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TOP STORY
Italy to request suspension of EU ETS pending reform
Italy plans to request a suspension of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), pending a thorough revision, a senior minister told journalists at the start of the EU Competitiveness Council on Thursday, sending benchmark carbon prices tumbling below €70 per tonne.
DAILY NEWS TICKER
CP Daily News Ticker: 26 February 2026
The CP Daily News Ticker is a running list of all our news updated in real-time throughout the day. This is also the home to our ‘Bite-sized updates from around the world’, which previously featured in our CP Daily newsletter.
EMEA
EU ministers issue statement urging ETS reform to stop “excessive price volatility”
At least 13 EU industry ministers, including German, French, and Italian officials, have signed a joint statement calling for “a pragmatic approach to free allocation”, among other measures to ease carbon costs for the bloc’s industrial sector.
Immediate changes needed to EU ETS, CBAM to save chemicals sector, member states warn
Poland, supported by eight other EU countries, called for urgent political action to help the bloc’s ailing chemicals sector, mainly by revising the phaseout of free carbon allowances to industry under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and by amending technical values that determine permit handouts, during a ministerial meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Brussels confirms plan to turn EU ETS into “investment tool” for decarbonisation
The upcoming reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) will aim to turn the bloc’s carbon market into “an investment tool” to modernise European industry, so it is no longer seen only as “a taxation tool”, the European Commission said on Thursday.
Euro Markets: Ministerial comments trigger early EUA plunge before cautious recovery
EU carbon allowance prices nose-dived by as much as 4.6% early on Thursday morning before recovering half their losses over the rest of the day as traders responded to yet more comments from European lawmakers, with one minister calling for the market to be “suspended” during the upcoming review process.
Norway’s move to scrap 2030 climate neutrality law set to weaken near-term Article 6 demand
The Norwegian parliament voted Thursday to scrap its 2030 climate neutrality target after lawmakers and climate NGOs raised concerns about its cost and impact, with experts estimating this may weaken short-term demand for Article 6 linked carbon credits.
France seeks “clarification” on Article 6 exclusion from EU ETS
While France fully supports the decision to include international credits in the EU’s 2040 climate target, it also issued a statement seeking “clarification” that credits delivered under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement will be kept out of the bloc’s carbon market.
EU industry groups call on Commission to withstand pressure to weaken ETS
Two groups representing EU industries have urged the European Commission to avoid proposing changes to the Emissions Trading System (ETS) that would weaken the price of European carbon allowances – contradicting pressure from other lobbies.
FEATURE: UK ETS cost containment lever may look attractive to EU – but it remains untested
Mounting political pressure to ease prices on the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is fuelling suggestions that the bloc establish a UK-style cost-containment lever – even though the British model has been criticised for failing to act as an effective safety valve.
EU needs to see carbon capture investment decisions this year, to keep climate goals on track -industry group
Europe’s first-mover carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) projects need to reach a final investment decision this year, or put the EU at risk of missing its climate goals for 2030 and 2040, an industry association warned on Thursday.
European wind sector channels €45 bln in 2025, adding over 19 GW of capacity -industry body
Europe installed over 19 GW of new wind power capacity in 2025, over 90% of it onshore, with investment topping €45 billion – but tampering with the electricity market design, or making changes to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), would have a negative effect on investment into the sector, an industry body warned on Thursday.
Shipping body calls for national ETS revenues to help decarbonise sector
A European shipping body is backing the creation of a reliable supply chain for greener shipping fuels, and has called to de-risk investments using national revenues from the EU’s carbon pricing scheme.
UK govt publishes first standards for corporate reporting on sustainability
The UK government has formally published its first Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS) for companies voluntarily wishing to disclose their sustainability actions, with the new standards based on a global baseline.
How to scale up Africa-based entities to validate and verify carbon projects -report
A new playbook sets out key actions to scale up the number of Africa-based validation and verification bodies (VVBs) in the voluntary carbon market – to reduce project delays and cost overruns, and deliver greater socio-economic benefit for the continent.
Biochar drives soil carbon gains in farming trial, research shows
Precision subsoil biochar application significantly increased soil organic carbon stocks in a three-year German field trial, while regenerative agriculture practices without biochar produced no statistically significant gain, according to research released Thursday.
INTERNATIONAL
UN approves first PACM credits issuance from Myanmar clean cooking project
The UNFCCC has approved the first-ever issuance of credits under its Article 6.4 mechanism, also known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), in an effort to channel finance into verified emissions reductions.
INTERVIEW: Multiple routes to take ICJ climate opinion forward, says NGO head
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) is a crucial, but not the only, avenue to bring the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark climate advisory opinion to life, said the director of the NGO which kickstarted the campaign, pointing to the opinion’s applicability to the UNFCCC, finance and trade talks, as well as human rights bodies.
More CBAMs are coming, but tricky questions on help for poorer exporters persist -experts
Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) make it possible for countries to impose the pain of carbon pricing at home – but questions of how much support to give developing exporter countries, and how far to recognise foreign climate policies, raise complications that have not yet been resolved, according to experts.
AMERICAS
BRIEFING: Mexico, Colombia finalising ETS rules ahead of 2026 rollouts, Chile continues Article 6 expansion
While Mexico and Colombia are finalising key components of their emissions trading systems (ETS) ahead of publishing implementing decrees this year, Chile is advancing operational rules for Article 6 and its integration with other environmental market mechanisms, officials from the three countries said during a panel on Wednesday.
Chilean ministries, private sector cooperate to bring small forest owners into carbon markets
Several of Chile’s ministries and the state-owned BancoEstado have created a public-private initiative with Chilean industries to facilitate the participation of small and medium-sized forest landowners in carbon markets.
FEATURE: Whether US firms rejoin net zero asset manager alliance hinges on legal risk
Whether US financial firms decide to rejoin the newly relaunched Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM) will largely depend on the legal risks around ESG engagement on their home turf, experts say.
Former US DOE staffer champions creativity, strategy for CDR progress -webinar
A former US DOE staffer said federal headwinds may blow away from carbon removal (CDR) and climate impacts, but options still exist for creative developers willing to align strategically with new priorities.
WCI Market: CCA prices dip after Q1 auction as market awaits catalyst to break stalemate
California Carbon Allowance (CCAs) futures dipped after Q1 auction results and a week that saw prices barely moving, with traders seeing little catalyst for a near-term swing amid ARB rulemaking uncertainty and political risks.
Trump administration could increase biofuel blending obligations -media
The US EPA is considering a plan to require big oil refiners to make up for the waived biofuel blending volumes obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), according to a media report on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Indigenous rights must be strengthened under ACCU Scheme, group says
Indigenous carbon project developers have urged the Australian government to speed up reforms to its carbon markets that strengthen Indigenous rights, as the government teases on when new savanna fire management (SFM) methods will be finalised.
India’s largest automaker to issue carbon credits from rail freight move
An Indian carmaker has secured registration for the world’s first modal shift transportation project to generate carbon credits, with its Gujarat in-plant railway siding approved under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) programme, the company announced.
South Korea to boost support for climate finance, mandate ESG disclosure
South Korea’s top financial regulator is aiming to significantly expand government support for climate finance for the next decade, while institutionalising mandatory environmental data disclosure.
Gas seen as most feasible path to curb Indonesia’s captive coal emissions
Indonesia’s growing fleet of captive coal power, built largely to feed its nickel boom, could use natural gas as a stepping stone towards decarbonisation, a report said Thursday, calling it the most feasible route to cutting short- to medium-term emissions.
Vietnam publishes carbon registry rulebook, eyes launch later this year
Vietnam has issued a circular clarifying long-awaited rules that will govern its national carbon registry, as the Southeast Asian country moves closer to launching emissions trading later this year.
VOLUNTARY
BRIEFING: As financiers enter VCM, fears of future price risk and taxes linger
The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is drawing new institutional fixed-income investors, buyers, and funds – but several forms of risk and taxes are spooking others, a webinar heard.
$100/t no magic number for DAC as real-world costs diverge sharply, says tech provider
The widely cited $100 per tonne figure for the levelised cost of captured CO2 in direct air capture (DAC) masks wide variation in individual project costs and depends heavily on assumptions around energy, location, and financing, according to a Dutch DAC technology provider.
CDR policies may misjudge climate impact without system-wide accounting, report says
Carbon removal (CDR) policies could misjudge climate benefits by assessing activities at the facility level while overlooking emissions from the wider systems they depend on, a new report has found.
Carbon platform joins forces with mapping provider to address corporate Scope 3 emissions
A carbon procurement and intelligence platform has partnered with a provider of geospatial mapping and carbon stock data to support companies and investors report on their Scope 3 impact and mitigate those emissions with environmental certificates.
Nature-based removals buyers coalition expands to mangrove restoration
The Symbiosis Coalition has updated its quality criteria, expanding its remit to include mangrove restoration projects in addition to those focused on terrestrial reforestation and agroforestry.
AI could cut complexity of forest carbon MRV -webinar
Current satellite-based forest carbon monitoring pipelines often function as de facto “black boxes” – complex, region-specific, and difficult to replicate, a webinar heard this week.
AVIATION/SHIPPING
IATA to auction one million CORSIA credits in March in test of airline appetite amid falling prices
Up to one million CORSIA-eligible cookstove credits will be auctioned by the International Airline Trade Association (IATA) in March that will test whether the spot price has tumbled into a range of $15-16.
New California SAF credit too costly relative to climate benefits -report
California’s policy advisory office has recommended the legislature reject Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credit, calling it an expensive approach to lowering emissions.
US prepping next stage of IMO carbon pricing proposal opposition -media
The administration of US President Donald Trump (R) is drafting a new diplomatic memo against the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) proposed carbon price plan, media reported on Thursday.
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EVENTS
EVision 2026 Fleet Forward: Mar. 4-5, Brussels – Eurelectric’s high-level event dedicated to accelerating e-mobility across Europe is back at Brussels’ Autoworld Museum. Don’t miss the launch of a new Eurelectric-EY report on the potential of corporate fleets electrification to decarbonise transport – register now
Carbon Capture Europe Summit 2026: Mar. 11-12, Rotterdam – Carbon Capture Europe Summit 2026 (#CCES2026) is Europe’s leading event on carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), taking place on 11-12 March 2026 in Rotterdam. The summit will gather over 600 senior executives and decision-makers from government, industry, and finance. The conference will explore how to scale Europe’s CCUS ecosystem by advancing regulatory frameworks, unlocking cross‑border CO2 transport and storage, commercialising capacity, and accelerating innovation in hard‑to-abate sectors. Across 2 days of expert-led strategic sessions, exhibition, and networking, CCES2026 provides the perfect opportunity to gain insights from industry leaders, forge partnerships, and connect with professionals across the CCUS value chain. Use code CCES10CP to register
North American Carbon World (NACW): Mar. 31-Apr. 2, San Diego – For more than 20 years, NACW has been the must-attend event for market participants looking to gain actionable insights into policy shifts and market trends, network with climate policy and business leaders, and grow and strengthen carbon markets with integrity and ambition. Hosted by the Climate Action Reserve, the 2026 conference will offer a critical forum for meaningful collaboration and timely discussions exploring market innovations in technology, the evolution of standards, the growing role of finance, and foundational topics such as permanence. Register here
Carbon Capture MENA Summit: Apr. 1-2, Dubai – The Carbon Capture MENA Summit 2026 (#CCMS2026), taking place in Dubai on 1–2 April 2026, is MENA’s leading CCUS event. Bringing together 500+ industry leaders and 80+ visionary speakers, the summit will focus on fit-for-purpose CCUS policies, decarbonisation applications, breakthrough innovations, carbon markets, and infrastructure development. Together, we’ll accelerate MENA’s leadership in scaling CCUS solutions and shaping a sustainable energy future. Join us to drive the next chapter of CCUS innovation and impact. Find out more
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