Time to sign up - Paraguay's Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) has issued Res. 47/2026, creating the National Cadastre of Mitigation Projects. This is an initial step toward creating and operationalising the National Registry of Carbon Credits as described in last year's carbon markets regulation, according to the text. As of Monday, all mitigation projects in Paraguay must be registered in the national cadastre by completing the corresponding forms, with the registration deadline for ongoing projects set at Mar. 15. The resolution is the latest in a string of moves by Paraguay to operationalise its 2023 carbon credit law – including last week publishing an approval form for carbon project methodologies to request eligibility under Paraguay's carbon market framework, as well as a public tender seeking consultancy firms to develop the country’s National Carbon Markets Strategy and an operational manual for Article 6.

Captured data – A new carbon capture and low-carbon infrastructure intelligence platform has launched, offering real-time global tracking of projects across carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture (DAC), hydrogen, e-fuels, and CO2 transport networks, it was announced on Monday. CarbonStorage.io said the service aggregates project-level data, geospatial mapping, regulatory milestones, and infrastructure metadata into a continuously updated database. The company said the platform is designed for developers, investors, researchers, and energy companies seeking consolidated visibility on carbon management and related infrastructure projects worldwide. Core project maps and summary information are available at no cost, while professional users can access paid datasets and analytics tools for deeper project and regulatory analysis.

Forest focus - A US House Natural Resources subcommittee will hold a hearing on Tuesday marking one year since the Jan. 2025 California wildfires, as lawmakers seek to increase pressure on the Senate to advance forest management legislation, E&E News reported. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands plans to use the hearing to promote the Fix Our Forests Act, which would expand forest thinning and encourage home hardening and community protection measures. The Palisades and Eaton fires near Los Angeles were among the most destructive, with the Palisades fire destroying several thousand buildings and causing 12 deaths, while the Eaton fire burned developed areas and about 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) of the Angeles National Forest and was linked to 17 deaths.

Wet, leafy storage - A new study featured in Nature has suggested that large, slow-growing hydrophytes can increase wetland carbon storage. The study used data from more than 1,250 natural wetlands, examining plant diversity and its effect on carbon storage. It found that the functional diversity of plants had minimal impact on carbon sinks, while plants that live completely or partially submerged in water generally stored more carbon.

Emissions reported under US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic power sector cap-and-trade system RGGI jumped more than 7% year-on-year (YoY) as CO2 output increased in almost every participating state, programme data showed on Monday.

A US district court on Monday struck down a federal stop-work order on an East Coast offshore wind project, granting a preliminary injunction that allows construction to resume and marking the fifth time judges have overturned recent federal actions halting projects already under construction.

Storm spike - Oil and gas facilities across Texas reported a sharp rise in emissions during late January as Winter Storm Fern brought below-freezing temperatures, E&E News reported, with at least 77 pollution events reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality between Jan. 22 and Jan. 29. Refineries, petrochemical plants, and natural gas infrastructure cited frozen equipment, uninsulated pipelines, and contaminated gas as causes of the releases. Environmental groups said the surge reflects long-standing regulatory gaps, noting similar spikes during past winter storms, while state regulators said enforcement discretion during disasters allows operators to prioritise safety and reliability.

Science scrutiny - US DOE scientists criticised a climate report commissioned by Energy Secretary Chris Wright as misleading and biased, according to internal emails released through court proceedings, E&E News reported. The 141-page report, written by five outside climate contrarians, has been cited by the US EPA to support its effort to rescind the 2009 endangerment finding that underpins federal GHG rules. Internal reviewers challenged the report’s treatment of climate science and rebuked Wright’s introduction for mixing policy judgements with scientific claims. A federal judge ruled on Friday the group behind the report improperly provided policy advice behind closed doors, violating a law that governs how federal advisory committees work.

The Canadian government’s proposal to strengthen its stuttering industrial carbon pricing system will miss the mark, according to a domestic environmental think tank.

Requiring a set of core climate metrics, third-party assurance, and improved disclosure infrastructure would help authorities track financial institutions’ progress toward net zero emission targets, the OECD said in a new policy paper.

An Oklahoma lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require certain energy, infrastructure, and industrial projects to receive approval from affected landowners before state or local authorities could issue permits or authorisations.

Argentina’s stance on Article 6 will determine the future of the country's largely dormant carbon market over the coming years, an expert from a carbon industry lobby told Carbon Pulse, with most market governance initiatives still currently happening at the subnational level.

CORSIA carbon futures tumbled again last week, detaching themselves from spot prices for the aviation offsetting scheme, amid an eye-opening week for the Paris Agreement market after a major energy and cookstove provider company went bust because Kenya would not agree to authorise international credit trade.

A Los Angeles-based real estate firm will back a solar and battery storage project in California that the company said could rank among North America's five largest facilities.

Falling fundamentals - European oil majors are gearing up to rein in billions of dollars of shareholder payouts in the coming weeks as they prepare for lower oil prices and strive to protect their balance sheets. Analysts expect Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Eni, and Equinor to collectively reduce their shareholder payouts by 10-25% when they report full-year results this month, all through reductions in stock buybacks. In recent years these companies have spend over half their cash flow on buying back shares but the strategy is now facing strain with falling oil prices, leading them to likely cut their repurchases rather than fund them via debt. However, their US rivals are doing much better - on Friday, ExxonMobil and Chevron reported their lowest annual profits in four years, despite record oil and gas production, but neither signalled a pullback from their shareholder payouts and both have stressed the strength of their balance sheet. (FT)

A biomass carbon removal (CDR) developer has last week signed a long-term offtake agreement with an investor for future credits from a project that stores timber waste in disused coal mines in the country of Georgia.

Ontario biocarbon plant goes online – Char Technologies has begun commissioning at its Thorold Renewable Energy Facility in Ontario, marking the startup of its first commercial plant for biocarbon and renewable energy. Feedstock handling systems are now online, with commissioning of the high-temperature pyrolysis kiln to follow. The company aims to reach its Phase 1 production rate of 5,000 tonnes of biocarbon per year by end-Q1, and plans to add RNG capabilities and a second kiln in Phase 2.

Tackling super pollutants – J.F. Lehman & Company has acquired Reclamation Technologies USA and Tradewater to launch a new environmental services platform focused on full lifecycle refrigerant and methane management. Indianapolis-based RTI offers gas recovery and reclamation, while Chicago-based Tradewater destroys high-GWP gases and plugs leaking oil and gas wells. Brown Gibbons Lang & Company advised on the deal, which targets growth in closed-loop waste services amid tightening regulation.

An environmental standard body is set to update its carbon removal methodology with the aim of restricting crediting to areas exposed to high deforestation risks.