Hydrogen push – Two European engineering companies, MP Industries and Path2 Hydrogen, announced a strategic partnership on Wednesday to develop a pipeline of hydrogen across the continent. The two will collaborate on feasibility studies and project implementations, coming together to advance the hydrogen market across Europe by covering the full value chain. The announcement follows a joint letter from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, urging the European Commission to overhaul green hydrogen rules. The countries alleged the current framework is stalling investment.

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.

Large-scale, capital-intensive carbon removal (CDR) projects would likely be the hardest hit by a potential Microsoft purchase slowdown, according to a Wednesday analysis by a carbon data company.

Including municipal waste incineration in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is unlikely to trigger a shift back to landfilling because policy, infrastructure and contracts leave very little room for that to happen, according to a new report for Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) published on Thursday.

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 senior Spanish government official restated their continued support for the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), as the bloc prepares for an upcoming review of the scheme’s design this summer.

Jet fuel crisis - Trade body Airlines for Europe, representing carriers such as Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa, and Air France-KLM,  has written to the European Commission urging immediate intervention to avert a looming aviation fuel shortage triggered by the widening Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to VisaHQ. The letter calls for centrally coordinated fuel allocation, a suspension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation, and temporary relief from national ticket taxes. Europe could see strategic jet fuel reserves depleted within three weeks if the strait remains blocked, according to analysts. Airlines fear the combination of costlier detours and constrained supply will lead to widespread cancellations, especially on long-haul sectors. The Commission is preparing a crisis package for Apr. 22, but has not committed to the airlines’ requests.

Lawmakers in the European Parliament environment committee approved a deal on Wednesday to keep allowances in the Emissions Trading System for heating and transport (ETS2)'s Market Stability Reserve (MSR2) fully valid until 2033, with partial validity until 2035.

Wildfires are still an underestimated risk among carbon project developers, despite increasingly sophisticated satellite data that can warn developers about where risk is likeliest to occur and alert them as soon as any fire breaks out, experts said at a conference Wednesday.

Clear and predictable carbon price signals, alongside financial support mechanisms, will be needed to unlock industrial decarbonisation under the EU ETS, experts in Barcelona said Wednesday.

European carbon allowances gave up some of Tuesday's price gain after failing to make a convincing break above a key psychological and technical price area, even as weekly position data showed speculative traders beginning to rebuild long positions after the steep sell-off of the first quarter, while energy markets reflected a mixed outlook of rising hopes for peace talks as well as a tightening blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

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.

Proposed changes to the EU’s Market Stability Reserve (MSR) are unlikely to affect carbon prices in the near term but could leave a larger volume of allowances in the system later in the decade, analysts said on Wednesday.

A senior European Commission official said that the EU will favour a centralised purchasing framework to acquire international carbon credits to help meet its 2040 climate target, rather than rely on individual companies to procure them directly.

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.

Whisky galore - A south of Scotland distillery claims to be the first in the world to use a new environmentally-friendly way of producing the heat needed to make whisky, by using a heat storage system is used to generate the steam required for the distilling process, according to the BBC.  Annandale Distillery in Dumfries and Galloway wants to be a pioneer in producing "low-carbon" whisky. It has commissioned a project which, it says, produces a heat of 1,200C using low- and zero-carbon electricity, rather than fossil fuels. This is a first - not just for the whisky industry or Scotland - but globally, David Thomson, a co-founder of the distillery, told the BBC.

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.

British body BSI has unveiled a revised version of its environmental management systems (EMS) standard, with the ISO also updating its international version, aiming to help organisations better align with rising climate commitments, ESG priorities, and tightening regulatory requirements.

Seeking feedback - The Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) Secretariat between Mongolia and Japan is seeking feedback on the sustainable development implementation plan for a proposed project. The project aims to cut emissions in Zavkhan province by installing a 5-MW solar PV and 3.6-MWh battery energy storage system. The call for public input is open until May 14.

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.

Carbon pricing policies must be flexibly designed to ensure they can be tweaked to align with political realities, in order to retain electorate support for climate goals, said experts at a conference.

The upcoming revision of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) will aim to turn the bloc’s carbon market into an “investment machine” while maintaining a rules-based system to ensure price stability, a senior European Commission official has said.

Prague and Berlin received European Commission approval this week to provide state aid to projects that can help to reduce emissions – by adding biomethane production stations in Czechia, and supporting peatland rewetting on farmland in Germany.

Switzerland-based Gold Standard has launched a public consultation on a new analytical tool designed to tackle the risk of lock-in to high-emission or suboptimal technologies under its carbon crediting framework.

Sri Lanka has no meaningful carbon market today, but has the potential to unlock millions of tonnes of compliance-grade credits if bureaucratic delays and financing gaps are resolved, according to a Colombo-based developer.

Budget breakdown - Climate and energy projects account for 3.3% of Japan's JPY 140 trillion ($881 bln) national budget for this fiscal year, according to a report released Wednesday by Climate Integrate. Energy efficiency accounts for the largest share (52%) of the FY2026 climate and energy budget, followed by fossil fuels (including hydrogen and CCUS) at 21%, cross-sectoral measures at 12%, and nuclear power and fusion energy at 10%. Allocation for energy efficiency has increased by about 50% over the past three years, mostly for the AI and semiconductor sectors. Renewable energy remains minimal at only 3% of the climate and energy budget, the report said.

The Australian government has invested around A$35 million ($25 mln) in feed additive technologies for the livestock industry to drive down emissions while creating carbon credits, it announced Wednesday.

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.

Sea forest - South Korea's Kolon Industries has signed an MoU with the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency (FIRA) and the Environment Foundation for a "sea forest" project, which aims to restore coastal ecosystems and expand marine carbon sinks by transplanting marine plants. The materials supplier said the project will focus on transplanting eelgrass, a marine plant known for its carbon absorption capacity. FIRA has already planted some 44,500 eelgrass seedlings to create the sea forest in the country.

Inconsistent methodologies and uneven data for calculating national greenhouse gas inventories are emerging as a constraint for the development of international carbon markets, a UN technical expert warned.

The second compliance cycle of Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism has seen entities retire 13.4 mln emissions units surrendered, with covered emissions falling 2.3%, according to data published Wednesday.

Japan saw its GHG emissions fall to a record low in the fiscal year ending in March due to wider adoption of non-fossil fuel sources and slower manufacturing activities.

Debate - Lawmakers from South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (DP) are proposing more ambitious emissions reduction pathways (61%) for 2035, Energy Economic News reported. The parliament's climate committee is scheduled to begin "a full-scale review" of amendments to the country's carbon neutrality act, according to the report. Meanwhile, main opposition People Power Party is calling for flexible target setting to reduce the burden on corporates, such as linear reductions. The debate comes after the government last year approved a 2035 NDC target to cut GHG emissions by 53-61% from 2018 levels.

Gear up - South Korea's trade promotion agency KOTRA has published a guidebook aimed at helping domestic companies better cope with the impact of the EU CBAM, which enters into force this year. The document contains key aspects of the mechanism, such as the importer approval process, CBAM certificate pricing methods, and verification procedures. The government is also supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investing in carbon-reduction technology to meet tightening international regulations across the supply chain.

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.

Analysts have slashed their forecasts for EU carbon prices, which they say are now being driven more by political risk than fundamentals.

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.