Early benchmarks for Canada’s vehicle emissions standard (VES) won’t be stringent enough to meet its sales target, according to a Thursday analysis.

Canada has a chance to pull ahead of the US on 14 low-carbon technologies by ensuring a strong carbon market and bankable incentives for investment, according to a Thursday report.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a lawsuit on Tuesday against California’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate, alleging that state cannot adopt regulations related to fuel economy.

Florida lawmakers on Wednesday approved legislation prohibiting state and local government entities from adopting net zero emissions targets or GHG pricing policies.

Paraguay milestone - Paraguay has seen the creation of the country's first business chamber dedicated to promoting the carbon credit ecosystem. The Paraguayan Chamber for the Development of Trade of Carbon Credits (CAPADECO) was established via an agreement between representatives of Quadriz, Atenil SA, Ecosecurities, and the Carbon Market Coalition (CMC), with participation of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) and hosted by the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP).

A new platform launched on Wednesday aims to channel voluntary carbon market (VCM) finance into building retrofits by certifying emissions reductions from individual properties using verified utility data rather than modelling estimates, its founder told Carbon Pulse.

Innovative financing models will be needed to scale forest carbon projects, according to a report released this week.

Canada’s federal government has launched a competitive procurement process to purchase at least C$10 million ($7.3 mln) of durable CO2 removal credits from projects located in the country, marking the next step in Ottawa’s efforts to stimulate early demand for the emerging sector.

The war in the Middle East is driving a "scarcity premium" for energy prices and highlights the importance of energy independence, with pricing carbon "the single most important thing we can do" to tackle climate change, said John Kerry, former US secretary of state and special presidential envoy for climate, at an event in London.

Energy market intelligence provider Energy Aspects has agreed to acquire Paris-based satellite data analytics firm Kayrros, in a move aimed at expanding the group’s geospatial monitoring capabilities and accelerating the deployment of earth observation data across energy and financial markets.

Two US carbon data and solutions companies have locked in a partnership with tech giant Amazon to reduce supply chain emissions from its grocery arm.

A California-based startup has secured an additional $60 million to expand grassland restoration and carbon removal (CDR) activities, bringing the total value of a previously-announced partnership to $100 mln.

For common good - The US-based church organisation, the Ministry for the Earth Committee, has purchased carbon credits from the Northern Cheyenne Forest Carbon Project and Kootznoowoo Forestry Project. Both projects directly support two Alaskan Tribal Nations and were developed in partnership with them, and reportedly come with biodiversity and water provision benefits.

The war in the Middle East is likely to lower demand for credits under the international aviation sector’s CORSIA scheme in the short term, analysts told Carbon Pulse, with one estimating the past two weeks alone have seen around 3 million tonnes of fewer emissions due to lost jet fuel.

Michigan CCS push – A group of Michigan Democratic state senators have introduced a six-bill package to build a permitting and regulatory framework for carbon capture and storage in the state. The package, referred to the Committee on Energy and Environment, would cover sequestration project permitting, CO2 pipeline oversight, capture project requirements, emergency response training, criminal sentencing, and unclaimed property rules for pore space compensation. Of particular note, Senate Bill 822 (SB 822) would impose a $5/tonne fee on injected CO2, inflation-adjusted from Jan. 2027, with proceeds funding clean energy grants, groundwater mapping, and emergency planning. Senate Bill 826 (SB 826) would set a 90% minimum CO2 capture rate, with limited flexibility down to 80% for certain industries. All six bills are mutually contingent on each other's enactment.

Civil penalty citation - The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued an enforcement order on Wednesday asking a landfill company, a subsidiary of waste management company Republic Services, to pay a civil penalty of $3 mln for air quality violations. The regulator alleges that Valley Landfills failed to monitor, capture, or control landfill gas emissions per federal and state law, based on a compliance investigation by the US EPA and DEQ. The company must also complete corrective actions to effectively manage its site. Of the civil penalty, nearly $2.3 mln represents Valley Landfills' avoided costs by failing to monitor and repair the landfill cover, monitor surface emissions, install new landfill gas collection wells per standards, or install and operate adequate landfill gas controls. Landfill gas is mostly comprised of methane, the DEQ noted.

WA CFS figures - Washington's Department of Ecology (ECY) has published draft 2026 utility-specific carbon intensity (CI) values for electricity under its Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), it announced Tuesday. The ECY said it bases these values on the most recent Fuel Mix Disclosure report from the Washington Department of Commerce, and the update also utilised Commerce’s 2024 report for the electricity consumed during that year to calculate a 2024 statewide average grid electricity carbon intensity of 63.61 gCO2e/MJ. Feedback on the CI scores needs to be submitted to the ECY by Mar. 19.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement with an oil and natural gas major over violations of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) programme, it said on Wednesday.