Cutting corners on EU climate targets to ease short-term energy price pressures – for example, by weakening the Emissions Trading System (ETS) – would erode Europe’s industrial base in the long run, an NGO has warned.

Lego building blocks - The Lego Group announced last week plans for a solar park at its factory in Chesterfield, Virginia, that the company said will feature over 30,700 ground-mounted panels with a total capacity of 22 MWp. Construction is expected to begin this summer, and Lego also plans to install 10,080 rooftop solar panels on top of its buildings, producing an additional 6.11 MWp of capacity.  The project will significantly expand the site’s on-site renewable capacity, and marks a significant milestone towards the ambition of sourcing 100% renewable energy for the facility’s annual needs, Lego added.

The UK ETS Authority has opened a public consultation on how sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) should be treated under the country's compliance carbon market.

Methane madness - The US has intensified its criticism of the EU’s methane rules for oil and gas imports, arguing that Europe risks worsening an emerging energy supply crunch linked to Iranian attacks on Qatari infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, US ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder has warned that stricter regulation could drive up energy costs and contribute to a severe energy crisis, urging the bloc to ease requirements if it wants to maintain affordable supply. The situation has been exacerbated by damage to Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG facility, which could take years to repair, tightening global gas markets. Although Europe imports little gas directly from the Middle East, reduced global supply increases competition for LNG, much of which the EU now sources from the US, strengthening Washington’s leverage. US energy firms have already criticised the EU’s methane rules as overly burdensome, particularly given complex supply chains, and warn they could raise costs for exports to Europe. Under the EU framework, importers must comply with methane monitoring and reporting rules from next year, with penalties for exceeding methane intensity thresholds due by 2030. While the European Commission has indicated it will take a pragmatic approach to avoid supply disruptions, it has not yet amended the regulations.

European carbon allowance prices were largely steady either side of a steep jump late in the morning after the US announced it would extend a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with prices leaping 3.2% in a few minutes before continuing to trade in a narrow range as the carbon market waited for signals from Brussels on the likely shape of various reforms to the EU ETS.

CORSIA carbon contracts continued to fall last week amid the ongoing war in Iran, sending jet fuel prices to all-time highs, and leaving the airline industry contemplating cutting flights amid supply shortages.

Automaker win - Germany's top appeals court has rejected bids by environmentalists seeking to ban Mercedes-Benz and BMW from selling new combustion engine cars from Nov. 2030. Three managing directors from the ​DUH environmental lobby had filed the lawsuits, which were based on a "carbon ‌budget" ⁠calculated for each of the two automakers. However, the court ruled that no such budget ​had been ​allocated ⁠to individual companies. Both automakers welcomed the ruling, and reiterated their commitment to sustainability. (Reuters)

Cookstoves in Benin - The Bissap project developed by Hummingbirds has become the first improved cookstove project officially registered in Benin by the AEPC (Autorité d’Enregistrement des Projets Carbone). The registration includes the retrocession of the carbon credits to the Beninese state, and comes with a clear benefit-sharing plan, stated Hummingbirds on LinkedIn. CCP-eligible credits are available to buy from the project, it said.

AI emissions - CO2 emissions from powering new data centres in the UK could be far higher than government estimates, according to Carbon Brief analysis. Even if gas-fired electricity only accounts for 5% of their supply - emissions from 11.2 GW of data centres would be around 2 MtCO2, which is more than 10 times higher than the government’s top estimate for 2035. And if those facilities rely more heavily on gas, emissions could be hundreds of times higher, exceeding 30 MtCO2 - roughly equal to the yearly emissions of Denmark. Were capacity to increase in line with the extra 20 GW of data-centre demand that energy regulator Ofgem says is in the pipeline, and those facilities rely heavily on gas power, then emissions could reach 70 MtCO2 - almost 500 times higher than the govt's upper estimate. The findings suggest data centres could be equivalent to as much as 20% of the UK’s projected total emissions in 2035. Most UK data centres currently connect to the electricity grid, but some developers have reportedly turned to gas via private supplies, due to struggles connecting to the network.  

Forest management plans (FMPs) in logging concessions across the Congo Basin could halve deforestation, but their adoption remains limited, according to a new paper.

Land-based removals greenwashing? – Environmental NGO Carbon Market Watch released a report on Monday warning that the new Land Sector and Removals Standard (LSRS) developed by Greenhouse Gas Protocol risks weakening corporate climate action, despite safeguards on land‑based emissions and removals accounting. The NGO says optional reporting of removals and an implied hierarchy that lets SBTi’s FLAG guidance override LSRS rules could allow companies to hide ongoing emissions behind “net” targets and temporary storage. It urges making removals reporting mandatory, banning enhanced oil recovery, tightening traceability and uncertainty rules, and clearly separating emissions cuts from carbon removals in all target‑setting frameworks.

The UK is especially vulnerable to high gas prices driven by distant conflict, unless it exploits clean and flexible assets through smart energy management, say experts.

Denmark will disburse €5 billion to support offshore wind energy and France can move ahead with its scheme to support the production of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, Brussels ruled under the bloc's state aid framework. 

Aluminium exports are the main driver of Gulf nations’ exposure to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), according to analysis published Monday.

Ageing carbon benefits - Sweden’s old-growth boreal forests store much more carbon than previously estimated, according to a new study by Lund University and Stanford University. Results showed that primary forests store 72% more carbon per acre than industrially managed forests, rising to 83% more when harvested wood products are excluded. Soil accounted for the largest portion, with the top metre holding 64% of total carbon in primary forests. Industrial logging has persistent effects on soil carbon, which old-growth forests recover from only slowly. Sweden’s managed forests could take centuries to regain lost carbon, the researchers warned. The study measured carbon at over 200 forest sites, comparing undisturbed primary forests to managed plantations. (ShiaWaves)

Soil carbon uplift - Soil carbon developer Agreena has been verified for its Scope 3 project from SustainCERT, leading to the issuance of 10,964 verified impact units (VIUs) - including the first agricultural units issued in Hungary and Poland. The developer can now provide third-party assurance for all soil carbon outcomes across both its Verra-verified carbon credit programme (2.3 mln credits issued) and its SustainCERT-verified supply chain solution. The almost 11,000 VIUs issued cover 6,518 ha across Hungary, Poland, and the UK, delivering 3,940 tonnes of verified emission reductions and 7,024 tonnes of removals through regenerative farming. VIUs represent verified emissions reductions and removals generated in a company's own value chain.

A planned revision of the EU ETS Market Stability Reserve (MSR) will be presented “before Easter”, officials in Brussels said on Monday, also confirming that the European Commission was not planning to put forward a shift from volume- to price-linked triggers as part of the plans.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) will review a UK nature-focused carbon standard following its application for accreditation under the body’s credit quality stamp, it was confirmed Monday.

A London-headquartered enhanced rock weathering (ERW) company is piloting satellite data to monitor crop performance in Ontario, Canada, it announced last week.

Malawi has authorised a dairy biogas initiative under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, making it the country’s first project to generate Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) while targeting emissions reductions from agriculture and household energy use.

UK energy price cap? – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cost-of-living tsar has urged the government to consider a temporary profit cap on energy companies and petrol retailers to curb “profiteering” during the Iran war-driven price surge. Lord Richard Walker, executive chair of Iceland supermarkets, said he opposed a comprehensive, open-ended cap, warning it could cause “disastrous consequences such as rationing”, but backed a targeted measure during exceptional market conditions. Officials said there were no current plans yet but did not rule out future action, amid soaring fuel prices, rising inflation forecasts, and mounting pressure to shield households and small retailers. (Financial Times)

Global Article 6 forerunner Ghana has now granted Letters of Authorisation (LoAs) to mitigation initiatives representing around 47.1% of its 2030 budget for Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), among other milestones, a senior official has said.

West African initiative – The Gambia is set to host a regional meeting of West African countries from Mar. 23-25 in Banjul to accelerate the operationalisation of carbon markets and advance implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Organised by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources in partnership with the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance, the event will bring together representatives from 16 member states to strengthen regional cooperation, assess post-COP30 developments and build institutional capacity. A key highlight will be the launch of The Gambia’s National Carbon Market Readiness Platform, aimed at establishing a governance framework and guiding stakeholders on procedures such as carbon credit authorisation, registry systems, corresponding adjustments, and reporting requirements, as the region seeks to position itself more actively in global carbon markets.

Heating up – A London-based research institute is setting up an expert group aimed at helping the UK government better manage extreme heat across the country. The National Heat Risk Commission, announced on Monday, will be independent of the government, and offer advice on protecting people and livelihoods from the impacts of climate change. The new commission will be based at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, it said in a statement. Emma Howard Boyd, previously the chair of the UK Environment Agency, will lead the commission from Apr. 1, with experts in public health, wildlife, meteorology, and economic productivity also expected to join. The body is intending to publish a small report this summer with a bigger release set for June 2027. Last year was the UK’s warmest on record.

Measuring - UK-based Carbon Trust and a group of offshore wind developers on Monday released an updated methodology aimed at standardising how the sector measures wind energy’s carbon footprint. The revised guidance sets out a common framework for calculating the full life cycle emissions of offshore wind developments, from raw material extraction to decommissioning. The methodology also aims to help developers identify emissions hotspots, improve data quality, and support more consistent reporting across supply chains, Carbon Trust said.

The decade between 2015-25 was the hottest since record-keeping began, the UN weather agency said on Monday, with last year ranking as either the second or third warmest overall.

Government policy has failed to keep pace with the growing complexity emerging in the carbon removal (CDR) market, making it difficult for the sector to attract the private capital needed to scale, according to a new study.

A Vienna-based climate tech startup has raised €3 million in seed funding to scale its CO2 mineralisation technology from laboratory development to pre-industrial pilots and early commercial deployment.

Switzerland’s environment and agriculture authorities have advised caution over the large-scale use of biochar in farming, citing uncertain long-term impacts on soils and limited climate mitigation potential, according to an updated government factsheet.

A tree planting and peatland restoration programme in England has achieved successes, but its long-term goals won’t be met without future funding certainty, a government spending watchdog said this week.