RGGI Allowance (RGA) futures dipped below the $24 mark on Monday amid a general downward movement and positioning ahead of next month's sale, traders said.

Protect the price signal - Canadian think tank Pembina Institute has posted its submission to Environment and Climate Change Canada's (ECCC's) discussion paper on updating the country’s federal carbon pricing benchmark, calling on the government for a number of market improvements. Pembina authors recommended the ECCC implement annual market-function tests, clarify enforcement and backstop triggers, protect the carbon price signal, expand and harmonise coverage, and improve data transparency and reporting.    

Lone Star solar - TotalEnergies has signed two power purchase agreements to deliver 1 GW of solar capacity, generating 28 TWh of renewable electricity over 15 years to supply Google's data centers in Texas. Power will come from TotalEnergies-owned sites under development at Wichita (805 MW) and Mustang Creek (195 MW), with construction scheduled to begin Q2 2026. The agreements represent TotalEnergies' largest renewable PPA volume ever signed in the United States. The deals complement separate 1.2 GW PPAs secured by Clearway, a California-based renewables company 50% owned by TotalEnergies, to support Google's data centers across ERCOT, PJM, and SPP markets.

Standardizing H2O - The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has launched its Hydrogen Standards Coordination Initiative to advance safety and technical standards across the hydrogen value chain including production, storage, transportation, carbon capture, utilisation, and infrastructure. Phase 1 includes a comprehensive database of existing hydrogen standards and educational webinars scheduled for Mar. 16 and Mar. 31. ANSI issued a Request for Information seeking details on published standards, ongoing activities, and guidance documents with responses due Mar. 6. Phase 2, launching spring 2026, will feature a technical workshop on pre-standardisation research, standards gaps, and regulatory framework considerations. ASTM International, Compressed Gas Association, and CSA Group are sponsoring the initiative.

Spanish Amazon entry - Spanish business group Grupo Alvariño has entered the voluntary carbon market through an agreement with Peruvian firm Amazon Carbon to commercialise credits from Amazon rainforest conservation projects, Expansion reported. Dosfer, Grupo Alvariño's energy consulting subsidiary, will market credits from Amazon Carbon's projects across thousands of hectares in Peru's Loreto, Ucayali, and San Martin departments. The projects are certified by AENOR under the BioCarbon Standard, with Spanish banking group BBVA having already purchased credits. Dosfer founding partner Sergio Fernandez said the credits meet the highest global standards and emphasised Amazon Carbon's social development component for local communities.

AI suntan - Renewable energy developer Zelestra has signed a power purchase agreement with Meta for the 176 MW Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas, expanding their relationship to seven PPAs totaling nearly 1.2 GW of solar capacity across the US with all projects scheduled for operations by 2028. The 81 MW Jasper County Solar Project in Indiana recently achieved full commercial operations as the partnership's first project to come online. Two projects entered construction late last year with the remainder due to start construction in 2026.

Paraguay's carbon credit projects could generate annual revenues exceeding $100 million as it advances its domestic carbon market framework, according to media.

A Texas-based waste management and carbon removal (CDR) company has withdrawn a zoning appeal tied to a proposal to inject poultry waste deep underground on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, bringing the project to an apparent end, local media reported.

Carbon chemistry – Baker Hughes, a US-based energy technology company, has formed an exclusive partnership with Italy’s Giammarco Technologies to accelerate commercialisation of hot potassium carbonate post-combustion carbon capture, Chemical Industry Digest reported on Friday. The partnership was announced at Baker Hughes’ 2026 annual meeting in Florence. It will combine Giammarco’s solvent-based process with Baker Hughes’ turbomachinery, aiming to improve efficiency and reduce energy use and costs, while supporting pilot testing, FEED work, and pathways to full-scale deployment across hard-to-abate sectors.

Hydrogen hub – A hydrogen storage and distribution facility will be developed in Ontario as part of clean hydrogen producer Charbone's Canadian expansion, the company said on Wednesday. The facility will use existing infrastructure, including hydrogen storage tube assets. The Ontario hub is expected to serve industrial, advanced manufacturing, and mobility customers through multiple delivery formats, with the site designed to accommodate potential future storage and production capacity expansions as demand grows. Charbone said it views Ontario as a priority market and the hub as a foundational element of its broader North American hydrogen logistics platform.

A Japanese trading house has launched a project to reduce methane emissions in Bangladesh, with the aim of generating credits under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), it said on Monday.

Climate change could render up to 50% of current grazing land unsuitable for livestock farming by 2100, with major implications for pastoralists and grazing animals, a new study has found.

Rising temperatures are increasing soil carbon storage in boreal sphagnum peatlands, according to a synthesis of field experiments.

Science silenced - The US Federal Judicial Center has removed a climate science chapter from its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence following complaints from 27 Republican attorneys general (AGs), who said the material was biased against the fossil fuel industry. In a letter sent Feb. 6 to West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, the centre said it had omitted the chapter from the latest edition of the manual. The decision came a week after the AGs urged its removal and asked lawmakers to investigate and potentially defund the centre, which provides education and research for the federal courts. The Republican Attorneys General Association welcomed the move publicly, while critics said it supports Republican efforts to blunt climate lawsuits brought by state and local governments against oil and gas producers. (E&E News)

Repeal repercussions – The US EPA is expected to finalise its repeal its endangerment finding on GHGs as early this week, E&E News reports. This move would dismantle a central legal basis for federal climate regulation under the Clean Air Act and nullify vehicle CO2 standards. The finding underpin Clean Air Act authority to regulate climate pollution, and their removal would leave transport, the country’s highest-emitting sector, without federal carbon limits. A former EPA official warned that a potential Supreme Court challenge could stop future administrations from using a new endangerment finding to address climate change, shifting climate action toward states, courts, or Congress.

Superfund gains ground - US Democrats in Oregon have renewed calls for a climate superfund law that would require fossil fuel companies to help cover the costs of climate-driven disasters, citing the multibillion-dollar impact of wildfires on the state’s finances, E&E News reported. Lawmakers backing the proposal argue that events such as the 2020 Labor Day fires highlight the growing fiscal risks posed by climate change and the need for a dedicated funding mechanism, even as they acknowledge the bill is unlikely to clear the legislature before adjournment in early March. The effort follows the passage of similar climate superfund laws in New York and Vermont, and supporters say they plan to continue pressing the issue in future sessions.

Defence shift – US law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has withdrawn from representing Exxon Mobil in a series of climate liability lawsuits in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Washington state, E&E News reports. The company did not provide a reason for the move, but counsel from other firms will continue defending Exxon in the various cases, which seek to hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for climate impacts. Paul, Weiss remains on several other Exxon climate matters.

AI use in carbon markets - Artificial intelligence could support carbon project audits, but liability for audit decisions must remain with validation and verification bodies (VVBs), participants said at a recent roundtable hosted by New York-based Genvision and the International Association of Validation and Verification Bodies. AI could help with basic checks such as reviewing whether documentation is complete, but AI systems that cannot clearly explain how conclusions are reached are unsuitable for compliance audits, which require transparent links between rules and evidence, the speakers said.

Global carbon markets contracted in 2025, with their total value falling to €791 billion, the lowest since 2021, analysts' calculations have found, with 2026 now seen as a pivotal year for setting the long-term direction of the sector.

The European Commission on Monday launched a call for evidence to support an impact assessment on the possible use of international carbon credits to help meet the EU’s 2040 emissions reduction target.

European carbon allowance prices advanced for a second day, posting its biggest daily rise in three months as the market appeared to focus on technical drivers, with bulls shrugging off a weak auction to test a couple of technical resistance levels in the afternoon, while traders anticipated further signals from this Wednesday's Commitment of Traders data.

The European Commission told Carbon Pulse it is reviewing the planned reduction of EU carbon allowances under the bloc’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), saying it is keeping options open on the distribution of free allowances to industry after a week of high market volatility.

Several Latin American governments are aiming to bring new CORSIA supply online via jurisdictional carbon programmes, while Kenya’s decision to deny cookstoves developer Koko Networks a Letter of Authorisation (LoA) continues to shock the market.

Nigeria has refined its forest-related emissions benchmark, adding in degradation data for the first time and making moves towards Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) payments.

A France-based carbon standard has released a new jurisdictional risk map for REDD+ projects in Colombia, it announced Monday.

The European Commission on Monday cleared a rescue loan of up to €390 million for troubled steelmaker Acciaierie d'Italia (AdI), saying the measure complies with EU state aid rules and will keep the company operating until a new owner takes over.

A romantic weekend in Marrakech, a bouquet of imported roses, and a candlelit dinner may look like the perfect romantic gesture, but together they carry a carbon footprint of nearly 800 kg, according to a new analysis that compared the climate impact of typical Valentine’s Day gifts.

Spot prices for Phase 1 CORSIA carbon credits tumbled last week amid a lacklustre voluntary market, where the recent collapse of the Koko Networks cookstove and clean fuel provider continues to stir debate.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has urged EU leaders to scale up homegrown renewables and nuclear power, warning that energy remains a “chokepoint” for Europe’s competitiveness ahead of a leaders’ retreat on Thursday.

Rebuilding a third of Brazil’s depleted soil carbon stocks could cut emissions by 1.5-1.7 billion tonnes of CO2, matching the level required to meet the country’s Paris Agreement goal of a 59-67% reduction by 2035, according to a recent report.

The EU's renewable energy and clean transport fuel policies are helping to boost biofuels supply and prices – although the impacts are mixed, with stronger national goals to cut greenhouse gas intensity, but challenges for clean aviation fuels, according to S&P biofuels analysts.

Finland's climate change advisory body has said the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) is the best way to reduce emissions while also creating economic opportunities, and recommended not to include international credits in the bloc's carbon market.

The European carbon market (EU ETS) is moving from being dominated by the energy complex to being dominated by policy signals, with consequences for which signals the market acts on and what signals traders pay attention to.

A climate research group is seeking hosts for one or two pilot enhanced rock weathering (ERW) field trials launching in 2026, supported by five years of philanthropic funding, it announced last week.

A fair transition - Northern Ireland is one step closer to creating a Just Transition Commission (JTC) - an element of climate change legislation aiming to ensure no sector is unfairly disadvantaged by the low-carbon transition. Draft regulations on the JTC are to be presented to the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee and the Assembly, the BBC reported. The seven sectors of academia, youth groups, civic society, trade unions, fisheries, agriculture, and environment are to be represented on the JTC, and it's also proposed to add representatives from energy, transport, the built environment, the rural sector, and green finance. The Commission's design shall be based on the Scottish model, where a JTC has been operating since 2019.

A greener edge - More than 80% of BNP Paribas's financing exposure to energy production was directed to low-carbon energies as of end-2025 - helping the bank to easily beat its goal to enable €200 bln of low-carbon and transition-based financing from 2022-25, its annual results showed. The achievement puts the Paris-based bank ahead of track for its goal of 90% low-carbon energies (€40 bln-plus) within its energy production credit exposure by 2030. As of end-2025, that ratio had hit 82%, up from 76% in 2024. The biggest contributor to the increase in the ratio over 2024 was a reduction in fossil fuel exposure, falling to €8.6 bln in 2025. (ESG Today)

Japanese energy companies are using their network of Australian industry bodies and government connections to tip the balance of both countries’ energy and climate policies in their favour, to the detriment of the climate, according to a report.

Two final bids reached the end stage of Denmark's €4 billion carbon capture and storage (CCS) subsidy scheme - a large cement producer and an unknown project - from a pool of 16 initial bidders, most of which withdrew.

Carbon removal registry Isometric has released a new crediting method, setting out standards for measuring and certifying carbon removal through agroforestry systems.

ESG disclosure - Swiss pharmaceutical corporation Novartis has for the first time published figures on its use of carbon removal credits to address residual emissions, according to its latest sustainability reporting. The company said it covered 124,300 tonnes of CO2e with carbon credits in 2025, alongside volumes linked to biomethane and sustainable aviation fuel certificates. It reported Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from energy of 200,000 tCO2e, down from 233,300 tCO2e a year earlier.

Pyrolysis licence - Canada-based cleantech firm Char Technologies has licensed its high-temperature pyrolysis technology to France-based energy developer GazoTech SAS to support the rollout of biochar and syngas projects in France and selected European markets, the company said last week. Under the agreement, GazoTech will apply the technology on a project-by-project basis, with CHAR receiving an upfront licence fee linked to equipment delivery and ongoing royalties tied to biocarbon output, allowing it to generate revenue without deploying project-level capital.

CDR pre-purchase - US-based carbon removal developer Parallel Carbon has signed a pre-purchase agreement to supply 1,200 carbon credits to Zurich Insurance Group, the companies said last week. The credits will be issued under the Puro Standard and generated using an integrated direct air capture with geological storage and hydrogen production process, with the hydrogen output expected to be sold into low-carbon industrial markets.

Biochar deal - Direct air capture developer Climeworks has agreed to purchase 90,000 tonnes of CDR credits from Ghana-based biochar firm Truecoco through 2032. The biochar is converted from agricultural biomass residues - specifically coconut husk waste - using pyrolysis, and the credits are certified by Puro.earth. Truecoco sources coconut husk waste from more than 180 smallholders and 12 coconut cooperatives, with the biochar returned to local farmers as a soil amendment, improving fertility and sequestering carbon. The deal follows an initial phase where Truecoco delivered over 3,000 tonnes of CDR to Climeworks. By 2030, Truecoco aims to remove more than 250,000 tonnes of CO2. (Biochar Today)

Industrial emissions covered the EU’s carbon trading system fell 8% year-on-year in January, driven by significant decreases in steel and cement emissions, real-time emissions data indicates.

Clear skies - The UK’s Met Office has signed a £20,000 contract to purchase UK nature-based carbon removals to offset excess air travel during the 2025-26 financial year, according to a government procurement notice published at the end of January. The contract was awarded without competition to UK-based supplier Beyond Zero and was signed on Jan. 27, with delivery running from Feb. 23 to Mar. 31. The procurement falls below the relevant threshold and covers removals linked to air travel emissions from Apr. 2025, the notice said.

Urged to act - AirAsia has called on Indonesian carbon project developers and the government to accelerate approval of CORSIA-eligible credits, warning domestic airlines face a supply gap as compliance obligations loom, its chief sustainability officer said in Linkedin post. Mun Ching Yap said Indonesian airlines will need at least 1.7 mln CORSIA-approved carbon credits by 2027, but no domestic credits currently meet the criteria. Failure to act could result in a net outflow of $35-100 mln in climate finance as airlines source credits overseas, she said.

Beyond GDP - The world must place true value on the environment and move beyond GDP as a measure of human progress and wellbeing, said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres following the organisation's hosting of a conference titled 'Beyond GDP' attended by senior economists. "Our world is not a gigantic corporation. Financial decisions should be based on more than a snapshot of profit and loss," said Guterres. Hyper focus on GDP as a metric of success "is feeding hyper-nationalism, inequality, and polarisation", said Indian economist Kaushik Basu, who co-chairs the UN group. There are growing debates about how to create economic structures compatible with greater equality and sustainability, including the degrowth school of thought, which favours reducing unnecessary production to focus instead on social benefit. (the Guardian)

Achievements - Japanese agritech startup Eco-Pork said it has achieved an average 13% reduction in GHG emissions among participating pig farms using its solution, calculated using a methodology under the domestic J-Credit programme. Its demonstration farms have also shown an 11% improvement in feed efficiency, according to its impact report published Monday. The company plans to expand business to Europe, Brazil, and Asia, beyond its existing overseas markets like the US and Ukraine. Eco-Pork in November raised $9 mln for global expansion in its latest financing round.

Proceeding with caution - Singapore will take a pragmatic, calibrated approach to its carbon tax trajectory, balancing global climate action, economic competitiveness, and the availability of decarbonisation technologies, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a parliamentary reply. Gan said decarbonisation remains essential for Singapore’s long-term competitiveness despite higher costs for the energy-importing nation, but the government would also consider carbon prices elsewhere to avoid carbon leakage. Singapore’s carbon tax is currently S$25 ($20) per tCO2e and is set to rise to S$45 per tonne in 2026 and 2027.

Support incoming - India will take action to support its steel exports amid pressure from EU's CBAM, Reuters reported, citing Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik. This comes as the bloc signed a trade agreement with the South Asian country last month which cut tariffs in several sectors but left the border levy unchanged, even as Europe accounts for around two-thirds of India’s steel exports.

South Korea's science ministry plans to allocate KRW 42.7 billion ($29 mln) this year, a roughly 50% increase from last year's budget, to secure the country's competitiveness in the hydrogen sector.

Seeking feedback - The joint committee for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) between Chile and Japan is seeking comments on a proposed solar project, according to a recent notice. The JCM project was designed for the installation of a 3 MW solar power plant in Chile's Maule region, with around 17,000 tonnes of emissions expected to be reduced during 2024-30. The call for public input is open until early March.

The Philippines has decided to implement a five-year strategy to ensure a robust and credible voluntary forest carbon market, local media reported.

LNG go - New Zealand will contract to build an LNG import terminal to shore up fast depleting gas reserves, the government announced. A statement said the facility will provide a reliable backup fuel source, reducing the impact of dry-year risk on electricity pricing, and stabilise electricity costs. Climate and energy minister Simon Watts said the government has shortlisted leading proposals and is progressing to commercial contracting, with the aim of signing a contract by mid-2026. A report in November from Boston Consulting Group said New Zealand would be better strengthening its domestic gas market, rather than relying on exports, but LNG imports may be prudent if supply continues to decline rapidly.

The Australian government has committed A$4.8 million ($3.4 mln) to support the development of a commercial project that will use biochar to cut emissions from electric arc steelmaking, according to an announcement.

Please comment - India’s carbon market regulator Bureau of Energy Efficiency has invited comments on a draft proposal for a carbon project that intends to install about 1,000 small digesters in rural homes. The project, developed by Kosher Climate India, is a household biogas programme in Karnataka aimed at cutting methane emissions from manure management. It estimates annual emissions reductions of roughly 5,000 tonnes of CO2e over a 10-year crediting period.

Pakistan’s federal government collected over PKR 25 billion ($90 million) in carbon taxes from a newly introduced levy in the first half of the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to data published by the Ministry of Finance last week.

Historic win - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a historic victory in Sunday's lower house election, a move that will reshape Japanese politics for years to come. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's coalition now has a supermajority of two-thirds of seats in the lower house, which would ease her legislative agenda, according to NHK's projections. The election result will also set the pace of the implementation of Takaichi's proposed energy policy, which is focused on energy security, analysts said. The Japanese government is also preparing for the next phase of the country's GX-ETS, which will become mandatory from April onwards.    

Green cash - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a subsidiary of Thailand's Gulf Development Public Company Limited have signed a $350 mln loan to expand renewable energy to help decarbonise the country's power sector, it announced. The financing will support the construction of two solar-plus-storage energy storage systems, with a capacity of 126 MW/151 MWh, and a 68 MW solar development that will cut emissions by 191,500 t CO2e per year. ADB is the sole mandated lead arranger, crowding in funding from Germany's DEG Bank and DBS Bank, Development Finance Institute Canada, and Export Finance Australia, as well as cash from its own capital resources and the Leading Asia's Private Infrastructure Fund 2. The multilateral development bank said the strong participation from co-financiers reflects robust market confidence in the project.

Target exceeded - The Australian state of Victoria achieved 44.6% renewable energy generation in 2025, overachieving its target of reaching 40%, the government announced. Wind farms generated around 24% of Victoria's electricity, making it the single largest renewable generation contributor, while solar accounted for 16%. The government is seeking to achieve 65% renewable energy generation by 2030, with the government saying the state's Development Facilitation Program, designed to fast track renewable energy development, has already unlocked A$9 bln ($6.3 bln) in investment across 25 projects.