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.

European carbon prices staged a robust recovery on Monday after falling to a 12-week low at the start of trading, rallying in the face of a wider sell-off across metals and energy as traders responded to intensifying diplomatic efforts to avoid conflict between the US and Iran, as well as double-digit drops in gold and silver, and producing a technical signal at the close that may presage a bullish reversal.

The Belgian authority responsible for implementing the EU’s carbon border adjustment fee said it has yet to hear from around half of the importers that are expected to be subject to the scheme, even a month after its full startup.

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)

ETS feedback - The European Commission held a workshop on Jan. 29 with more than 50 representatives from stationary installations subject to the EU ETS, from sectors including chemicals, cement, and pulp and paper. The workshop was intended as a forum for stakeholder to share feedback on practical implementation of the scheme to ensure its continued effectiveness. They shared experiences on areas such as compliance processes and free allocation application, with the findings set to inform evaluation of the EU ETS and the upcoming revision of the ETS Directive.

The European Union risks missing its decarbonisation goals because its strategy to secure critical raw materials for clean technologies rests on incomplete data, weak targets and slow delivery, the bloc’s auditors have warned in a new report.

Kenya's decision to reject clean cooking developer Koko Networks' request to sell carbon credits was met with widespread concern and criticism on Monday, including from the country's own special climate envoy, highlighting the strong political risks weighing down on the nascent international market.

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.

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is facing growing criticism from climate and security experts, who have warned that exemptions for military-related imports could undermine efforts to reduce emissions in the defence sector.

Landfill to the brim - The UK has published new research that assesses methods for measuring methane emissions from landfills and considers how those measurements could be used in regulation. The project tested methods to measure methane emissions from landfill sites and explored how such measurements could support regulation and improve gas management. It used the so-called Tracer Dispersion Method and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle mass balance surveys at several English landfills. Both techniques can quantify emissions, though each has limitations under certain conditions. The government's study also evaluated different performance metrics and identified methane collection efficiency (MCE) - the proportion of methane captured versus total produced - as the most useful indicator. MCE values varied widely across sites, reflecting differences in gas system performance. Overall, the research found that measurement of emissions could have a potential role in improving the rate of landfill gas capture and reducing methane emissions from landfills.

EU’s Russian gas exit law published – A regulation mandating a full phase out from Russian gas imports by the end of 2027 was published in the EU’s Official Journal on Monday. EU member states gave their final blessing to the proposal last week, after striking a political agreement on the legislation with the European Parliament in December. The law introduces a phased approach to the EU’s import ban, starting with short term contracts from April and June this year, and long-term contracts in 2027 – both for LNG and pipeline gas. The ban was decided despite opposition from Slovakia and Hungary who said it will increase price volatility.

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.

German DAC collab – German Direct air capture startup Ucaneo has signed a technology partnership agreement with Siemens AG Digital Industries to help industrialise and automate its DAC systems, it announced last week on social media. The collaboration will apply Siemens' automation and digitalisation expertise to standardise and optimise Ucaneo’s plant design, with the goal of scaling up faster and more reliably. The two firms said the partnership aims to accelerate carbon removal deployment and set new benchmarks for industrial decarbonisation. Ucaneo also plans to open its first-of-a-kind technical demonstration plant later this year.

North Sea CO2 shipping deal – Associated British Ports, LBC Tank Terminals, North Sea Port and the Port of Esbjerg have signed memoranda of understanding to explore cross-border CO2 shipping routes in the North Sea. The deals aim to scale carbon capture and storage and create a new market for carbon transport. Announced ahead of the international North Sea Summit in Hamburg, the agreements focus on designing port infrastructure, building transport value chains, and linking emitters to UK geological storage via facilities like ABP’s Immingham terminal, part of the Viking CCS cluster. Such EU-UK cooperation could cut CO2 transport and storage costs by around 20%, according to recent estimates from the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA).

Guinea has outlined a wide-ranging list of priority sectors for climate investment under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 carbon market mechanism, with a strong focus on energy, transport, agriculture, and forest protection.

The European pulp and paper industry is urging a targeted reopening of the EU ETS Directive before 2030 to protect the sector’s global competitiveness amid persistently high carbon and energy costs.

Two Singapore-based companies have partnered to develop “advanced” digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) systems for forest carbon in Southeast Asia, starting with a project in Indonesia.

Despite tight gas storage levels, speculators offloaded European carbon en masse last week, pushing the benchmark down towards €80/tonne, but the market may now look to take greater cues from fundamentals amid a spell of incoming cold weather, analysts have said.

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.

Counter-productive - The French Senate has voted to revive oil and gas extraction overseas in a move that threatens the credibility of France's climate leadership. The bill's adoption directly opposes the 2017 Hulot Law, which prohibits the granting of new licenses for the exploration of oil and gas and mandates a complete end to all oil and gas extraction on French soil, including overseas territories, by 2040. The decision "is an insult to frontline communities who bear the brunt of climate impact" and "severely undermines the credibility of France’s climate leadership", wrote think tank 350.org.

A UK-based climate consultancy has appointed a new chief growth officer (CGO) focused on supporting clients access carbon markets.

Australia should modernise its free trade agreements (FTAs) with Southeast Asian partners to better align trade policy with climate and nature objectives, as existing deals offer weak and largely voluntary environmental provisions, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said in a recent review.

Global wealth and fossil fuel tax - Negotiations on a global tax treaty to make fossil fuels firms and the super-rich pay for the impact of their activities will resume at UN headquarters in New York on Monday. Dozens of countries support rules to make polluters pay, though developing countries want a stronger draft and robust backing from the developed world. The US has withdrawn from the talks and some rich countries argue that tax matters should be discussed within the OECD rather than the UN. The convention could be adopted as soon as the end of next year if details can be agreed, though progress has been slow so far. (the Guardian)

The chair of Australia’s independent Climate Change Authority (CCA) has been asked to step back from making recommendations as part of the review into Australia’s carbon market to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

Palm oil credits - Thailand’s Global Green Chemical (GGC) signed a cooperation deal with satellite operator Thaicom and the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO) to develop carbon credits from sustainable palm oil cultivation, the companies said last week. The project will use satellite data, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence to monitor plantations and measure carbon sequestration, with credits to be registered under Thailand’s voluntary T-VER programme. Malaysia is also looking to generate carbon credits from the palm oil industry.

Green banking - The Asian Development Bank and the State Bank of Vietnam have launched a $2 mln green banking initiative aimed at strengthening Vietnam’s capacity to scale up green and climate finance. The initiative is part of the ‘Inclusive and Climate Finance’ technical assistance project funded by the Japanese Government through the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific or the JFPR, and seeks to enhance green banking practices and support the financial sector’s role in advancing sustainable investment. More than 80 participants from the banking sector, government agencies, development partners, and business associations met in Hanoi at the inaugural workshop on Friday and discussed issues including climate risk assessment, carbon pricing impacts, the role of banks in carbon market development, and the issuance of green bonds as part of efforts to deepen climate finance in Vietnam.

India’s government has allocated INR 200 billion ($2.2 bln) over the next five years to deploy carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) technologies to cut industrial emissions.

Australia should set demand targets for renewable ammonia and low carbon liquid fuels as a way to drive the uptake of clean hydrogen, according to a lobby group submission published Monday.

Greening up - Benefit, a fintech and electronic financial services provider in Bahrain, has partnered with carbon offsetting platform Safa to advance sustainability and climate action across the firm’s operations and strategic agenda, it announced. Under the collaboration, the two organisations will explore ways to embed responsible environmental practices, reduce Benefit’s environmental footprint and strengthen its ESG initiatives, while supporting national goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.

Carbon cash - Nigeria could earn up to $5 bln a year from carbon credit sales from its ‘80 Million Clean Cookstoves Project’, according to Babatunde Aina, chief financial officer of Greenplinth Africa Limited, the implementer of the project. The estimate was shared at a climate and sustainability forum, where experts highlighted Nigeria’s vast potential carbon credit generation. But while the potential is significant, unlocking it will require clear regulations, strong institutions, and credible MRV systems to attract international buyers and investment into Nigeria’s carbon credit projects, Aina said. 

Taking flight - Singapore will trial a centralised procurement model for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with nine companies including Google, Singapore Airlines, and DBS Group Holdings participating, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said last week. The voluntary test will be run through the newly formed Singapore Sustainable Aviation Fuel Company (SAFCo) to refine operational, commercial, and accounting processes ahead of a 1% SAF mandate for flights departing Singapore. Singapore plans to raise SAF use to 3-5% by 2030, funded partly by a green levy on air tickets from April for flights departing from October.

Figuring it out - Australian company Provaris and China's Yinson Production have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Himle to assess fabrication and costs of its proprietary liquid CO2 (LCO2) tanks, the company told the market. The effort will focus the design of a robotic production facility and cost estimation to fabricate the LC02 tanks suitable for Floating Storage and Injection Unit opportunities. The facility would be built at Himle's manufacturing site in Rushan, China. Provaris said the tanks will be significantly larger than those currently offered in the market and will offer cost benefits to proponents of CO2 carrier and storage projects.