Sue thy neighbour – A Republican candidate for Nevada attorney general demanded that incumbent Aaron Ford (D) immediately sue California and Governor Gavin Newsom (D) to halt regulations she said are accelerating refinery closures and inflating fuel prices for Nevadans. Adriana Guzman Fralick (R) said Nevada sources most of its refined products from California, and that Governor Joe Lombardo's (R) repeated letters to Newsom regarding his concerns on California regulator ARB's proposed update to the state’s cap-and-invest programme had gone unanswered.

Garden State stores more - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved incentives for 355MW of battery storage and opened a solicitation for a further 645MW, fulfilling half the state's goal of 2GW of grid-tied storage by 2030, Utility Dive reported. The three approved projects are expected to save ratepayers more than $169 mln over the programme's life. The state also announced a 3GW expansion of its community solar programme, including 300MW on landfills, which it said would make New Jersey one of the top US states for community solar deployment.

Trump's coal ghost - The Trump administration issued a second 90-day emergency order extending the operation of TransAlta's Centralia coal plant in Washington state past its Dec. 2025 retirement date. The US DOE has cited grid reliability as justification, but hydropower met 70% of state electricity demand through early March without the facility generating any power, according to an Environmental Defense Fund analysis. Legal challenges from Washington state and environmental groups against the first order are pending in court.

Unplug EVs - Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged his Quebec and British Columbia counterparts to scrap their electric vehicle sales mandates, the Canadian Press reported. Ford argued that maintaining such rules in only certain parts of Canada would fragment the auto market, pushing investment and jobs to the US. Quebec requires 90% of new vehicle sales to be hybrid or electric by 2035, while British Columbia scrapped its mandate but pledged new legislation on the matter this year.

Canada’s declining GHG emissions will level off around 2035 without improved climate action, according to a new report by a federal regulator.

Windy woes - The US is weighing a nearly $1 bln wind farm settlement for oil major TotalEnergies, according to a New York Times report. The outlet said US officials are drafting agreements to pay the compensatory package for cancellation of leases for wind farms in federal waters off the coast of New York and North Carolina.

US EV sales plummet - A report by Cox Automotive showed new EV sales in the US were down 26.8% YoY in February, but up 5.8% MoM. Sales totalled 68,951 units, with Tesla the clear volume leader at 38,500 units. Used EV sales totalled 39,879 units in February, up 28.8% YoY and 4.2% MoM.

Ratepayer relief - Maryland Democrats are backing the "Utility Relief Act" (HB 1532), aiming to save residential ratepayers some $150 on annually by cutting energy efficiency spending, redirecting some renewable energy funding to ratepayers, and lowering annual electricity savings requirements for utilities. The legislation passed the House on Tuesday night on a bipartisan vote of 108-25, sending it to the Senate. The Maryland General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn by Apr. 13.

Wind woes – The US Interior Department’s renewed movement on solar projects has not revived wind energy on federal lands, where most projects from the Biden-era pipeline have stalled or been cancelled, E&E News reported. Only one project, Wyoming’s Two Rivers Wind, remains viable but is awaiting final approval more than a year after initial sign-off. Industry groups said stricter permitting requirements under the Trump administration have halted new applications and slowed existing projects, leaving onshore wind development largely at a standstill.

The number of participants in Washington's cap-and-invest programme edged up in Q1 to surpass the 200 mark, while compliance instrument holdings decreased during the quarter, according to a report published Wednesday.

Hot core, cold feet - New York state Senator Kevin Parker (D), chair of the Senate Energy Committee, plans to introduce a two-year moratorium on new nuclear power, setting up a clash with Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D) push to expand the technology as part of the state’s long-term energy strategy, E&E News reported. Parker said he supports the bill because of concerns about safety, community health, and cost, while anti-nuclear environmental advocates have also questioned the administration’s assumptions. Hochul has directed the New York Power Authority to build 1 GW of new nuclear capacity and assigned the state’s utility regulator responsibility for 4 GW more, framing nuclear as a reliable source of baseload electricity. However, critics said key details remain unresolved, including how new reactors would be financed and what size or type of technology would be used.

Taskforce triumph – Washington State lawmakers on Monday passed Senate Bill 6355, which would create the Washington Electric Transmission Authority, with a remit to plan, site, and finance transmission infrastructure to ease grid congestion and support clean energy deployment, according to global non-profit Clean Air Task Force (CATF). The group said the measure is intended to help address long-standing interconnection and capacity constraints, noting that although hundreds of projects have sought grid connection since 2015, only one has been approved. CATF said the new authority would function similarly to transmission authorities in New Mexico and Colorado by identifying priority projects, partnering with developers, and upgrading existing infrastructure, with the broader goal of improving reliability, affordability, and access to low-cost clean energy as electricity demand rises.

A forestry fund in Paraguay that aims to expand an ARR carbon pilot to 120,000 hectares has received a $15-million commitment in direct and blended finance from a multilateral development bank.

A US energy company on Wednesday decided to progress with a Montana-based carbon hub, aiming to generate revenues from helium production and CO2 management starting in 2027.

Voyage volatility – A multi-year study has found that hydrogen-fuelled ships need a design-based safety approach, as the fuel poses distinct hazards compared with other marine fuel alternatives. DNV, in a report commissioned by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), recommended secondary enclosures across all hydrogen-carrying components and additional technical barriers to manage leakage and explosion risks. The study also flagged occupational safety risks for crews, saying seafarers will need specialised training, clear procedures, and safety management systems to handle hydrogen-specific hazards.

Let us know - New York-based oneshot.earth, the climate tech firm behind the One Carbon Protocol, has opened its Carbon Containment Lab methodology, “Recovery and Destruction of Hydrofluorocarbons in Article 5 Countries”, for public comment, it announced on Wednesday. The methodology revises existing ozone depleting substances (ODS) methodologies to include certain hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as well as other changes aimed at: strict outlining of the additionality case for HFC recovery and destruction in Article 5 countries; adjustment of project boundaries to account for non-zero refrigerant recovery levels, aiming to enable a potential eventual transition from carbon finance to regulatory enforcement; and clarification of documentation requirements. Public commentary will be open until Apr. 3 before a final round of expert review and voting.

Deforestation fall by around 30% in areas of the Brazilian Amazon covered by a conservation-linked cash transfer programme for vulnerable families, according to a study.

CFTC climate cancellation - The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has withdrawn its request for information (RFI) published in June 2022 for information on climate-related financial risk. President Donald Trump (R) repealed the Biden-era executive order the RFI was based on in Jan. 2025 in his first day in office of his second term, the CFTC said in the notice of its withdrawal in the Federal Register. CFTC regulations "provide a uniform regulatory framework that addresses financial risks", the agency added in explaining its move.

Aromatics unlocked – California-based Universal Fuel Technologies and Washington State University announced on Tuesday that testing had validated a process to convert HEFA-derived naphtha into aromatic sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) components that can help produce a fully synthetic drop-in jet fuel. The companies said the process upgrades the byproduct into synthetic aromatic kerosene that, when blended with paraffinic SAF, meets key jet fuel performance parameters. The results suggest HEFA producers could upgrade naphtha streams that account for up to 20% of output into required aromatic components, potentially reducing reliance on fossil jet blending.

Crop credits – Gevo subsidiary Verity Holdings and Minnesota-based tech company CIBO Technologies have partnered to deliver an end-to-end data and verification solution for biofuel producers targeting US 45Z compliance, they announced Tuesday. The system will link farm-level practices with fuel production to generate verified carbon intensity scores and audit-ready documentation required to access clean fuel credits. The companies said the platform will help producers meet traceability demands across multiple schemes, including US tax credits, Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations, and state-level low-carbon fuel standards.

Colorado would gain control over permitting for underground CO2 storage wells after federal regulators proposed approving the state's application. 

Coal closure challenge – Public interest groups on Tuesday filed a challenge in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, seeking to overturn US DOE emergency orders that required two Indiana coal-fired power plants – the RM Schahfer plant and one unit at the FB Culley generating station – to keep operating past their planned retirement dates, arguing the orders are unlawful, unnecessary for grid reliability, and likely to raise electricity costs and pollution. The groups said the initial 90-day orders, issued in Dec. 2025, could cost ratepayers more than $20 mln for operations alone, with utilities now seeking to spread repair and operating costs across the 11-state MISO grid. They also said continued operations would worsen air, water, and coal ash pollution near affected communities, while forcing customers to pay more despite prior decisions by utilities, regulators, and grid operators to retire the ageing units.

Linear disturbances linked to oil and gas exploration and resource mining could be significantly increasing methane emissions from boreal peatlands, according to new research.

A bipartisan bill introduced in the US Senate this week aims to accelerate next-generation geothermal technologies and deliver affordable clean electricity.

Global investment in clean energy technologies reached a record $1.96 trillion in 2025, but a sharp drop in manufacturing spending, driven largely by China, points to a market correction after years of rapid expansion, according to a report published Wednesday.

Dispute de-escalates - Plaintiffs suing New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s (D) administration over inaction on the state’s 2019 climate law said they are open to settlement talks, arguing the state can comply with its emissions-reduction requirements without raising energy bills, E&E News reported. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs said they have contacted the Attorney General’s office to signal interest in discussions, while criticising Hochul’s efforts to reopen parts of the law during budget negotiations. The dispute comes as Hochul has for years floated rolling back provisions of the 2019 statute, which set ambitious GHG reduction targets, and plaintiffs accused the governor of misrepresenting the case and creating a false crisis in an election year.

Midterm move - US House Democrats are set to introduce sweeping clean energy legislation aimed at lowering consumer energy costs and reversing Republican rollbacks of tax incentives, as part of a broader midterm election messaging strategy, E&E News reported. The Energy Bills Relief Act, led by Representatives Sean Casten (D-IL) and Mike Levin (D-CA), would reinstate clean energy tax credits eliminated under the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and promote new renewable development, including by directing federal agencies to expand permitting for wind, solar, and geothermal projects on public lands. While the bill is unlikely to advance under President Donald Trump’s (R) administration, it has secured at least 118 Democratic co-sponsors.

A Canadian biochar project developer has locked in a new partnership to deliver pyrolysis technology in Western Canada.

Oil prices spiking to $140/bbl for two months alongside a large rise in natural gas prices would send the world into recession, according to analysts.

Long-term, patient investors and larger economies are likely to drive a bigger share of global climate spending, according to a new paper from think tank Bruegel.

The war in the Middle East has exposed the world's fossil fuel dependency, which will stoke a "resource nationalism" where countries recognise the value of domestic renewables and improve circularity for better energy security, a webinar heard.

A new AI-powered platform aims to help carbon project developers identify compliance gaps early, potentially shortening certification timelines which often stretch for months or even years, its co-founder and CEO told Carbon Pulse in an exclusive interview ahead of the Wednesday launch.

Shipping traffic through the Straits of Hormuz will remain slim though to early April, with LNG production in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates gradually returning to full capacity by the second half of May, according to an analyst groups' base case scenario forecast.

More than 30 companies have committed 0.1% of their annual revenue to a new platform mobilising private finance for clean energy in emerging markets.

Low-carbon cement - CURA Climate and ocean carbon capture firm Captura have partnered to test bipolar membranes (BPMs) in CURA’s electrochemical cement process, which aims to cut emissions by up to 85% by extracting CO2 from limestone before it enters a kiln. Testing at CURA’s facilities showed Captura’s BPMs operate at the lowest voltages of any commercially tested membranes evaluated in the system to date, reducing energy consumption and operating costs. Captura originally developed the membranes for ocean-based carbon removal but is now manufacturing them for industrial applications including cement, lithium extraction, and desalination. Cement production accounts for roughly 8% of global CO2 emissions, with most stemming from limestone calcination.

Extending emissions trading systems to cover more sectors and types of greenhouse gases comes with significant benefits beyond emission reductions, as long as policymakers tackle challenges such as where to set the cap on pollution permits early on, according to a report. 

A US-based clean cement developer has laid off around two-thirds of its workforce and halted construction of a commercial-scale plant after the withdrawal of federal support, media reported.

Companies often retire offsets from the same countries where they operate, even though carbon is globally fungible, according to new academic research that questions how effectively voluntary carbon markets allocate climate finance.