in electric bill surcharges when the state was a member of RGGI in 2023, reflecting the cost of RGGI allowances passed through by Dominion Energy before former governor Youngkin's exit from the programme. Virginia received more than $800 mln during RGGI participation for energy efficiency and flood mitigation according to Virginia Conservation Network. Herring's bill to return the state to RGGI passed along party lines, and it is headed to a full committee hearing, according to Virginia Public Radio.

Manufacturing malaise - US clean technology manufacturing investment fell for a fifth consecutive quarter in Q4 2025 to $9 bln, down 5% from Q3 and 29% year on year, marking the lowest level since Q4 2020 and a record for cancellations, according to New York-based research organisation Rhodium Group. Most technologies saw declines, with the electric vehicle supply chain accounting for about 85% of spending despite sharp annual drops, while new project announcements fell 48% to roughly $3 bln as cancellations hit $8 bln. For 2025 as a whole, actual manufacturing investment totalled $42 bln, down 17% from 2024, while announced investments fell 26% to $24 bln.

Washington's Department of Ecology (ECY) has proposed sweeping changes to its forestry offset protocol that could reduce the present value of credits issued by a combined 36% over 25 years, according to a rulemaking document published on Tuesday.

Voluntary program body BioCarbon is consulting on a revised version of its biodiversity standard as it continues to pursue international recognition as a high-integrity certification body, this time seeking to align with the Biodiversity Credit Alliance’s (BCA) High-level Principles, Carbon Pulse has learned.

Wind and solar produced more power in the EU than fossil fuels in 2025, according to an energy think tank, generating a record 30% of the bloc's electricity.

Iowa’s Senate majority leader has introduced two bills to tax CO2 pipelines and offer route options outside of eminent domain, offering a potential path forward for a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the state.  

US states facing a rapid rise in electricity demand should prioritise peak demand management and clean energy strategies rather than defaulting to new fossil fuel generation, according to a new report.

Carbon removal (CDR) pathways often deliver climate benefits only years or decades after deployment, but these temporal lags are treated inconsistently across carbon crediting protocols, according to a new research preprint.

Newly inaugurated New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) has appointed an environmental advocate as head of the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and issued executive orders (EOs) seeking to use programme revenues for ratepayer relief and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy sources.

A forestry carbon project developer set out plans to use AI‑driven digital tools to help scale smallholder tree planting projects while maintaining quality.

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs) being rolled out by the EU and UK pose growing competitiveness risks for Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) exporters, according to a Caribbean scholar.

Vermont nuclear - Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) has announced his support for a legislative proposal that seeks to promote nuclear energy in the RGGI-participating state, VTDigger reported. H 601 would alter the state's Renewable Energy Standard to include zero-emission sources of energy like nuclear, while redubbing the programme as the Clean Energy Standard. Scott said the existing standard - which requires all Vermont utilities to reach 100% renewable energy like solar and wind by 2035 - is inflexible in its current form, but the alternative proposal could bring utilities to fully clean energy by 2030 at lower cost.

A Norway-based carbon capture and storage (CCS) project developer has signed an offtake agreement with an international assurance provider for a total of 40,000 CO2 removal (CDR) credits worth at least NOK 100 million (€8.6 mln).

Emissions trading association IETA is launching a new taskforce for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to support the development of markets across the region, a senior representative told Carbon Pulse.

Carbon pricing is a key piece of the low-carbon fuels jigsaw, particularly as the market currently relies on subsidies and mandates, said industrty executives during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday afternoon.

Mexico's 30% goal - Mexico aims to conserve at least 30% of its territory by 2030 as part of an environmental strategy centered on ecosystem restoration and a planetary boundaries framework, Environment Secretary Alicia Barcena Ibarra announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, El Universal reported. Barcena emphasised that this policy would have climate impacts, not only ecological ones, given that protecting ecosystems can reduce GHG emissions and support climate adaptation. Barcena said that NbS initiatives like mangrove restoration would serve as a key climate policy axis, integrating nature-based carbon capture into carbon markets. Mexico will progress toward net zero emissions by combining emissions reductions with nature-based offsetting mechanisms, she said, while noting that the country would not yet be phasing out fossil fuels.

A new leaf - The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) has launched a new phase of EU-funded capacity building activities, which help to advance development of emissions trading systems (ETSs) globally. The project will expand ICAP's training, outreach, and technical support to jurisdictions developing or strengthening ETSs, and will run for several years. The two core work areas are global and regional capacity building, and tailored bilateral support. ICAP and the European Commission will jointly guide and coordinate all activities. More details here.

EU carbon allowance prices clawed back some of the last two days' losses as natural gas jumped by nearly 10% on Wednesday after Commitment of Traders data showed unchanged speculative EUA positions and a flip to net length on the TTF at the end of last week, while market participants digested the expiry of January EUA options and further developments at the World Economic Forum.

The UK’s first and largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project has signed a lease of the seabed in the North Sea that starts the ball rolling for storing up to 1 billion tonnes of CO2.

Investment in biofuels hit a new peak in 2025 as a result of increased debt financing, in a sign that more capital is going towards getting commercial-scale projects off the ground rather than validating the technology, according to new analysis.

Relying on non-permanent carbon removal to meet net zero targets risks creating a Sisyphean cycle of repeated mitigation and a growing carbon debt for future generations, according to a paper released Wednesday.

The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to suspend the ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement until the European Court of Justice (ECJ) assess its conformity with EU treaties, a process that usually takes 16-18 months.

Youth appeal – Former Biden administration officials have urged a US appeals court to revive a youth-led climate lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at expanding fossil fuel production, E&E news reports. In an amicus brief filed with the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, former energy secretary Jennifer Granholm and ex-climate advisers Gina McCarthy and John Podesta backed young plaintiffs after a Montana judge dismissed the case in October, citing lack of jurisdiction despite acknowledging climate harms, as the officials said judicial review remains a consistent check across administrations.

Reynolds released – Plaintiffs in a US lawsuit over “carbon neutral” vape claims have voluntarily dismissed Reynolds America from the case without prejudice, leaving R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and British American Tobacco (BAT) as remaining defendants, according to a court filing. The case alleges BAT misled consumers by charging a premium for “carbon neutral” Vuse vape products supported by forestry offsets from projects in Uruguay and China. The trial has been pushed back to Mar. 2028, with a hearing on dismissal of a forthcoming amended complaint set for Feb. 2026 and a final pre-trial conference scheduled for Jan. 2028.

Funding freeze – A coalition of Republican-led US states has urged a federal appeals court to uphold the Trump administration’s suspension of nearly $20 bln in Biden-era climate grants, arguing the EPA acted lawfully in rescinding the funding, E&E News reports. In an amicus brief filed with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, attorneys general from 24 states said the grant programme was mismanaged and prioritised climate equity over financial safeguards, disadvantaging energy-producing states. The filing comes ahead of a rare rehearing after the court agreed to revisit an earlier ruling that backed the EPA’s termination of the awards.

Some airlines are responding to a worldwide scarcity of CORSIA-eligible units by pre-emptively investing in promising pipeline projects, according to an insurer speaking last week at Carbon Forward Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

Permanence will become the dominant filter through which carbon removal buyers assess projects in 2026, the chief scientist from a carbon removals (CDR) marketplace said on Wednesday. 

A carbon removal registry has released a draft module designed to create a standardised framework for durably storing biomass in subsurface mine workings.

Three technology firms have announced a strategic partnership to build national-scale infrastructure for carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, targeting a huge pipeline of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs).

Call for EU ETS maritime freeze – The international ferry industry organisation (Interferry) has urged the EU to freeze the bloc’s maritime ETS coverage for ferries at 70% from 2025 instead of rising to 100% this year, warning of “severe competitive disadvantage” versus exempt road transport and a risk of cargo shifting back to trucks. The trade body said ferries, which move 400 million passengers and 200 million vehicles annually in Europe, are being taxed about €1 billion a year without clear rules on how ETS revenues will be reinvested in maritime decarbonisation. It called for road transport’s inclusion and ringfencing of funds for e-fuels and port electrification. (MarineLink)

The inclusion of waste-to-energy plants in the EU ETS would effectively make carbon capture and storage (CCS) mandatory for incinerators in Europe, increase costs for municipalities, and make the most polluting waste management option – landfilling – comparatively more attractive, industry executives told Carbon Pulse in an interview.

South Africa's big bailout – Bailing out South Africa utility Eskom accounted for 30% of state aid in 2025, according to a new International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) report. The country spent nearly R 200 bln (€10.4 bln) on energy subsidies last year, most of it for fossil fuels, slowing down its climate goals, the organisation found. In financial year 2025, energy subsidies totalled R 198 bln, with direct support for fossil fuels amounting to R110 bln - triple their level in 2018. More than 30% of total energy subsidy costs last year were linked to efforts to stabilise Eskom's financial position. Despite South Africa's carbon tax, most GHG emissions are not taxed in the country due to extensive exemptions, with Eskom not paying any carbon tax despite being the country's largest emitter. (Business Day)

EU names new green finance advisers – The European Commission on Wednesday published the list of members for the third mandate of its Platform on Sustainable Finance, which advises on the EU Taxonomy. Following a July 2025 call for applications, the Commission selected 28 members and 16 observers from public and private sectors, chosen for environmental and sustainable finance expertise, while aiming for geographical and gender balance. It also reappointed Helena Vines Fiestas, a Spanish markets regulator and UN Net Zero Policy taskforce co-chair, as Platform chair. The mandate runs from Feb. 2026 to end-2027.

The UK must accelerate clean energy delivery this year to have a chance of meeting its 2030 clean power goal, while taking steps to reintegrate with the EU’s power market, experts say.

Nestle blames Trump – Nestle chief executive Philipp Navratil has partly blamed US President Donald Trump for the food giant’s muted public stance on sustainability, citing a sharp drop in investor interest in ESG issues in the US since Trump’s re-election. Speaking to employees in December, Navratil said it was “a bit a pity” Nestle was not more vocal and added it was “also President Trump’s fault” as climate concerns had “totally gone off the agenda” in US investor meetings. He stressed Nestle remains committed to its net zero by 2050 goal, after already cutting emissions 20%. (Financial Times)

German green steel hopes – Germany’s struggling steel sector is betting on decarbonisation to revive output after production slumped in 2025 to its lowest level since 2009, the German Steel Association said Wednesday. The lobby group blamed historically weak demand, rising foreign competition, high energy prices, global overcapacity in Asia and unpredictable US customs policies for a roughly 9% drop in crude steel output last year. Managing director Kerstin Maria Rippel urged mandatory use of low-emission raw materials in public investment and EU “content rules” to strengthen demand for climate-friendly steel. (Clean Energy Wire)

EU hydrogen funding – The European Commission has signed grant agreements with six winners of its 2024 Innovation Fund renewable hydrogen auction, awarding €270.6 million drawn from EU ETS revenues, the EU executive announced on Jan. 21. The projects in Spain, Finland and Norway will install 381.25 MW of electrolysers to produce around 500 kt of RFNBO hydrogen over 10 years, avoiding an estimated 3.4 Mt of CO2. Winning bids ranged from €0.33 to €1.88/kg, with individual grants between €1.8 mln and €135.5 mln.

SMR roadmap for Poland – Poland should move quickly to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) to cut coal use, bolster energy security and anchor industrial decarbonisation, the Clean Air Task Force said in a new roadmap published on Jan. 20. The paper urges Warsaw to create a dedicated SMR licensing path, strengthen regulators and set up an SMR finance task force. It recommends revenue-stabilising tools such as contracts for difference, a Regulated Asset Base model and long-term power purchase agreements, alongside EU taxonomy‑aligned green finance. Poland’s high public support for nuclear and repurposable coal sites make it well placed to become a regional SMR hub, CTF argues.

Repurposing alkaline industrial waste into carbon-storing minerals could unlock carbon removal on the scale of billions of tonnes, with added environmental and economic benefits, according to a white paper.

Concrete credits - Law firm Castren and Snellman has agreed to purchase the first certified carbon credits generated from Carbonaide’s CO₂ mineralisation technology in concrete, the developer said on LinkedIn. Carbonaide claims its technology stores CO2 permanently, whilst improving concrete strength and production efficiency - making green concrete profitable. The first credits will be based on CO₂ storage at the Lakka-konserni factory in Finland, certified by the Isometric registry.

A United Arab Emirates-based technology company has carried out its first Article 6 transaction for carbon credits from a large forestry project in Malawi, it announced on Wednesday.

Australia risks distorting land investment and undermining biodiversity unless it integrates better planning into the design of its carbon market, according to a climate policy think tank.

Greener flights - Indonesia’s state-owned aviation and tourism holding company PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (InJourney) aims to cut up to 4,000 tCO2e by 2026 through wider use of renewable energy and tighter environmental management, Ecobiz Asia reported. The target will be implemented by the rollout of solar power plants at airports operated by its aviation unit, which manages 37 airports nationwide. Solar installations are expected to deliver about half of the planned emissions cuts, with the remainder coming from better hotel waste management, electric vehicle use at tourism sites, and tree and mangrove planting.

Gold Standard has launched a new carbon methodology that enables farmers and project developers to earn credits by using microbes to lock atmospheric CO2 into agricultural soils.

Natural gas discovery - Orlen Upstream Norway and Equinor have discovered new natural gas resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), expected to produce about 1 billion cubic metres of gas for transport to Poland via the Baltic Pipe. The so-called Sissel discovery may be developed as a tie-back to the Utgard field, located five kilometers to the north, thereby accelerating startup and reducing costs. Utgard itself was developed as a tie-back to the Sleipner complex - one of Orlen’s key production centers on the NCS. The size of the Sissel discovery is estimated at 6.3–28.3 million barrel of oil equivalent.

Clean cooking consultation - The Global Carbon Council (GCC) has launched a public consultation on its draft methodology: Methodology for Clean Cooking Transitions using DMRV Protocol (GCCNMT016). Comments are welcome by the deadline of Feb. 17, it said on LinkedIn. The development will help enable large-scale rollout of  improved cookstoves and clean cooking technologies across household, residential, institutional, and commercial settings, with solutions based on biomass, LPG, ethanol, biogas, electric, and hybrid technologies. Digital MRV will help enhance transparency in emissions reduction issuance. The draft methodology can be viewed here.

Capital for distribution - Clean energy startup Cloover has secured $22 mln in Series A equity financing alongside a $1.2 bln debt facility to expand into additional European markets. The company's AI-powered platform supports the distributed energy economy by bringing workflow management, financing, procurement, and energy optimisation into one operating system. Its revenue grew more than eight times last year, approaching $100 mln in sales on the back of growing demand for solutions like solar, batteries, and EV charging, it said in a release Wednesday. It's projecting $500 mln in revenue this year as rising energy demand and grid instability provide a more expansive infrastructure opportunity. The equity round was led by MMC Ventures and QED Investors, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital, BNVT Capital, Bosch Ventures, Centrotec, and Earthshot Ventures, while the debt facility was provided by a European bank.

A first-of-its-kind US-based peatland restoration project has secured a 100,000-credit carbon removal pre-purchase from a Canadian decarbonisation fund, providing early-stage financing to advance development and construction.

Transforming power sector - The Indian government has released the Draft National Electricity Policy (NEP) 2026 for public consultation, setting ambitious targets to transform the power sector in line with the nation’s long-term development and climate goals, the Ministry of Power announced. The draft policy aims to raise per capita electricity consumption to 2,000 kWh by 2030 and over 4,000 kWh by 2047, while aligning with India’s commitments to reduce emissions intensity and achieve net zero emissions goal by 2070. The NEP proposes a range of reforms, including resource adequacy planning, accelerated development of nuclear and hydro power generation, enhanced transmission and distribution efficiency, and market and grid modernisation measures to support reliable, affordable and sustainable power for India’s growing economy.

Climate bill soon - Malaysia’s National Climate Change Bill is set to be tabled for its first reading in the current parliamentary session, Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Syed Ibrahim said. The ministry is also finalising the National Carbon Market Policy, which would create a framework for carbon trading, including Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes, and enhance transparency through strengthened emissions measurement and reporting mechanisms. The bill and policy are expected to pave the way for Malaysia to become a regional centre for carbon trading and contribute to sustainable green economic growth.

South Korea's trade and industry ministry has introduced a KRW 25 billion ($17 million) bidding mechanism to fund domestic carbon reduction projects.

Entities covered under the Safeguard Mechanism last quarter already began to surrender a substantial volume of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in the December quarter.

Coal cough up - The Western Australian government has announced it has secured funding to see Griffin Coal's Ewington coal mine continue to operate from July 2026 by up to five years, it announced. The government argued the extension will provide energy security during the energy transition. It added that WA is on track to retire all state-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030. It follows the New South Wales government and Origin Energy announcing earlier this week that the Eraring coal-fired power station will have its closure postponed to 2029.

Consequences - Indonesia has revoked environmental permits for 28 companies, including a China-backed hydropower project and a gold mining unit of Astra International, after linking their activities to deforestation that worsened deadly floods in Sumatra, Reuters reported. President Prabowo Subianto said the firms breached environmental rules across forestry, plantations, power and mining sectors. Those affected include PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy, controlled by SDIC Power Holdings, and Astra’s Agincourt unit, which runs the Martabe gold mine.

The top 10 corporate emitters of fossil fuel and cement CO2 in 2024 were all fully or majority state-owned companies and together accounted for more than one quarter of global fossil CO2 emissions, while a total of just 32 companies were linked to more than half of global emissions, according to a new analysis published on Wednesday.

Regulatory uncertainty in Indonesia’s carbon markets means sourcing investors remains challenging for a local waste-to-energy project, the developer told Carbon Pulse on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

Blue carbon alliance - Japan's shipping major MOL has teamed up with Tokio Marine Asset Management and Idemitsu Kosan to explore the potential of blue carbon across the country, the companies announced Wednesday. The alliance will participate in a seagrass bed restoration project in Shimane Prefecture and other coastal areas, in order to gain the practical know-how and insights. The companies will also explore the development and feasibility of large-scale projects.    

SAF support - Australia's Viva Energy has signed an agreement with ASX-listed NoviqTech to support their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) book-and-claim project, the latter told the market Wednesday. NoviqTech will support Viva to explore, validate and refine digital approaches to SAF book-and-claim systems, including governance models, certificate lifecycle management, and alignment with emerging sustainability standards, the announcement said. The work is partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which last year awarded Viva Energy A$2.39 mln ($1.6 mln) to establish SAF infrastructure to support Brisbane Airport.

The chair of Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER), which oversees the country’s carbon market, is set to retire in July.

ZEV sales zoom - California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Tuesday during the World Economic Forum that the state surpassed its 1.5 mln zero-emission vehicle sales goal by 2025. California surpassed 2.5 mln ZEV sales, growing over 300% since the end of 2019. Newsom noted that the record came despite federal headwinds. Meanwhile, the California state budget unveiled on Jan. 9 includes a new $200 mln incentive programme for ZEV adoption, in response to the loss of a federal ZEV credit.

Maple clean tech falling - Canadian clean tech companies raised more than C$1.1 bln ($800 mln) across 65 deals in 2025, according to a new analysis by Climate Tech Canada. The outlet reported funding is down 13% from C$1.38 bln in 2024, and 60% from $2.77 bln in 2022. It added the landscape continues to fall into a barbell structure with 41% of activity at the active and diverse seed-stage, and 54% of activity at the concentrated growth equity stage.

ERA's clean fuel - Emissions Reduction Alberta launched the Fuel Innovation Fund as an approved compliance option under Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations. ERA received C$188 million in compliance contributions in 2025, with future contributions to the new Fuel Innovation Fund determining funding availability. All monies must be allocated to projects delivering emissions reductions within five years. The fund offers two streams: a continuous intake Contributor Reinvestment Program for regulated primary suppliers launching Jan. 2026, and an annual Future Fuels Challenge competitive funding opening mid-2026 for broader applicants. Eligible technologies include energy efficiency, electrification, carbon capture and storage, co-processing, biofuels, and hydrogen production.

Western Gateway round two - Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan launched a second open season for the Western Gateway Pipeline through Mar. 31 for remaining capacity after the initial December open season secured significant shipper commitments. The updated offering adds Los Angeles market access via reversal of Kinder Morgan's existing SFPP line between Watson and Colton, California, plus additional origin points beyond Borger, Texas. The 200,000 barrel-per-day pipeline system will deliver approximately 75,000 bpd to California markets while supplying 125,000 bpd to Arizona, replacing the equivalent volume Phoenix currently receives from California via the SFPP pipeline and allowing those California-produced barrels to remain in-state. The project aims to offset California's expected loss of 17-20% of refining capacity by mid-2026 according to US Energy Information Administration data, targeting 2029 completion.

Indonesia has become the latest country to join the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, raising the number of nations in the group to 11.