A top Illinois lawmaker is looking to join states in seeking polluters-pay legislation, according to legislation submitted this week. 

Phytoplankton-based carbon removal (CDR) holds potential for reaching climate-relevant scales but remains uncertain for deployment, with further research required, according to a new report on marine carbon removal (mCDR).

Canada’s federal government said Thursday it would trade its electric vehicle (EV) sales mandate for tighter GHG emissions standards for cars and light trucks, as part of a broader strategy aimed at reshaping how emissions reductions are delivered in the transport sector.

Coal in court - The owners of Colorado’s Craig coal plant are seeking a rehearing of a late Dec. 2025 US DOE order that required a turbine to operate beyond its planned Dec. 2025 retirement, arguing the Trump administration wrongly declared an energy emergency, E&E News reported. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and Platte River Power Authority said the directive keeping a unit at the Craig Generating Station online for 90 days violates their rights and could increase electricity prices. The DOE said the order was needed to ensure power reliability in the western US, a claim the companies disputed as unfounded.

New CORCs - Puro.earth has issued 850 CO2 removal credits (CORCs) from Wood Cache Corp’s La Veta facility in Colorado, marking durable removals under its woody biomass burial methodology, the company’s CEO said Thursday on LinkedIn. The issuance represents the first credits generated at the site, which is permitted to deliver up to 25,000 CORCs annually between 2026-30. The La Veta project uses buried woody biomass to delay decomposition and permanently store carbon.

Hawaii hits back - Hawaii is pointing to a recent court loss by the Trump administration to defend its climate lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry, arguing the ruling weakens federal efforts to block similar cases, E&E News reported. In a brief filed last week, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez cited a judge’s decision rejecting an attempt to stop Michigan from suing oil and gas companies. The filing comes as a Hawaii court considers a Justice Department lawsuit brought a day before the state sued seven oil and gas companies and the American Petroleum Institute.

Mexico is plotting the long-awaited regulation of its emissions trading system (ETS) in Q2 2025, a carbon industry representative said during a webinar, adding there was uncertainty if operationalisation would be pushed back yet again.

Renewables revival - Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), one of two US House Republicans who opposed last year’s GOP-led One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is preparing legislation to reinstate solar and wind tax credits that were rolled back, arguing the cuts were counterproductive to lowering energy costs and energy security, E&E News reported. Fitzpatrick said he is drafting a standalone bill to reverse renewable-related provisions, citing private frustration among some Republicans over the credits’ removal, even as most ultimately backed the broader package. The move comes amid rising electricity prices and renewed bipartisan focus on affordability ahead of midterms, though it faces resistance from GOP leadership and scepticism in the Senate, where lawmakers involved in last year’s negotiations said appetite to revisit the issue is limited.

A Nova Scotia-based CO2 removal (CDR) startup specialising in carbon capture for coastal bioenergy and industrial facilities announced Thursday the successful close of its C$4 million ($2.9 mln) equity round, bringing total capital raised to over C$12 mln.

A US federal judge ruled on Monday that a Texas law barring state entities from investing in or contracting with companies deemed to be “boycotting” fossil fuels is unconstitutional, granting partial summary judgment to a business group challenging the statute.

The engineered removals market saw a downturn in issuance and retirement volumes in January, month-on-month, but there were signs that the market was able to maintain momentum, with data showing that a healthy volume of forward deals and new investments were agreed.

Paraguay this week announced creation of the National Cadastre of Mitigation Projects, advancing detailed plans to transact the country’s first Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) this year, a senior official told Carbon Pulse.

The rate of atmospheric CO2 increase this year will remain too fast to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C, according to Met Office scientists.

The Saudi state-backed Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company (VCM) on Thursday continued its streak of geographic expansion via new alliances, announcing exclusive arrangements with several North American carbon market players.

A new report from Canada’s Senate could kickstart a federal framework for marine carbon removal (mCDR), according to a senator. 

Costa Rica’s payments for ecosystem services (PES) scheme is setting a global example of how ecosystems can be restored by financing local land stewards, a study using bioacoustics has said.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) on Thursday announced a new set of decisions for the award of its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) quality labels, adding forestry and rice cultivation methodologies to its roster.

East Coast neighbourly - Nova Scotia and Massachusetts have committed to working together on developing their offshore wind sectors, according to CBC. A new MoU signed by Premier Tim Houston and Gov. Maura Healey could see Nova Scotian electricity shipped to the east coast state from the province's 5 GW Wind West project.

SAF support - A bipartisan group in the US Senate has introduced the Securing America's Fuels (SAF) Act (S3759), aiming to promote the national sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry and reduce transportation sector emissions. The legislation would reinstate the SAF bonus credit that would allow qualifying SAF producers to receive up to $1.75 per gallon, and it would extend the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit through 2033. The SAF bonus credit was reduced to $1/g gallon under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), but was extended by two years to 2027. Companion legislation was introduced by another bipartisan group in the US House of Representatives in December. On Tuesday, the US Treasury released proposed 45Z rules for credit eligibility.

Climate team layoffs - The Washington Post sent layoff notices to at least 14 climate journalists, including reporters and editors, as part of a cost-cutting initiative on Wednesday reducing 30% of the staff, or more than 300 journalists. The newspaper will have five writers/reporters left on its climate desk after its former executive editor announced plans to build the Post's coverage to more than 30 climate journalists in 2022, according to sources of the blog Climate Colored Goggles. The layoffs were met with criticism of the Post's owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, for resorting to cutting staff after the newsroom reported a $100 mln loss in 2024, given his estimated net worth of $244 bln.

Canadian oil and electricity advocates are asking the federal government to tread carefully as it looks to update its industrial carbon pricing benchmark – or scrap its proposal altogether.

The US standstill - The Trump administration has stalled more than 60 wind and solar projects on federal lands and hundreds on private land requiring federal consultations, with 73 GW of solar capacity at risk according to the The New York Times reported. The restrictions come as US electricity demand surges for the first time in decades.

Skip the demo, please? - SoCalGas, SDG&E, and Southwest Gas petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Tuesday to eliminate a 2022 requirement mandating 5% hydrogen blending demonstration projects before recommending a systemwide injection standard for medium pressure distribution systems. The utilities argued the safety case for low-level blends has advanced since the order, citing operational data from Utah demonstration projects and Hawaii Gas's use of up to 15% hydrogen for over 50 years. The petition maintains CPUC requirements for demonstration projects studying 5-20% blends. SoCalGas Vice President Amy Kitson said removing the 5% demonstration requirement would save ratepayers money and time, noting utilities in California and globally have shown blending up to 5% hydrogen can be done safely without modifying customer appliances.

Capturing carbon and funding - Wyoming’s top energy agency is recommending nearly $5 mln in state funding to support a carbon capture and storage project that would inject captured CO2 from power plant smokestacks into unmineable coal seams, as part of a broader $11.7 mln slate of proposed energy grants. Laramie-based Carbon GeoCapture would receive nearly $5 mln under the Energy Matching Funds programme to test the storage approach, which the company said could provide a lower-cost option for managing power-sector emissions while also releasing methane gas trapped in coal seams. The project would be matched dollar-for-dollar by utility Black Hills Energy and remains subject to final approval by Gov. Mark Gordon (R), with public comment open through Monday. (News From the States)

Wetland carbon gambit - Montezuma Carbon's proposal to inject carbon dioxide from Bay Area facilities into saline aquifers beneath California's Montezuma Wetlands could receive approval within 12-18 months once Solano County approves a test well, Grist reported. The project targets 8 million tonnes stored annually toward California's 13-20 Mt goal by 2030. Technical lead Jamie Rector said the estimated $2 bln project has no financing after the Department of Energy denied a $340 mln grant in 2023. Environmental justice groups formed Communities Against Carbon Transport coalition opposing the facility.