Join the Crew - Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) has entered a long-term partnership with Crew Carbon to deploy a calcium carbonate-based process intensification technology at two wastewater treatment plants in Norfolk, Virginia following a successful pilot phase. Initial testing showed improved biological nutrient removal, lower operating costs, and verified permanent GHG removal. The combined use of Crew’s system and HRSD’s own technology is expected to further enhance plant performance, reduce reliance on conventional chemicals, and deliver both operational and capital cost savings. The approach works by optimising alkalinity through calcium carbonate dosing, improving treatment consistency, settleability, and effluent quality, while also lowering carbon emissions and supporting regulatory compliance. HRSD is positioning the project as a case study for aligning environmental benefits with cost efficiency, and becomes one of the first major US utilities to deploy wastewater alkalinity enhancement at scale.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed sweeping changes to the state’s landmark climate law that would ease compliance requirements and delay key regulatory timelines, citing mounting cost pressures and shifting economic conditions.

Emitters extended their net long position in California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) and expanded their net short in RGGI Allowances (RGAs), while investors did the opposite, and both groups reduced their net short in Washington Carbon Allowances (WCAs) after weaker-than-expected Q1 auction results, the latest US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed.

Resignation nation - More than 10,700 employees left the US EPA, Interior Department, and DOE under the Trump administration’s deferred resignation programme, which offered incentives for voluntary departures, according to new data from the Office of Personnel Management, E&E News reported. The figures, covering Jan. 20, 2025, through Jan. 31, 2026, show significant net workforce declines across the three agencies, including a loss of over 4,200 staff at the EPA, 11,000 at Interior, and 2,800 at the DOE, despite some new hiring.

Wisconsin biogas bust - A biogas project by BC Organics in Wisconsin has emitted nearly 5,000 tonnes of methane in 2024, the New Lede reported on Friday. The outlet said a 2025 filing with the Wisconsin Air Management programme showed the project emitted some 4,900 tonnes of methane in 2024. Critics have argued anaerobic digesters, which are increasingly common in the US, still emit a large amount of methane into the atmosphere despite being touted as a climate solution.

DAC diversion - Two large-scale direct air capture (DAC) hubs in Louisiana and South Texas, backed by over $1 bln in US DOE funding, have stalled amid prolonged federal audits under the Trump administration, leaving developers uncertain about the status of up to $550 mln in subsidies, E&E News reported on Friday. Project Cypress and an Occidental Petroleum-led hub, both intended to remove at least 1 MtCO2 annually, have seen little progress or public updates since 2024-25, with officials citing a lack of clear federal strategy and ongoing funding reviews. The delays come as broader clean tech investment declines and several DAC projects lose federal support following a wider review of Biden-era climate spending. Developers are now weighing options including scaling down projects, seeking private investment, or shifting operations abroad, with some already expanding into Canada and other markets with more supportive policy frameworks.

Insurance requirement repeal? - The Environment and Sustainable Development Committee of the Chamber of Deputies has approved a bill (2055/25) that would revoke a requirement under Brazil's national carbon market law that mandates insurance companies, open-ended supplementary pension entities, capitalisation companies, and reinsurers to invest at least 0.5% per year of their technical reserves in carbon credits or funds. Supports of the proposal say the provision in the carbon market law is unconstitutional, creates artificial demand that could encourage the generation of low-quality credits, and violates the 'polluters pay' principle. The proposal will be analysed by other committees and would still need the approval of both chambers of Congress. The carbon market law's requirement is also the subject of ongoing litigation.

Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment (CDHPE)’s Air Pollution Control Division (APCD) published a series of rulemaking concepts on Friday aimed at reducing methane emissions under the state’s regulation for oil and gas operations.

Brazil, India, and Kenya have the geology, renewable energy and industrial base to support large-scale carbon removal (CDR), but a lack of regulation, financing, and workforce capacity is holding back deployment, researchers and industry experts said on Thursday.

The Q2 California-Quebec joint WCI auction will offer just under 9% less allowances than the previous quarter, according to a Friday notice.

Peatlands in British Columbia store far more carbon per hectare than surrounding forests yet remain poorly mapped, with their carbon stocks largely unquantified, according to a new study.

Fee fixin' - Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will ask its director to approve fee increases for air permitted facilities under state GHG reporting requirements, it announced Friday. The agency is proposing that fees be raised permanently from 15% of a Title V permit with a $4,500 cap and 7.3% of an Air Contaminant Discharge Permit, to 20% of any annual air permit base fees, with a minimum of $500 and a maximum annual fee of $9,000 per source. The DEQ is seeking public comments on the proposal, which can be submitted by Apr. 24. The agency will also hold a virtual public hearing on Apr. 22, a link for which can be found here.

Voice of reason - Understanding more about how carbon removals can bring the world back from the 1.5C temperature overshoot likely to happen in coming years will be a key topic addressed in the IPCC'S next set of reports - AR7 - due to be released between 2028-29, said the organisation's chair Jim Skea. He spoke to Bloomberg about the more challenging environment the IPCC now operates in due to climate misinformation and the US withdrawal. Some 50 US scientists are involved in the Seventh Assessment Report (AR7) who are funded by philanthropic bodies. The IPCC is resilient and continues to operate despite the challenges, said Skea. The first report of the cycle - the special report on climate change in cities - will be released by Mar. 2027. Under current policies, the world is on track for about 3C of warming by 2100, but implementing all the NDCs would reduce the temperature rise to 2.5-3C, he said. Higher warming levels would entail negative effects including reduced agricultural productivity leading to higher food prices. "The decisions that are taken or are not taken in the next few years will influence where we are," - "the gap lies in action", not science, said Skea. The biggest challenges ahead lie in engaging much larger numbers of people on actions such as reducing consumption and changing land use, which will be harder than the emissions reductions achieved so far through electrification and renewables.

Just 16% of European companies are pulling ahead on addressing environmental issues, according to a new report, which found they cut emissions about 60% faster than peers in the last year.

SBCE downloading - Brazil's Extraordinary Secretariat for the Carbon Market (Semc), which is overseeing the development of the country's future ETS (Portuguese: SBCE), held a second technical workshop this week on the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of GHGs. Held in coordination with the Secretariat of Green Economy of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services and the Consortium of Energy-Intensive Sectors of Industry, the aim of the workshop hosted by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) was the development of objective of regulations that are viable and aligned with sectors that are intended to participate in the SBCE. This second workshop deepened discussions related to the cement and aluminium sectors. Topics discussed included: the limited network of laboratories available to perform specific analyses such as biogenic carbon analysis of alternative waste; the use of waste in cement production processes; and the differences between primary aluminium production processes and those from recycling.

Offset your pharmaceuticals - Brazilian pharmaceutical distribution company Grupo Proformas has launched Compensa+, a programme it said supports certified carbon offset projects, neutralising the CO₂ generated by transportation carried out by Locafarma, the company’s logistics operator. The initiative is meant to promote more responsible logistics in line with best environmental practices, and the first five participant partners in the programme will receive training related to emissions inventories, Grupo Proforma said.

Methane measurements – The Appalachian Methane Initiative (AMI) and academic partners said on Friday that the Appalachian Basin retained the lowest methane emissions intensity nationwide after monitoring thousands of sites. Working with the University of Texas at Austin, Colorado State University, and others, AMI reported a 0.52% methane loss rate across the full supply chain based on nearly 17,000 measurements covering 31,800 square miles (82,360 sq. km.) in 2025. The coalition found conventional wells account for nearly two-thirds of emissions despite producing under 2% of gas, while coal mines and landfills emit more methane per site than oil and gas. Future work will target high-frequency monitoring of coal mine complexes and closing data gaps, according to a press release.

Peru has authorised its first bilateral deal for selling carbon credits internationally under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement after striking a deal with Switzerland.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has called on governments, businesses, and households to take immediate action to curb oil demand, as the supply disruption linked to the war in the Middle East has tightened global markets and pushed crude prices above $100 per barrel.

Colorado coal – Public interest groups including Earthjustice, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, and Vote Solar, alongside the state of Colorado, have filed a federal court challenge against the Trump administration’s emergency order extending operations at the Craig Unit 1 coal plant this week. The petition, lodged in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, targets a Dec. 2025 order that forced the unit to remain available for at least 90 days despite a planned retirement. Challengers argued the move will raise electricity costs, increase pollution, and impose unnecessary repair and operating expenses on utilities and ratepayers, while critics say it reflects a broader effort to delay coal plant closures despite cheaper renewable alternatives.

Front-month California Carbon Allowance (CCA) futures settled below the 2026 price throughout the last week as programme uncertainty and costs concerns continued to cast a shadow over the market, traders said.

13 angry AGs - Attorneys general from 13 Democrat-ed states wrote to US EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin demanding the agency rescind a Dec. 2025 memo they said effectively strips environmental enforcement by requiring staff to escalate every legal objection raised by regulated industries regardless of merit. The letter, signed by New York, California, Washington, and ten other states, said the policy gives polluters a roadmap to delay compliance and will increase harmful emissions in overburdened communities.

California emissions from diesel and gasoline consumption in 2025 continued their year-on-year (YoY) decline in December, state data showed.