A climate-focused artificial intelligence tool is introducing per-query energy tracking and upgraded analytical capabilities, in a bid to address concerns over the accuracy and environmental footprint of generative AI.

Canada and the US are taking different approaches to building domestic carbon removal (CDR) markets, with policy design emerging as a key factor in shaping investment and deployment, speakers said during a Tuesday webinar.

The US should adopt a voluntary export fee (VEF) on carbon emissions to counter revenues set to be lost to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), although there are potential challenges in implementing such a policy, researchers said in a report published Monday.

EU carbon prices ended Tuesday slightly lower after climbing away from a key technical support area, while the energy complex posted robust gains in the afternoon, as markets eyed a Wednesday deadline for peace talks between the US and Iran to begin.

The European Commission is set to propose strict eligibility criteria for carbon credits used by EU airlines under the UN’s CORSIA international aviation offsetting scheme, according to sources, who warn that carriers may face near-zero supply for Phase 1 if implemented.

A new risk intelligence service launched on Tuesday aims to give buyers and investors in carbon removal (CDR) projects clearer, data-driven insight into project viability and exposure across an expanding but still largely unregulated market.

EU Allowances will end the year around the €75 per tonne mark, analysts at a London-based firm have forecast, as a fall in output from industrials, rather than increased decarbonisation, continues to weaken emissions in ETS sectors.

Germany’s environment minister has underlined the importance of carbon pricing to fund the move to clean heating, with revenues being earmarked to support households switching to heat pumps.

On track to phase out - Germany's coal phaseout is on track to occur due to market forces well before the legal 2038 deadline, despite current energy market turbulence, according to Hauke Hermann, a researcher at the Institute of Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut). He told Clean Energy Wire that carbon price trends make an exit as early as 2031 or 2032 likely, and that refiring old coal plants in response to the Iran war's energy market shock to cut power costs would distort investment signals and will unlikely happen in practice. A price signal for scarcity is key to creating the incentives for investing in new technologies like energy storage, and such incentives are distorted by actions like re-introducing old coal plants, he said. The institute's modelling shows that coal will be phased out faster than envisaged under the coal exit agreement, due to comparatively low gas prices until recently, and higher ETS allowance prices. 

EU industry trade groups are misaligned with many of their own members’ support for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), according to an analysis of companies' public positions.

Fears of buyer concentration in durable CDR are overstated: beneath the headlines, a more diverse corporate base is emerging, and with the right financial infrastructure, institutional capital can unlock the scale the market needs.

CCS player - Engie has joined the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), building on its work in CO2 aggregation services and infrastructure. The French utility is developing a portfolio of CO2 infrastructure projects, including three major transport and terminal developments in France, as well as expanding its footprint in Belgium, contributing to a CO2 capture and blue hydrogen project in the port of Ghent. Engie joins the CCSA to contribute to the development of CCUS as a key decarbonisation solution, said the LinkedIn announcement.

The EU is facing renewed pressure to weaken its carbon market and methane rules as global energy tensions rise, but analysts warn that doing so risks undermining both energy security and economic stability.

EU diplomacy - EU member countries remain committed to supporting a global clean transition, through its energy and climate diplomacy, foreign affairs ministers agreed following a meeting on Tuesday. EU foreign policy is also needed to support the European clean tech sector's growth, by promoting European products and technologies around the world, they said in Council conclusions. Member states also support international agreements and initiatives that advance the uptake and deployment of renewable and low-carbon energy, better grid connectivity and flexibility, energy, storage, effective carbon pricing, hydrogen, and other clean solutions.

Civil society and industry representatives are urging the European Commission to extend the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to all departing flights from Europe, in a bid to bolster the aviation sector's emissions coverage and carbon price signal.

LATAM companies and governments last week announced deals – clinched or anticipated – that were collectively worth well over $1 billion, continuing a trend in select countries toward high-value carbon financing agreements, even as some jurisdictions falter.

EU ETS revision due on July 7 – The European Commission is planning to publish its proposal to revise the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive on July 7, reports news outlet Contexte.

As the EU carbon market becomes tighter, the ability to respond quickly to price swings will become essential in the coming years, experts told a recent conference, calling for price-based triggers to activate the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) instead of the current system based on verified emissions, which are published only once per year.

Connect the dots - The UK government has set out criteria for the introduction of Transitional Energy Certificates (TECs) to allow for oil and gas production in already-explored areas near existing licensed fields in the North Sea. The certificates are part of its North Sea Future Plan, under which new licenses to explore for new oil and gas are banned, but the industry transition is well managed so that industry can have certainty over where to invest. TECs will include acreage that is either adjacent or in close proximity to an existing field, and are designed to support the management of existing fields for their lifespan. Work is also ongoing on tieback infrastructure, to connect offshore oil and gas fields to existing infrastructure via pipelines and other infrastructure.

Turbulence ahead - Higher jet fuel prices driven by disruption to oil supplies as a result of the Iran war have increased the average fuel cost by €88 for each passenger on long-haul flights leaving Europe and €29 on flights within Europe, according to campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E). Those costs are for Apr. 16 compared to those before the conflict began on Feb. 28. European airlines are bracing for a challenging summer, with jet fuel prices having risen to well over $100 per barrel since the war began, and concerns growing that shortages could mean cancelled flights. The EU is set to release guidelines on managing limited jet fuel supply on Wednesday. The extra costs from the fuel price spike greatly exceed those faced by airlines to comply with EU climate policies, said T&E. Airlines have pushed for a rollback of the EU's 2030 mandate for e-fuels as well as a review of upcoming carbon pricing. (Reuters)

EU Green Deal under attack – Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has urged European Union leaders to delay key green regulations, arguing that the Iran war–driven energy price spike is undermining the bloc’s industrial competitiveness, Bloomberg reports. In a letter ahead of Thursday’s informal EU summit in Cyprus, Babis called for reconsidering the timeline of the new methane emissions rules on fossil fuel imports and due-diligence obligations on environmental and human-rights risks in corporate value chains. He warned that without easing the regulatory burden and allowing more long-term gas contracts, the EU risks becoming “a price-taker on the global gas market with no bargaining power”.

Angola’s government is working on legislation to establish a national emissions trading system (ETS) and to structure its participation in international carbon markets, a policy advocate engaged in the process told Carbon Pulse.

An environmental non-profit has launched a new court case against Shell in the Netherlands, demanding that the oil major immediately halt investments in new oil and gas projects.

The UK is implementing measures to break the link between spiking gas prices and renewable energy that has left industry paying the highest price for electricity in the developed world.

A developer of solid-state modules says it can reduce the cost of direct air capture (DAC) to $150 per tonne of CO2 by making use of existing airflows and waste heat at data centres.

International climate talks need to shift focus onto action, away from negotiations, to fend off the "twin reapers" of global warming and high fossil fuel costs, the UN's climate chief said in a speech kicking off the annual Petersberg Dialogue on Tuesday.

Integrating carbon removal (CDR) technologies into wastewater, concrete recycling, and mining waste management could turn these sectors net negative at marginal cost increases, according to a report released Tuesday.

Shelved again - A new report by the Changing Markets Foundation and Mighty Earth evaluated methane performance across 20 major food retailers in six countries. Despite their combined $2 trillion revenue - comparable to Brazil’s GDP - retailers are failing to address methane emissions, a major component of their Scope 3 footprint driven largely by meat and dairy supply chains, according to the study. No retailer currently discloses methane emissions or sets reduction targets, showing no progress since last year. While Tesco, Lidl, and Ahold Delhaize rank highest, their efforts remain insufficient for meaningful methane action. Performance shifts include Asda losing the most points and Germany’s Edeka-Verbund improving significantly. US retailers lag behind European peers, with several scoring extremely low or zero. Although top performers have made some progress on broader greenhouse gas reporting and plant-based targets, the report concluded that decisive and rapid action on methane is still lacking across the sector.

An Australian biochar project developer has signed an agreement with a data centre subsidiary to explore the possibility of securing a long-term offtake agreement of carbon removal credits. 

Refining hydrogen production - Advanced hydrogen producer H2site announced on Monday a strategic agreement with Spanish refiner Petronor, to deploy high-efficiency hydrogen separation technology at one of the latter’s facilities. The technology pioneers the integration of high-purity hydrogen production in refining through H2site’s membrane technology, improving overall efficiency at the plant. It will also demonstrate how H2site’s technology functions at refinery scale. The companies did not elaborate on a timeline for the joint development.