RGGI Allowance (RGA) futures set a record high settlement before speculator-driven selling brought prices back down on the week, traders said.

Latin American governments are backing large-scale CO2 reduction activities as a sustainable development strategy, scoring several high-profile wins last week, while the voluntary market (VCM) for CO2 removals (CDR) reeled from the announcement of mega CDR buyer Microsoft halting purchases.

Wind break - The developer of Massachusetts' 800MW Vineyard Wind offshore project sued turbine supplier GE Vernova after the manufacturer said it would terminate service contracts at the end of April, citing $300 million in unpaid bills, the AP reported. Vineyard Wind countered that GE Vernova owes roughly $545 million for a turbine blade collapse in July 2024 that set the project back nearly two years. The developer said GE Vernova is the only company capable of completing the remaining work, and its exit would cause irreparable harm to the project. GE Vernova said it was exercising its right to terminate for non-payment and would "vigorously defend" its position.

Spark notes - Wildfire costs now account for nearly a fifth of the average California electricity bill and threaten to slow the state's electrification drive, a California Earthquake Authority report said on Friday. The authority, which manages a $21 billion wildfire insurance fund for the state, said the charges added $41 to the average monthly bill of residential customers at Pacific Gas & Electric, with wildfire-related surcharges also accounting for 17% of monthly Southern California Edison bills and 14% of San Diego Gas & Electric bills, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, residential rates rose 37% between 2020 and 2025. Higher power prices would slow uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps, hampering California's decarbonisation goals, the report warned. The report recommended establishing a state-sponsored wildfire home insurer and ending utilities' liability for inadvertently starting fires.

Fossil fuel shield - Fossil fuel companies would be protected from legal liability for damages caused by climate change under new legislation under consideration in Tennessee, WKMS reported. The legislation was drafted by Consumers Defense, a group that has advocated against environmental standards. House Bill 2070 (HB 2070) was approved by legislature earlier this month and awaits action by Gov. Bill Lee (R) after replacing a similar Senate proposal (SB 2560).

Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has published draft regulatory text for its planned re-entry into regional power sector ETS RGGI, including proposed base CO2 allowance budgets.

Alberta has opened the public comment period for the second version of its vent gas reduction protocol, in line with a target to finalise the protocol this summer.

Solar setbacks - Texas officials are intensifying efforts to curb solar energy development through regulatory actions, legislative scrutiny, and legal investigations, as the state prepares for rising electricity demand, E&E News reported. State senators raised concerns about foreign-made solar panels and grid security, regulators questioned new solar and battery projects in favour of natural gas, and Attorney General Ken Paxton(R) launched probes into alleged fraud in the rooftop solar industry. These moves come despite rapid growth in solar capacity within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, where solar recently surpassed coal in generation share and dominates future interconnection requests alongside battery storage. Officials argue that greater investment in dispatchable power such as natural gas is needed for grid reliability, particularly after outages during the 2021 winter storm, while critics warn that limiting renewables could increase electricity costs and constrain the state’s ability to meet surging demand from sectors like data centres.

California regulator ARB announced it will publish on Tuesday modified texts and additional documents related to its planned update of the state's Cap-and-Invest Program for a 15-day comment period.

A biomass carbon removal and storage plus renewable natural gas (BiCRS+RNG) project in the US has secured a route to market via a procurement platform, it was announced on Monday.

Moving ahead - Dib v. Apple is proceeding on a revised briefing schedule after a short-lived mediation referral did not result in a settlement. The case was released from the court’s mediation programme on Apr. 7, indicating no resolution at that stage. Subsequent filings show procedural activity continuing, including a disclosure statement from Apple on Apr. 8 and a request by appellants for more time to file their opening brief. The court granted that request on Apr. 9, setting a revised briefing schedule with the opening brief due July 15, the answering brief due Aug. 14, and an optional reply brief due 21 days after service of the answering brief.

Foreign plaintiffs could use a long-standing US human rights statute to bring claims against companies involved in harmful carbon offset projects, despite recent court rulings narrowing its scope, a recently-published legal analysis argued.

Advanced market commitment in carbon removal (CDR) has doubled nearly every year since 2022 from buyers other than Microsoft or the carbon buyers group Frontier, a market platform reported on Monday.

The UK ETS Authority has reduced the total number of free UKA permit handouts for industrial emissions in both 2025 and 2026 by just over 2% since previous figures were published, trimming allocations for this year by around 500,000 tonnes, though keeping the year-on-year cut at 5%.

News of Microsoft possibly pausing carbon dioxide removal (CDR) buying sent shockwaves through the nascent market late last week.

The benchmarks determining how many free allowances industries receive under the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) are coming "shortly", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated in a speech on Monday, following a meeting with other commissioners on the impact of the Middle East war.

Australia’s LNG projects risk losing out in an increasingly oversupplied market – even as disruptions from the Middle East conflict have tightened global gas volumes – as long-term export contracts begin to expire, a new report warned on Tuesday.

Ricey methane - The Global Carbon Council (GCC) has put its proposed methodology for methane emissions from rice paddies up for a public consultation, closing on May 7. The methodology – GCCNMT007: Methodology for Reduction of Methane Emission through Adjusted Water Management Practice in Rice Cultivation – sets out a structured framework for improved water management practices, in order to protect reduce emissions from anaerobic soil environments, which are created from the continuous flooding of rice paddies. The methodology applies to project activities that transition rice cultivation from continuous flooding to more sustainable approaches like intermittent and shorter flooding, alternate wetting and drying, aerobic rice cultivation methods, and a shift to direct-seeded rice rather than transplanted rice.

ICR opens new consultation - Reykjavik-based International Carbon Registry (ICR) has launched a public consultation on a new methodology for on-site GHG measurements in sustainable land management projects, developed by project developer Carbon Real. Feedback is open from Apr. 8 to May 8 as part of efforts to standardise emissions quantification and monitoring, the registry said in a LinkedIn post last week.

REDD+ tender opens in Madagascar - US-based non-profit Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has launched a call for tenders for technical advisory services on REDD+ revalidation and verification in Madagascar. The work will focus on monitoring and evaluation, including assessing project performance and supporting climate and conservation outcomes, according to a procurement notice published Apr. 9.

The first industrial-scale pilot to convert lower-grade iron ore into direct-reduced iron using hydrogen has been completed in Namibia, paving the way for a green steel value chain connecting Australia, Namibia, and Germany.

Protocol overhaul - The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) has proposed a new modular protocol structure splitting overarching requirements into a Common Protocol and jurisdiction-specific modules, it said on its website last week. The proposed change aims to streamline updates and support expansion across regions. The changes also introduce technical guidance modules where needed, with public comments on draft Program Manual updates open until Apr. 27.

The cost of complying with climate regulations for European shipping could exceed that of fuel and reach $200-600 per tonne of CO2 by 2035-40, according to an industry body.

Fuel tax cuts - The German government will cut taxes on petrol and diesel fuel by 17 cents per litre for two months in response to rising fuel prices driven by the Iran war, in a bid to provide fast relief to households and businesses. However, critics say the support for combustion engine car drivers is poorly targeted and does little to reduce the country's fossil fuel reliance. The decision was taken following intense talks over the weekend between the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD). The govt expects the fossil fuel sector to pass the reduction onto its customers. Longer term, Germany needs to increase its energy supply to curb trading dependencies through bolstering electricity interconnections with European neighbours, rolling out renewables, and using domestic natural gas, the coalition partners said. (Clean Energy Wire)  

A Dutch carbon project developer saw forward sales more than double in Q1 2026, reaching around €4.5 million after signing nearly €2.5 mln in new contracts, according to its latest quarterly update.

An open letter signed by almost 30 companies led by Greek shipowner Angelicoussis calls on member states of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to pursue alternatives to a global carbon pricing framework for shipping, a trade journal reported.

Finance departments across the world must take a central role in driving the global shift to low-carbon economies by deploying coordinated policy packages rather than relying on carbon pricing alone, according to new analysis from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics.

A6 partnership - The Article 6 Implementation Partnership (A6IP) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) announced at a meeting last week in Geneva a Joint Declaration laying out their intention strengthen cooperation on capacity-building, policy support, and technical assistance to help countries develop the institutional arrangements required to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of trusted carbon markets and mobilise additional finance for low‑carbon industrial transformation, the partners said. Additionally, Naoki Torii, industrial development officer at UNIDO, introduced the organisation's new initiative, the Carbon Market for Development Partnership (CM4D), which seeks to leverage private sector support by mobilising upfront climate finance and accelerating participation in high-integrity international carbon markets.

EV tech bets - European automakers are hedging their bets on range-extended electric vehicles (EVs) that sit between plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars, and can help to quell driver range anxiety. These range-extended EVs have a small engine that acts only as a generator to top up the battery, which is more powerful than their combustion engines, allowing them to run mainly on electric power. Proponents say this means they cut emissions better than hybrids. VW, Renault, and BMW are among those considering offering the technology, following in the wake of China's Leapmotor that is currently the only carmaker selling these models in Europe. Following Brussels easing its 2035 petrol ban, executives also admit the range extender allows them to navigate policy uncertainty while addressing consumer concern about range and charging for EVs. European automakers also face no vast gap with Chinese rivals over the range-extender technology, which isn't the case for EVs where China controls the battery supply chain. Instead, range-extended EVs come with smaller batteries and retain a combustion engine. (FT)

Making moves - Singapore’s sustainability minister, Grace Fu, will lead a business mission to South American countries from Apr. 13-22 to boost cooperation on carbon credits, the ministry said on Monday. The trip aims to advance Article 6 carbon credit partnerships and build a pipeline of projects, alongside efforts to deepen trade and investment ties, the minsiter said. Fu will meet counterparts, host business sessions, and visit project sites, accompanied by officials and industry delegates. The mission signals Singapore is moving from deals to building pipelines under Article 6 with Peru, Paraguay, and Chile - countries at relatively advanced stages of bilateral cooperation.

New net zero association in Vietnam - The Ho Chi Minh City Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (HCM-SME) has launched the Vietnam-Asia Net Zero Association (VANZA HCM-SME) to support businesses in accessing emissions reduction technologies and expanding green cooperation. The body is expected to act as a focal point linking enterprises with low-carbon solutions and facilitating collaboration, as Vietnam works towards its 2050 net zero target, HCM-SME chairman Pham Van Triem said. The launch took place alongside the first congress of the Green Agriculture - Food - Health Business Association (Green HCM-SME) for the 2026–2028 term, where Chau Minh Chinh was elected chairman.

Input needed - Bangladesh and Japan have opened a public consultation on a proposed methodology to cut methane emissions from rice paddies in Bogura and Joypurhat districts under the Joint Crediting Mechanism. Stakeholders are invited to submit feedback until Apr. 22 after the submission passed an initial completeness check.

Seed round - Japan-based forest asset manager ForestFolks has raised a seed funding round to develop a digital platform aimed at supporting forest valuation and carbon credit generation, though the funding amount was not disclosed. The round included backing from Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Sparkle, taliki, S-Innovation, and angel investors, with proceeds to support development of its Forester Earth digital forest management platform and pilot projects with municipalities and regional firms.

Softening EU fuel costs - Next Wednesday the European Commission is set to adopt a policy paper outlining ways to alleviate the impact of rising fuel costs on businesses and consumers, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference on Monday. Since the Iran war began, the bloc's fossil fuel import bill has risen by over €22 bln, she said. Rather than introducing aggressive changes to counteract this, the Commission aims to take a coordinated approach including boosting productivity of grid infrastructure and reducing grid charges, with a legislative proposal due in May. It will also flag measures to cut electricity taxation, removing some levies, and ensuring that power is taxed more favorably than fossil fuels. However, it won't go so far as to suggest demand-reduction targets similar to those after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, nor to introduce a price cap, say people familiar. Planned actions include continued coordination of gas storage filling, energy efficiency measures, and a strategy to boost electrification. The policy document may also include some guidelines on windfall taxes, but won't recommend them as a bloc-wide tool. (Bloomberg)

Mounting costs - EU cereal producers are losing up to €500/ha for a third consecutive year, with fertiliser costs driving sustained financial losses, EU farmers’ lobby Copa-Cogeca said in a social media post last week. The EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) adds further pressure on input prices by raising the cost of imported fertilisers based on their carbon content, the group added.

UK-China MoU - Details of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on climate change and related activities signed between the UK and China last June have been published on the UK government's website. The partnership aims to "further strengthen bilateral dialogue and exchanges as well as pragmatic cooperation on climate change to help avert the climate crisis". Both parties recognise the common climate challenges they face and pledge to hold climate change exchanges at senior official level at least every year. They also state commitment to multilateral climate processes including the UNFCCC, and agree to collaborate further on carbon markets, including emissions trading schemes, as well as measures to control methane emissions.

The UK government is poised to introduce legislation next month that would allow it to align the country with new EU regulations, including for the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS), without going through a parliamentary vote, according to The Times newspaper.

The UK government has launched a procurement process to purchase carbon credits to offset around 5,165 tonnes of emissions from the construction of a new headquarters for a European weather agency, with a budget of up to £2.5 million.

The volume of carbon credits for the aviation offsetting scheme CORSIA may have doubled in the past year – but the market's true supply will remain constrained without the spread of insurance, according to analysis published on Monday.

A reported pause to Microsoft's carbon removal (CDR) purchasing programme exposes a major demand challenge for the nascent technology-based market, but also represents a "bittersweet" opportunity for the sector to mature, project developers and experts told Carbon Pulse.

Europe's carbon market ended Monday marginally lower as EUAs moved mostly in direct opposition to shifts in energy prices, after the US said it would impose its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after weekend peace talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement.

Eight companies have applied for investment aid to develop biogenic carbon capture projects under a Finnish government scheme with a €90 million budget aimed at scaling early-stage carbon capture capacity.

The government of Ireland will defer the planned carbon tax increase on non-ETS sectors, and reduce duties on petrol and diesel under a new package of measures agreed Sunday to alleviate pressure on the transport, farming, and fisheries sectors.

A Danish public-private partnership on carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) last week announced the first batch of projects under its latest funding rounds, with a combined budget of roughly DKK 45.9 million (€6.1 mln) across four initiatives, as part of a broader rollout of 12 projects to be confirmed this month.

Gigafactory boost - The UK government has announced a £380 mln grant to support creation of one of the country's largest gigafactories, set to increase domestic production of EV batteries and deliver economic growth. The Tata gigafactory in Somerset will be built by battery firm Agratas, owned by the Tata Group, and will supply batteries to Jaguar Land Rover and other customers. It's expected to create 4,200 jobs, and thousands more in the wider supply chain, generating a potential £43 bln in economic growth over a 25-year period. Production is expected to start by end-2027. (edie.net)

South Korea is seeking public input on a proposal that will likely enable allocation of additional free allowances to some of those regulated by the national emissions trading scheme.

Late plea - Greek shipowner Angelicoussis Group, plus several Greek tanker and gas companies have urged the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to abandon its carbon price mechanism under the Net Zero Framework (NZF) in favour of alternatives, notably LNG, that wouldn't reduce emissions, Lloyds List reported. Shipping registers Rina and Bureau Veritas have also reportedly joined the anti-tax camp, but the Union of Greek Shipowners were not among the signatories. The next meeting of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84), from Apr. 27-May 1, is expected to focus on finalising the NZF ahead of potential adoption in November.

An Australian clean cookstove project developer has successfully secured final approval to label credits from its series of projects in Madagascar as CORSIA-eligible (Phase 1), with plans to raise overall market supply by some 2.7 million units.

One of China's major energy companies has started construction of a carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) project, the country's first demonstration applying offshore carbon injection technology to enhance natural gas production.

Pressure from buyers caught sellers by surprise last week, sending New Zealand allowance prices to a two-month high.

Bear fruit - Japanese developer Fager on Monday said it had obtained certification for around 225,000 credits from rice paddy projects under the J-Credit scheme, according to the results from the latest certification committee meeting. It obtained certification for 27 credits from its biochar project. Faeger said this marks the first time that over 200,000 credits have been certified in Japan's agricultural sector, and it aims to generate 400,000 credits by 2026.

First step - South Korea has issued a tender to conduct a preliminary feasibility study on the potential of REDD+ projects in Guatemala, with a budget of around 201 mln won ($135,100), according to a notice. The bid deadline has been set at Apr. 22, the notice showed. South Korea aims to accelerate overseas development assistance programmes with countries in Latin America, such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, to share its expertise in forest restoration. Government agency Korean Forest Service (KFS) has also said it will explore opportunities to expand its REDD projects beyond Asia.      

Biofuel partnership - A Singapore-based bioenergy firm, Aligned Energy, has signed two MoUs with Indonesian partners to develop large-scale biofuel production projects alongside land restoration initiatives, Ecobusiness reported. The company plans to grow sweet sorghum on degraded former mining land in areas like Bintan, using it as a low-emissions feedstock for biofuels such as green diesel, bioethanol, and green naphtha. The projects aim to scale up to around 2,000 hectares initially and could produce up to 500 million litres of green diesel over a decade, positioning the initiative as both a renewable energy solution and a way to rehabilitate damaged landscapes.

A big-four consultation firm has been the first to agree to purchase carbon credits from a novel group of Australian environmental plantings projects seeking to help restore koala populations in New South Wales.