Climate and atmospheric effects, rather than direct human action, contributed to a substantial share of carbon absorbed by US forests over the past two decades, new research showed.

Two environmental non-profits has requested the US EPA withdraw its repeal of the landmark endangerment finding that underpins many GHG standards in the country, citing documents the groups said boosted existing accusations that the agency's move was underpinned by a Climate Working Group (CWG) that was allegedly unlawfully conducted.

US lawmakers have approved funding levels and spending limits for the US DOE in fiscal year 2026, laying out how money will be distributed across renewable energy, grid deployment, and fossil energy programmes.

Panellists on a Thursday webinar pointed project developers toward compliance and regulated markets rather than the voluntary carbon market (VCM) as the primary source of future demand and price formation.

Quebec will maintain its 37.5% emissions reduction target below 1990 levels, but has extended the deadline from 2030 to 2035, the provincial government announced on Wednesday.

The UAE is in the unique position of being both a potential buyer and seller of international carbon credits, carbon market participants said during the Carbon Forward Middle East conference last week.

Carbon credit purchases are increasing among mid-market buyers as oil and gas companies have reduced their volumes, and new cookstove projects favour newer, more rigorous methodologies, a director from a carbon market intelligence firm told a webinar on Thursday.

The EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) has cut emissions at limited economic cost until now, and could fully fund the bloc’s industrial decarbonisation needs if revenues and free allocation are overhauled in the upcoming 2026 review, according to new research.

To accelerate renewable electricity deployment, a new report calls for states to adopt a 3C policy framework - balancing conservation, communities, and climate - to address land use conflicts and local opposition that could hold back projects.

While technology has rapidly expanded climate knowledge and solutions, protecting the world's natural assets should still be humanity's top priority, experts told the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos on Thursday.

European carbon prices posted a second daily gain on Thursday despite wild swings in the morning as the markets reacted to receding worries over additional US tariffs on European exports, before falling back and trading comparatively calmly as natural gas prices retreated after a brief spike of 7%.

More life in it yet - The UK seeks to extend the lifetime of its Sizewell B nuclear power station for a further 20 years in a bid to plug a gap in nuclear energy supply before new plants come online. EDF and Centrica are speaking to the govt about an £800 mln-plus investment to extend the operational life of the Suffolk plant, which supplies 3% of the country's electricity, from 2035 to 2055. New capacity at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C isn't expected until 2030 at the earliest. Commissioned in 1995, Sizewell B is the UK's only running nuclear plant able to be extended for a long period. Extending its life is technically feasible but will require state-backed price certainty, EDF has said. (FT)

India has turned its transition to renewable energy into a "people's moment" over the last decade, beating its 2030 target for installed capacity while rolling solar panels out across millions of farms and households, India's renewable energy minister told the World Energy Forum. 

Climate adaptation portal - The EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change has launched a new portal to provide information and tools for regions, local authorities, and communities to understand climate risks and develop adaptation strategies in response. It offers detail about ongoing climate adaptation initiatives being funded, as well as tools, guidance, and tested solutions to support evidence-based adaptation planning and decision-making. Read more here.

Brazilian prosecutors have called for a probe into what would be one of the country's biggest banking scandals, allegedly involving R$45.5 billion ($8.6 bln) in fraudulent carbon credits generated in the Amazon as part of an illegal scheme, local media has reported.

10k reached - 10,000 companies have now set science-based targets under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi),  representing more than 40% of global market capitalistion, the organisation announced Thursday. They span nearly every major sector, region, and company size, and are headquartered in more than 90 countries. European-based companies still account for a large share, but growth in Asia has sped up of late, with Japan now boasting the highest number of validated companies globally at over 2,000, followed by the UK, the US, and China. The final version of SBTi's updated Corporate Net-Zero Standard is expected soon, with potential implications for carbon credit uptake.

Nice rice - Green Earth Group, an investor, has made its first foray into Ghana by through a partnership with Pangea Global Ventures. The investor has provided structured financing to FarmerTribe into a modern rice milling facility in Walewale. It has also provided working capital facility that allows FarmerTribe to pay its network of 5,000 smallholder farmers immediately upon harvest.

Ethanol excluded – House leaders are set to vote Thursday on four fiscal 2026 spending bills without language authorising year-round sales of E15 ethanol, E&E News reports. The omission is expected to smooth passage of the so-called minibus and reduce the risk of a partial government shutdown, but leaves Midwest lawmakers frustrated after repeated failed attempts to attach the provision to must-pass legislation. Supporters had sought to include the measure via an amendment based on standalone E15 bills, but House GOP leaders and the White House opposed its inclusion, arguing it did not belong in an appropriations package and could jeopardise the deal.

A new international panel has appointed its first members to help develop a standardised system for tracking carbon emissions at the product level across supply chains, organisers said Monday.

After 25 years of negotiations, the EU and Mercosur signed a contentious deal to create one of the world’s largest free trade zones on Saturday in Asuncion, Paraguay, with its impacts on nature still being evaluated.

A voluntary carbon standard body has added three more risk maps for jurisdictional REDD projects, bringing the total to nine.

Portugal’s fertiliser industry has urged the EU to suspend the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and related tariffs on fertilisers throughout 2026, warning that current proposals could severely disrupt the sector.

Honduras is aiming to reduce emissions by over 12.82 MtCO2e by 2035, compared to a business-as-usual (BAU) baseline, with the target fully conditional on receiving international financial support, including via Article 6, and help with capacity building.

A French satellite firm has partnered with a US agricultural modelling provider to integrate remote sensing with Tier 3 emissions modelling for rice cultivation, it announced this week.

The impact of the EU's Emissions Trading System for road transport and heating fuels (ETS2) on household finances will have a greater impact on some EU countries than others, a new study has found.

Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) is expected to play an increasingly marginal role in the global energy transition, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

The world is hoarding oil amid a glut of supply that looks set to continue throughout 2026, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said this week.

Project developer RePlanet aims to help bring 5 million biodiversity credits to market over the next 10 years, which it predicts will trigger a surge in demand, according to a strategy document.

Singapore has expanded its national emissions database with dozens of new data points, raising scrutiny of businesses’ supply-chain emissions under its climate disclosure rules.

African nature fellows - The African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) has appointed 15 people to its fellowship programme, chosen for their ability to influence capital, policy, and systems in favour of nature-positive economies, it announced on Thursday. As part of the second cohort of Nature Executive Fellowship, the fellows will go through a one-year programme designed to help emerging leaders bolster their expertise and networks in natural capital, biodiversity finance, and systems leadership. The new fellows represent institutions in banking, insurance, capital markets, development finance, regulation, and conservation. They come from eight countries – Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. ANCA was created by the Nairobi-based specialist development agency FSD Africa.

Forward thinking - Investors are pricing future carbon costs into European equities portfolio, but not the cost impact already borne by issuers, found a study by Dutch asset manager Robeco and the UK’s Lancaster University. In financial year 2023, companies in the top quartile of carbon expense intensity faced carbon expenses greater than or equal to 1.4% of revenue, 5.1% of gross income, and 12.4% of operating income. But in heavily regulated sectors such as materials, these ratios hit 5%, 17%, and 50%, respectively. Therefore, carbon compliance is exerting a non-trivial impact on profitability, but realised costs are yet to translate into a discernible risk premium, the research found. But the forward-looking analysis was clearer - suggesting equity market investors are pricing in the risk of future carbon regulation in an economically material way. (IPE)

The European Commission has drafted new rules to phase out biofuels with high deforestation risks from the EU’s renewable energy target, setting a binding yearly phase-down trajectory that would bring their contribution down to zero by 2030.

Peatland fires - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is developing and testing methods for measuring peatland fire emissions in Southeast Asia, running through 2026-27, it said this wek. The programme aims to help countries better account for peat fire emissions in their climate pledges under the Paris Agreement. Working with governments including Indonesia and Thailand, the project will combine satellite data and field research to assess fire area, depth, and emissions. FAO said the work will improve national climate reporting, strengthen peatland fire management, and support regional cooperation on climate and biodiversity goals.

Worrying signs - Israel's foreign ministry is reportedly discussing the country's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement due to pressure from the US, according to local news outlet Haaretz. Doing so would be an abrupt turnaround by the Israeli govt, which has otherwise shown longstanding and enthusiastic support for climate accords and green energy. Such a move would be strongly decried by environmental groups that warn against the disastrous consequences of existing international climate agreements.

An Indian government think tank has this week released three sector-specific roadmaps that set out how emissions could be curbed even as production expands sharply under the country’s ambition to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047, while aligning with its net zero goal of 2070.

CDRs issued - Renewable fuels producer Gevo has issued more than 500,000 engineered carbon removal credits from its North Dakota plant since activities began in June 2022, it said in a news release. The credits generated by the ethanol carbon capture and storage project are registered on Puro.earth and have received an 'A' rating from BeZero Carbon. The company claims they have a 1,000 year permanence.

Potential in Thailand - Tokyo-headquartered developer Green Carbon on Thursday said it has seen emissions reduction potential, particularly from alternate wetting and drying (AWD) projects, in Thailand. The company has conducted demonstration projects in multiple regions of the Southeast Asian nation in collaboration with local farmers and universities, and has gathered key data for project development. Green Carbon said it is keen to develop AWD projects in Thailand at a certain scale - a maximum of 50,000 hectares per project and an estimated annual reduction of 5 tCO2/ha.

Another way of cooling down - A group of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered a new cooling effect that can help simultaneously realise low-carbon emissions, high cooling capacity, and high heat transfer efficiency, Xinhua reported, citing a paper published in Nature. The research team found the dissolution barocaloric effect in an NH₄SCN salt solution, and the new method can unify the refrigerant and heat-transfer mediums into a single fluid. The findings can pave the foundation of next-generation cooling technologies, such as cooling systems for large-scale data centres.

Green gold - ASX-listed gold producer Bellevue Gold said its Western Australian mine achieved a record consecutive 101 hours of 100% instantaneous renewable energy during Q42025, it told the market. The company claims to be the world's first net zero emissions gold mine across Scope 1 and 2 emissions. It achieved renewable energy rates at its site of around 87.8% during the December quarter, thanks its off-grid 90 MW power station operated by Zenith Energy. The company purchases and surrenders Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to offset residual emissions, according to its latest sustainability report.

New partner - Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina is seeking a new partner for its Sunda Asri carbon capture and storage (CCS) project after US oil giant ExxonMobil exited to focus on other CCS ventures, Petromindo reported, citing the company's CEO. The offshore West Java project, led by Pertamina Hulu Energi, targets first CO2 injection by 2030 with initial capacity of up to 2.5 Mtpa, expandable to 30 Mtpa. The Sunda Asri basin is estimated to hold up to 3 bln tCO₂ in deep saline aquifers and is designed to serve domestic and international emitters, including potential demand from Singapore.

CCUS support - India’s upcoming 2026 Union Budget is likely to include incentives for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technologies, according to industry sources, the Economic Times reported. The proposed measures under consideration aim to make CCUS projects more financially viable and attract private investment, complementing other renewable energy and clean tech incentives in the budget. Stakeholders said that enhanced fiscal support could help scale CCUS across hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, and refineries, aligning with India’s broader net zero and emissions-reduction goals.

Solar surge - Pakistan’s installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is now estimated at more than 27 GW, according to energy think tank Renewables First, driven in part by a rapid rise in imports of Chinese solar modules that now total over 50 GW . The estimate, which may rise as more behind-the-meter and off-grid systems are accounted for, suggests that the country’s solar power sector has expanded far beyond official figures, with deployment active across residential, commercial, and agricultural segments. The growth reflects accelerating adoption of solar energy as Pakistan seeks to diversify its electricity mix. (PV Magazine)

Offsetting - India’s Sagar Cements has partnered with the climate action platform Sow&Reap Chara to generate 1 mln carbon credits through biomass gasification technology, the company announced. Under the collaboration, the partners will support farmers and agricultural communities in adopting sustainable practices that sequester carbon and qualify for voluntary carbon markets, while also helping Sagar Cements offset emissions from its operations. The initiative is part of the company’s broader environmental strategy to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to climate mitigation by linking rural land-use improvements with high-quality carbon credit outcomes, with the targeted credits expected to be delivered over the coming years, it said.

Solar removing salt - Australian and Indian researchers have developed a solar-powered desalination prototype that can produce safe drinking water continuously, according to an announcement. Monash University and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay developed the SunSpring prototype which uses a floating porous membrane embedded with microscopic carbon "flowers" that absorb sunlight and convert it into heat, reaching temperatures high enough to distil seawater, producing up to 18 litres of fresh drinking water per day. Researchers are currently working to refine design ahead of field trails, and commercial development will be considered thereafter.

Watchdog revisited - California's carbon market watchdog, the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee (IEMAC) has rescheduled its Jan. 20 meeting to Feb. 11, from 1100-1300 PST (1900-2100 GMT). A meeting notice and agenda has yet to be posted, though the adjusted time has been published to its site.

An adjustment SVP - California regulator ARB adjusted the volume of cap-and-invest allowances it will offer for sale at its Q1 auction on Feb. 18. Rather than 54.8 mln allowances on offer at current auction, an adjusted amount of just under 55 mln will be on offer, adding over 100,000 units to the former amount. This increase will be reflected in Vintage 2026 allowances. The quantity has been updated due to adjustments in free allowances allocated under carbon market partner Quebec's cap-and-trade system.  

A Canadian bank has signed its third offtake deal for carbon removal credits from a California-based developer that is expanding its operations north of the border.

Going wild - Australian non-profit the Forever Wild Initiative has acquired the 170,000 ha Meeline Station in Western Australia, it announced. The Meeline human-induced regeneration project (ERF130619) resides on the property, run by the Morrissey family, which has generated some 37,200 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), according to Clean Energy Regulator data. Forever Wild did not disclose a dollar value to the acquisition, but said it was acquired through a "significant, multi-million dollar nature finance investment". The Initiative noted the Meeline station is adjacent to the Boodanoo and Narndee Stations (ERF121756), which it already owns, meaning it now manages the entire Waigen Lakes system. Meeline will be integrated into the broader low-impact conservation grazing management system it operates, Forever Wild said.

Ecuador BUR – Ecuador signalled willingness to engage with international carbon market mechanisms, including the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) and future biennial transparency report (BTR) requirements – both in need of capacity building – according to the UNFCCC’s technical analysis of the country’s second biennial update report (BUR) published on Wednesday. The review highlighted ongoing work to develop a mitigation actions registry to support monitoring, reporting, and verification. Ecuador reported progress across energy, agriculture, waste, and LULUCF sectors, with mitigation efforts framed under its National Climate Change Strategy, alongside the REDD+ Action Plan “Forests to Live Well” (2016-25). The analysis also underscored Ecuador’s transition into the REDD+ results-based payments phase, following completion of readiness and the signing of its first REDD+ agreement in 2018.

One of the largest corporate buyers of carbon removal (CDR) credits published an update to its portfolio on Wednesday, indicating Fiscal Year 2026 contracts are leading with high sequestration durability commitments.

The New Zealand government has put forward lowering ETS annual charges for foresters while introducing several new fees for a range of services, it announced Thursday.

Carbon credits offered both opportunities and significant limitations for financing the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems, according to an interim report published on Wednesday by a European state environment agency.

Canada's technology-based carbon removal (CDR) sector has high potential, but it must be supported by sustained policy to become viable, according to a new market snapshot by the federal government.