Google "biodiversity" – Tech giant Google announced on Tuesday an investment into wetland restoration next to its Mountain View, California campus. The tech giant will partner with California-based researchers to make the project a living laboratory, seeking to quantify the benefits of wetlands restoration on carbon removal. Wetland restoration, like other natural climate solutions, has been lauded as an immediately scalable pathway within the US, despite the overall rollback of key US climate policies.

Verde with envy - US-based biochar developer Verde Resources announced on Wednesday the next stage in the pursuit of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its biochar-integrated asphalt. Verde is undertaking a life cycle assessment for its carbon sequestering road infrastructure product, BioAsphalt, via consulting firm WAP Sustainability. Verde seeks to obtain the first EPD for fully-integrated engineered biochar within asphalt, which would disclose BioAsphalt’s environmental impact and durable carbon storage benefits across its full lifecycle through a third party. The developer completed BioAsphalt’s proof of concept in Dec. 2024, and has since developed a live roadway demonstration, which resulted in eight tonnes of verified CDR credits issued by Puro.earth. Verde announced a deal in March to supply up to 38,500 t of biochar through the US manufacturer Biochar Solutions.

Solar haven - Quebec utility Hydro Quebec revealed it received an overwhelming response to its call for tenders to deliver 300 MW of solar energy last summer. More than 60 bids totalling 481 MW answered the call. The solar farms had to have a maximum installed capacity of 25 MW and be connected to the distribution system by 2029. Projects also had to maximise economic spinoffs for Québec, avoid agricultural zones, and ensure responsible equipment sourcing. About 40% of the proposed projects involve the participation of a local municipality or an Indigenous community. Results will be announced in Q1 2027.

Washington’s proposed linkage with the California-Quebec carbon market aligns with the former’s state climate law, as it could subdue allowance prices and minimally shift overall emissions, according to a draft analysis published Wednesday.

Business participation – The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) handed this week a document with technical contributions regarding the national emission trading system (SBCE) to the Extraordinary Secretariat of Carbon Market (SEMC) of the Ministry of Finance. The document focuses on mapping convergences and gaps in coalitions, presenting technical recommendations for regulation, and using corporate governance models to improve dialogue with public authorities. CEBDS has also conducted four sector studies focused on the areas of energy, essential minerals, agriculture, and transportation. Regulations for the SBCE are currently in development.

Benefit sharing – Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is discussing a proposal to expand access to REDD+ funding, allowing states and eligible entities to receive payments for local emissions reductions even when national deforestation and greenhouse gas indicators are unfavorable. The measure also seeks to unlock previously achieved but unused emissions reductions, potentially increasing financial flows for climate initiatives. The proposal, debated during a technical working group meeting under the National Commission for REDD+ (CONAREDD+), is expected to be submitted for formal deliberation later this semester, alongside ongoing discussions on safeguards such as Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). Participants also discussed potential criteria for benefit sharing in state and federal initiatives, considering the implementation of Brazil’s new emissions trading system (SBCE).

Green gains – Global investment firm La Caisse announced on Wednesday that it had raised its climate ambitions after achieving earlier targets ahead of schedule, with climate action investments reaching C$226 bln ($165 bln) by the end of 2025, up from C$158 bln a year earlier. The company also said its 2025-30 strategy will target C$400 bln in climate action investments to accelerate the decarbonisation of companies and the wider economy. The portfolio includes C$156 bln invested in companies with decarbonisation targets and $70 bln in climate solutions, including C$65 bln in low-carbon assets. These figures formed key highlights of the company's 2025 Sustainable Investing Report.

Fuelish ambitions - Honeywell, a US-based industrial and technology company, announced Petrobras has selected its ethanol-to-jet (ETJ) technology for a proposed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project at the REPLAN refinery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which could produce up to 10,000 barrels per day if approved, marking what the companies describe as the first large-scale ETJ initiative in Latin America. The process uses ethanol as a renewable feedstock to scale SAF production, aligning with Petrobras’ strategy to cut aviation emissions and expand low-carbon fuel output. The project builds on an existing partnership between the firms across refining and automation, and follows Petrobras’ earlier adoption of Honeywell’s HEFA technology for SAF and renewable diesel production using feedstocks such as soybean oil and beef tallow. Honeywell said the initiative could support growing global SAF demand and position Brazil as a key supplier, given its established ethanol industry.

Endangerment endgame - Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) urged a federal appeals court on Monday to uphold the US EPA’s repeal of its 2009 Endangerment Finding and vehicle GHG standards, arguing in an amicus brief that the agency lacked clear congressional authority to regulate emissions at such scale and that the move properly applies the 'major questions doctrine'. The filing, submitted in consolidated DC Circuit litigation, contends the original rules sought to drive a sector-wide shift from gasoline vehicles to electric models, imposing costs the agency estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars while delivering only marginal climate benefits. Citing West Virginia v. EPA, the senators said measures of such economic and political significance must be authorised by Congress, pointing to repeated legislative inaction on similar proposals as evidence the issue is reserved for lawmakers rather than regulators.

A Finnish state-backed development fund has signed a $15 million loan agreement with a Panamanian-based sustainable forestry venture managed by a global emerging markets investment firm, in a deal aimed at expanding reforestation, sustainable timber production, and long-term environmental impact initiatives.

More than three dozen municipalities in Puerto Rico told a federal appeals court on Monday that their claims against major fossil-fuel companies over hurricane damages are timely because an alleged decades-long campaign to obscure climate science delayed discovery of the facts needed to sue.

Geothermal gearing up - The US DOE announced on Tuesday a $14 mln project to support field tests for enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs), which the agency said explore the potential for geothermal technology to provide reliable, cost-effective electricity using Earth's heat resources and contribute to President Donald Trump's (R) energy dominance agenda. Led by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the project will aim to leverage the significant thermal resources in the Appalachian Utica Shale to assess the efficacy and scalability of EGSs in the eastern US. The DOE announced $171.5 mln in support for geothermal field testing in February.

The US remains a "disruptor" in upcoming UN talks about cutting emissions from shipping, although the oil crisis has helped to sharpen the business case shifting to clean fuels, experts said on Wednesday.

RGGI return - Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed into law on Monday House Bill 397 (HB 397) and Senate Bill 802 (SB 802), which mandate the state's return to regional power sector ETS RGGI. Spanberger pledged to bring Virginia back into the RGGI fold during her campaign last year, and the state's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) published draft RGGI regulations last week. The state is eyeing formal re-entrance by July 1, 2026.

Carbon sensitive chocolate  - Food producer Olam Food Ingredients (Ofi) and corporation Mars have announced a new five-year strategic collaboration is helping to reduce the carbon footprint for cocoa in Ecuador, extending a 10-year deal. More than 960 farmers across major cocoa growing regions in the South American country are expected to implement climate-smart and regenerative agriculture such as agroforestry and biochar, across more than 9,000 hectares of farmland, an area roughly the size of the Greek island of Santorini. Farmers will also be equipped with tools to use low carbon fertilisers, improved crop residue management, and biochar applications, according to a press release. Mars plans to achieve net zero emissions across its full value chain by 2050.

Hotting up - Global emissions reached a record of 37.2 bln tonnes of CO2 in 2025 and, although the annual growth rate has flattened to 0.7%, there is 50% chance the remaining carbon budget for limiting global warming to 1.5C will be exhausted by 2029, according to an academic paper in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.  Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes increased by 0.7% within 2025, the researchers found. However, large-scale deployment of clean electricity sources during the year avoided 10.3 bln tonnes of global CO2 emissions, so that power sector emissions declined by minus 0.9% relative to 2024. China and India entered an emission plateau owing to massive renewable expansion, but the US and EU saw emission rebound following policy reversals and clean energy stagnation.

A US-based forest carbon project developer has announced the sale of 100% of the credits from its biomass burial carbon removal (CDR) project in Montana.

Measuring biodiversity co-benefits in carbon markets could offer nature tech companies an opportunity to increase revenues, at a time when the sector is set to face headwinds due to funding challenges, according to experts.

Airlines preparing for compliance under the UN's international aviation offsetting scheme are running into a shortage of host country approvals needed to use carbon credits, even as project supply continues to grow.

Technology developers have launched a 12-month pilot of a methane removal system aboard a bulk carrier, marking what the companies say is the first deployment of the technology under normal commercial shipping conditions, with ambitions to generate Gold Standard-certified carbon credits from the mitigation.

Cheaper bills - Maryland's General Assembly passed a bill on Monday intended to lower residential electric and gas bills by at least $150 a year by cutting utility energy efficiency spending, according to state legislators' expectations. The bipartisan Utilities RELIEF Act prevents the state utility regulator, the Maryland Public Service Commission, from approving multi-year rate plans that increase cost or revenue variances to result in additional charges to customers, Utility Dive reported. Critics, including environmental groups, had raised concerns that the bill, backed by Gov. Wes Moore (D), would raise longterm costs.

New estimates from a ratings agency evaluating 15 Brazilian REDD+ projects transitioning to Verra’s updated VM0048 methodology could see credit issuance fall by up to 90%, while increasing chances of being rated BBB and above.