Analysts expect verified emissions covered under the EU ETS were slightly lower in 2025, as subdued industrial activity and continued coal-to-gas switching were counterbalanced by weak renewables output and rising transport demand.

At least 120 GW of planned renewables expansion across the EU risks not coming online by 2030 due to a shortfall in grid capacity, according to a report by an energy think tank.

Principality capital – The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed a loan of €60 mln to support the energy transition in Andorra, including for grid upgrades, the bank said in a press release Tuesday. Renewable energy generation and district heating and cooling networks will also be targeted for investment. The loan will help the Pyrenees-based principality to reduce its dependence on energy imports, the EIB said.

A carbon exchange that claims to be mopping up Clean Development Mechanism trade before the UN body closes, has slashed its fees, and announced it will be opening up for an fresh investment round.

Lawmakers in the European Parliament environment committee want allowances in the Emissions Trading System for heating and transport (ETS2)'s Market Stability Reserve (MSR) to remain fully valid until 2033, and partially valid until 2035, as part of a draft agreement on amending the supply-controlling mechanism.

A UK government-funded research portfolio, made up of eleven carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, has published results concerning five of the projects, it was announced Tuesday.

The global oil shock is fuelling new pressure on the UK government to revive its own North Sea oil and gas exploration – although critics argue it will only keep the country beholden to volatile international prices.

At least two European creditor countries are willing to undertake ‘debt-for-carbon swap’ deals with West African countries, which would involve a partial write-off in exchange for the transfer or generation of carbon credits, according to a senior official at a development bank.

European carbon prices recorded a 3.2% monthly gain in March, but were still 17% down for the year to date, with prices ending Tuesday marginally higher as traders continued to await the European Commission's publication of proposed reforms to the market's supply adjustment mechanism.

After years with only one eligible supply source, credits approved for CORSIA use in its current phase have begun to steadily flow onto the market, reaching above 30 million earlier this year, but in light of an escalating war in the Middle East that has disrupted international air travel and jet fuel flows, as well as a lack of legislated penalties for non-compliance, some participants are now questioning whether the global aviation offsetting scheme has a growing demand problem.

Concerns of fraud - Eni's flagship biofuels project in Kenya backed by the Italian govt is potentially harming local farmers and threatening food security, according to an investigation by SourceMaterial and Politico. Their study using trade records assessed by Transport & Environment (T&E) showed that Eni imported vast amounts of rapeseed from South Africa into its Kenyan subsidiaries, with the oil then re-exported to Italy, which could account for up to 80% of all of Eni’s exports from Kenya to its refineries in Gela and Venice last year. Eni claims the proportion is in fact 40%. The enquiry also found that farmers were encouraged to grow castor beans, only to be abandoned by the middlemen that had recruited them on Eni’s behalf, leaving them with a useless, inedible crop, which they had planted instead of maize and left families without enough food. The findings raise doubts as to whether non-edible biofuel crops can truly be scaled sustainably, said non-profit T&E.

A new draft corporate climate framework, put forward for consultation by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, could signal a major shift in how companies disclose climate action, separating inventory reporting from how carbon credit use is communicated.

Integrating carbon removal (CDR) into the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) could incentivise tens of millions of tonnes of CO2 removals annually by mid-century, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

New household heat pump installations have cut Germany’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) import bill by €1.3 billion over the last three years, according to research published Tuesday by a US-based energy non-profit.

The chair of the European Parliament's environment committee has called for greater transparency on how revenues from the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) are spent at national level, warning that half of the bloc's countries currently channel the money directly to their general budget, making traceability impossible.

A European semiconductor firm plans to enter the voluntary carbon market (VCM) to offset residual emissions, targeting the purchase of around 814,000 carbon credits over 2026-27, according to its latest annual report.

French nuclear under EU scrutiny – The European Commission has opened an in-depth state aid probe into France’s plans to provide €72.8 billion in support for the construction of six new nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 9,990 MW. The package for utility EDF includes a subsidised loan covering 60% of construction costs, a 40‑year two-way contract for difference, and a risk-sharing mechanism for events beyond the utility’s control. While acknowledging the project’s potential to bolster security of supply and EU decarbonisation goals, Brussels will assess whether the measures are proportionate, limit market distortions, and comply with the new electricity market design rules.

EU oil‑saving measures – EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen has urged capitals to coordinate emergency oil‑saving measures as Middle East tensions disrupt supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. In a letter to energy ministers, he calls for demand cuts in transport, explicitly pointing to the IEA’s 10‑point plan, which includes lower highway speed limits, cheaper public transport, car‑free days and promotion of teleworking, car‑sharing and efficient driving. Member states are asked to avoid steps that boost fuel use, postpone non‑essential refinery maintenance and raise biofuel blending to ease tight products markets, while fully using IEA‑coordinated stock releases.

A coalition of 16 European industry groups has urged EU policymakers to ensure that this week’s update to benchmarks that determine free carbon permit allocations for the rest of the decade fully reflects industrial concerns with the bloc’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), warning that the outcome will be critical for investment, competitiveness and climate goals.

The Union of Comoros has submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions 57% by 2035 compared with business-as-usual (BAU), using international carbon market finance to help meet the goal.

Mileage crackdown - Brussels is calling on Europeans to cut back on travel in preparation for prolonged energy supply disruption driven by the Iran war. A letter sent by EU energy chief Dan Jørgensen to national energy ministers urged governments to consider "voluntary demand saving measures ... with particular attention to the transport sector." This could lead to governments asking citizens to drive or fly less to save fuel for more essential reasons, as is already the case in some parts of Asia. European energy ministers are holding an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss how to address the energy crisis. Jørgensen also suggests that countries consider boosting the use of biofuels to replace fossil fuel products. (Politico)

Nine EU countries have urged Brussels to overhaul how forests are treated in the bloc’s post-2030 climate policy, warning that rigid carbon sink targets risk penalising active forest management, which includes thinning and selective harvesting to improve forest resilience.

The EU’s obligation on oil and gas companies to provide 50 million tonnes of CO2 storage capacity each year as of 2030 is already driving project development, but weak enforcement at national levels threatens the bloc’s objective, according to a new tracker released on Tuesday.

Global muster  – Forty-five countries have already signed up to attend a conference in Santa Marta, Colombia in April to launch a coalition to transition away from fossil fuels, the Colombian government said in a press release on Monday. Building on calls at COP30 in Belem for a roadmap for the shift to cleaner fuels, the attendees for the Apr. 24-29 event represent around 20% of global fossil fuel production and nearly a third of consumption. Participants will include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, Germany, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Tuvalu, the UK, and Vanuatu, among others. As well, the COP30 and COP31 presidencies will participate, as will the European Commission.

The head of BP's Asia Pacific carbon and Australian power origination in Singapore has resigned, they confirmed in a social media post Tuesday, one of several carbon traders at various organisations finishing up their postings in recent weeks.