California Carbon Allowance (CCA) futures edged higher over the last week to the mid-$29s as the market continued to be relatively quiet in the backdrop of wider energy developments, traders said.

Fixing Canada’s industrial carbon pricing system could be as easy as implementing a price floor, according to a new analysis by a Canadian think tank.

Offshore wind win - Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the largest offshore wind project in the US, start generating electricity on Monday, E&E News reported. The project is the results of a decades-long push to build offshore wind projects along the East Coast, but whether future projects follow is an open question amid ongoing opposition by the Trump administration, which paid TotalEnergies $1 bln earlier this week to abandon offshore wind projects off New York and North Carolina. Analysts have said Total’s move will have little practical impact on the US offshore wind market in the short-term, as both projects were years away from establishing their first turbines.

Democratic agenda - Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) unveiled Wednesday an energy and climate agenda that could preview the party's agenda ahead of midterm elections later this year, Politico reported. Priorities include restoring Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax incentives and easing permitting hurdles for wind, solar, and other zero-emissions energy sources. The five-point plan seeks to seize on national focus on affordability, framing the Democrats as the party of not only clean energy and fighting climate change, but also of lower electricity bills and more jobs. Schumer presented the plan at the League of Conservation Voters’ annual Capital Dinner.

A global transition away from fossil fuels demands the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, Colombia’s environment minister said this week, amid a global energy crisis – hailing from a major fossil fuel producer that will next month co-host a global summit on energy transition.

Bamboo carbon credits - Guatemala's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food (MAGA) is launching the Bamboo Carbon Credits initiative, supported by the Taiwanese embassy. The initiative aims to generate carbon credits for participants, who would look to sell them on the international market. Organisations with land management capacity, including cooperatives, associations, municipalities, community organisations, environmental organisations, and companies, are also invited to take part in the initiative, the MAGA said. Selected organisations will receive high-quality bamboo seedlings, specialised technical assistance, and support in the international certification processes. Interested parties can fill out the following form.

J-REDD+ - The Secretariat of the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) confirmed on Thursday that it has accepted a set of documents from the Brazilian state of Acre, as previously announced by the local government in January. These include a TREES Monitoring Report (TMR) for 2023 and a TREES Registration Document (TRD) covering the 2023-27 crediting period. After deductions, Acre’s jurisdictional programme (J-REDD+) expects roughly 6.5 mln credits for 2023.

City slicker - The Brazilian city of Cubatao will sign on Mar. 31 a Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) with the Brazilian Institute of Education and Development in Sustainable Innovation (IBEDIS) with the objective of structuring and implementing the Cubatao Verde Program, aiming to be the first municipality in the Baixada Santista region to engage in the trading of carbon credits in a regulated structure. Planned actions include conducting a technical diagnosis of environmental assets, developing a structured work plan, developing an ESG-GGA (Environmental, Social, and Governance and Global Goal on Adaptation) certification methodology, and raising private funds from companies. The agreement does not foresee the transfer of public funds. All financing will be carried out exclusively through private investments raised by IBEDIS, without the municipality assuming any financial or contractual responsibilities. Governance will include a joint management committee responsible for monitoring, validating, and overseeing actions, and the signing of the ACT is also expected to include the participation of representatives from the industrial sector.   

ICE Futures Europe has proposed changes to the trading calendar and delivery timelines for its CORSIA-eligible and nature-based carbon credit futures, in a move aimed at aligning the contracts more closely with established compliance market conventions.

Assessing additionality in forestry carbon projects remains a key challenge, panellists said in a webinar on Thursday.

Paraguay’s government is ramping up efforts to finalise and operationalise Bilateral Agreements (BAs) with existing partners, while holding discussions with major buyer countries in international trade under Paris Agreement Article 6.2, two senior officials told Carbon Pulse.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) operator listed its California carbon series on the London Stock Exchange, the company confirmed on Thursday.

Verra will release the first phase of its Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program in Q3 2026, delaying an earlier timeline as it works to align the framework with external standards and ongoing pilots, it announced on Wednesday.

Atlantic wood to fuel - Low-carbon fuel developer Vyterra Renewables, a subsidiary of Ensyn Corporation, has secured C$3.8 mln ($2.74 mln) from the federal government and the Nova Scotia Timber Loan Board for its planned facility in Nova Scotia. The plant will convert 140,000 mln tonnes of wood residues into 40 mln litres of low-carbon fuel oil per year once operations. The project is working to be shovel-ready by the end of 2026 and would be the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, according to the company.

Fast-track the server stack - The US House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Thursday on the Protect American AI Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) that would limit federal litigation challenging permits for data centres supporting AI infrastructure, E&E News reported. The proposal would allow permits to remain valid even if environmental reviews are contested in court, aiming to reduce legal delays for project development.

Relief risks reversal - Maryland lawmakers are advancing the Utility RELIEF Act backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore (D) and legislative leaders, aimed at lowering energy costs by cutting utility-funded energy efficiency programmes and introducing broader regulatory changes, E&E News reported. Supporters say the measure could reduce average annual household bills by at least $150, largely through scaling back efficiency spending. However, critics, including environmental groups, utilities, and some businesses, argue the bill risks increasing long-term costs by undermining programmes that typically reduce energy demand and expenses over time. The proposal, which has already cleared the House on a fast-tracked basis, faced pushback during a Senate hearing, highlighting broader political tensions as Democrats balance short-term affordability concerns with longer-term climate and energy goals.

A pair of prominent US lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require AI hyperscalers to report their environmental impacts, including GHG emissions.

A global carbon management platform has raised $7 million in fresh capital, doubling its total funding, as investor appetite grows for tools that can translate corporate emissions data into operational decision-making.

Carbon credit registry Isometric has certified Version 2.0 of its core standard, expanding its crediting scope to super pollutants.

China’s grip on clean energy technologies has left other countries exposed to supply chain shocks in key manufacturing sectors like solar PV, wind power, heat pumps, and batteries, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Pipeline benefits outweigh carbon costs - A new report by Canadian think tank Clean Prosperity has found the financial benefits of the new 1 mln-barrels-per-day pipeline, outlined in the Canada-Alberta MoU, would far outweigh the carbon costs of the deal’s minimum effective price of C$130 ($94) for provincial carbon market TIER. The think tank modelled the impact of these two MoU provisions on the profitability of four oil sands facilities, representing a range of emissions intensities, finding they’d see an increase in per-barrel profitability of 30% to 91%, net of carbon costs. It found facilities would quickly recoup their additional carbon costs and see net profits of C$3.2 bln in the 15 years following pipeline construction.  Alberta’s royalties would also increase by C$957 mln in the same period. MoU negotiations are ongoing, with a deadline set for Apr. 1. However, reports suggest the two governments will miss the deadline.

Carbon pricing schemes deliver significant emissions reductions, but their effectiveness can be more than doubled when combined with well-aligned climate policies, according to a new study.