A Sao Paulo-based project developer won on Wednesday an auction for Brazil's first concession for forest restoration focused on carbon credits as the primary source of revenue.

California has issued nearly half a million offsets with direct environmental benefits (DEBs) to the state – the largest DEBs issuance year-to-date – from a single forestry project, according to data published on Wednesday.

MoU won’t do - Alberta has officially agreed to reduce its methane emissions 75% below 2014 levels by 2035, in line with early targets set in the Canada-Alberta MoU. The target is five years later than a similar target by the federal government’s target. Analysis has found granting the extension could release 1.9 Mt of additional methane into the atmosphere, equivilant to 53 MtCo2 over 100 years. The rubberstamp would suggest that the two governments are moving towards the MoU deadline Apr. 1, which would see the oil-producing province update its carbon market with a minimum effective price of C$130 ($94), but Premier Danielle Smith said at CERAWeek she’s not expecting the pair to meet the negotiation deadline. Smith told the CBC she and Prime Minister Mark Carney don’t want to delay very long. Analysis has also found Alberta is underestimating its methane emissions data.

Biocarbon bet – Minnesota biocarbon firm Aymium, and Japanese trading company Hanwa have signed a $500 mln memorandum of understanding to develop a large-scale biocarbon plant in the US, Biochar Today reports. The deal would deploy Aymium’s thermal conversion technology to produce biocarbon pellets positioned as drop-in replacements for coal in heavy industry. The partnership targets emissions-intensive sectors such as steelmaking and power generation, offering a route to decarbonisation without costly equipment changes. Production would use sustainably sourced biomass and is expected to cut emissions by hundreds of thousands of tonnes of CO2 annually while expanding US niocarbon manufacturing capacity.

Green blend – Sumitomo Corporation do Brasil, the Brazilian arm of Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corporation, and Houston-based biotech firm Cemvita announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on integrated renewable natural gas (RNG) and bio-oil projects in Brazil last week. The partnership will assess combining Cemvita’s bio-oil technology with RNG production at an initial facility. The companies will also explore opportunities to scale the model across additional facilities, with the tie-up aimed at supporting supply of bio-oil for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as well as RNG. A joint steering committee will oversee the collaboration, with a commercial and technical roadmap targeting execution sometime this year.

The ART Secretariat has accepted two documents from Ecuador under the TREES jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) standard, marking the first advancement in Ecuador’s ART TREES journey in five years.

Louisiana lawmakers have introduced a swath of bills to regulate CO2 pipelines and storage, according to an environmental policy non-profit.

The main technical partner for structuring and implementing Article 6 in Paraguay has opened a call for expressions of interest (EOI) for mitigation activities, aiming to build a pipeline of projects eligible for international carbon transactions.

Carbon removal (CDR) should be reserved for the most difficult-to-eliminate emissions and allocated based on responsibility and capability, researchers said, arguing that misusing limited supply could undermine climate targets.

US investors extended a third consecutive year of withdrawals from sustainable funds in 2025, a new analysis has showed.

Carbon markets have been elevated to a core element of Paraguay’s long-term sustainable development strategy, with Paris Agreement Article 6 mechanisms at the forefront, the country's president and several senior government officials said at an event on Wednesday.

Connecticut Democrats would see fossil fuel producers pay insurance premiums to fund climate action, as a new bill advances for review.

The US EPA on Wednesday issued an emergency waiver to allow nationwide sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, citing “extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances” linked to global disruptions and reduced refining capacity.

Maryland’s highest court on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of climate liability lawsuits brought by three local governments, finding their claims against oil and gas companies are preempted by federal law and fail under state tort doctrines.

A European energy supplier and an integrated energy major closed the first-ever trade for certified methane emission reductions on a spot exchange, in a sign of a growing interest in tackling the greenhouse gas. 

Authority abridged - US EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the executive branch lacks clear legal authority and Congress lacks the political will to regulate most GHG emissions, signalling further rollbacks of federal climate rules, E&E News reported. Speaking in Houston, Zeldin argued recent Supreme Court rulings limit the EPA’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to target climate pollution, adding that only Congress could explicitly authorise such action. He said he would implement stricter standards if directed by lawmakers but would not expand authority beyond the statute. The comments come as the EPA has already repealed vehicle emissions rules and is preparing to roll back power plant regulations, key pillars of federal climate policy.

Case convergence - The DC Circuit has consolidated a lead challenge brought by public health and environmental groups – including the American Public Health Association and Sierra Club – against the US EPA and its administrator Lee Zeldin with several related petitions filed by additional groups and individual plaintiffs. The consolidated cases include parallel suits brought by overlapping coalitions of environmental organisations as well as a separate petition from youth and individual plaintiffs, all challenging the EPA's repeal of the 2009 endangerment finding. Meanwhile, in a statement of issues filed on Monday, youth plaintiffs in a consolidated case argued the EPA’s repeal of the finding violates constitutional protections, including rights to life and liberty under the Fifth Amendment, as well as First Amendment religious freedoms, separation of powers, and federalism principles.

Gas gamble - Maryland officials have pledged support for a proposal to convert a retired coal plant in Morgantown into a gas-fired facility to power data centres, drawing opposition from environmental groups and exposing tensions with Gov. Wes Moore (D), E&E News reported. The dispute emerged after developer TeraWulf disclosed a letter from state Environmental Secretary Serena McIlwain offering assistance with permitting and rights of way, including for a new gas pipeline. Environmental advocates argue the project would undermine climate goals, with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network threatening legal action and organising a rally in Annapolis, while state officials framed the move as part of efforts to facilitate energy infrastructure development.

A low-carbon cement producer has partnered with a carbon data firm to assess its carbon intensity and model potential value against mechanisms including the EU's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the companies said Wednesday.

A large tranche of cookstove credits from a project in Rwanda are expected to become eligible under the UN's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) after being certified under Verra’s VM0050 methodology.

Some 140,000 credits eligible for use under the UN's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) from a Cambodian water purifier project are due to be auctioned next month, the organisers of the event confirmed Wednesday.

The aviation sector’s international offsetting programme, CORSIA, is unlikely to accept all credits issued under one of the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 mechanisms, market participants told Carbon Pulse on Wednesday.

At a time of spiralling jet fuel prices, the appeal of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is becoming stronger, with the fuel boasting energy security alongside lower emissions, experts say.

London-based global lender HSBC will only provide financing to carbon projects issuing credits certified by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), a senior executive said on Wednesday.

Compliance markets potentially risk sidelining higher-tech and more expensive mitigation activities, developers warned, arguing that lower-cost supply could divert investment from complex, capital-intensive projects.

The first fully digitised carbon credits have been issued under Gold Standard using just digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV), and traceable on the Hedera Guardian public ledger.

Offshore (tail) winds - The largest US offshore wind farm began generating electricity on Monday, E&E News reported. Dominion Energy brought online the first of 176 turbines, making it one of the largest offshore wind projects under construction in the United States. The agreement came on the heels of a settlement between the US Interior Department and TotalEnergies, with the developer agreeing to give up its offshore wind leases off the coast of New York and North Carolina for some $928 mln.

Grants cleared - The US EPA inspector general said the Biden administration established appropriate controls when awarding $1.5 bln in environmental justice grants through the Inflation Reduction Act, E&E News reported on Tuesday. The Trump administration is trying to terminate the Community Change Grant programme, which the independent federal watchdog determined had a rigorous selection process that adhered to agency regulations. The programme included some 80 grants ranging from $9 mln to $21 mln approved in 2024, focused on pollution reduction, resilience, and other municipal and local efforts.

Gas ban backdown - The Trump administration has dropped a federal lawsuit against the Northern California cities of Morgan Hill and Petaluma after both municipalities moved to roll back local restrictions on gas appliances that had drawn legal challenges, E&E News reported. The US Department of Justice on Monday dismissed its January complaint against the two cities, which it had accused of violating federal appliance energy standards by maintaining ordinances that could effectively block natural gas hookups in new buildings. The decision follows actions by the Morgan Hill City Council to repeal its rule and the Petaluma City Council to amend its ordinance to encourage, rather than require, electrification in new construction, while both cities had argued the measures were not enforced following a 2023 court ruling.

Geological carbon storage (GCS) features in most major fossil fuel-producing countries’ climate plans, but references often fail to reflect domestic policy and investment activity, a think tank's new briefing has found.