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.

The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) is simultaneously building demand, supply, and enabling conditions to operationalise Article 6 across the region, an executive has said.

Incoming geo-storage atlas - Calgary-based subsurface intelligence company Canadian Discovery will launch a geological carbon storage atlas for Eastern Canada on Apr. 28, according to a press release. The company is co-funded by Natural Resources Canada, carbon removal developer Deep Sky, and carbon capture and storage developer CDL. Project findings are expected later this month.

Net zero bread - Canadian grain producer Farinart has announced the launch of a new line of 100% Quebec-grown, whole-grain flours made from regenerative agriculture, designed for artisanal bakeries aiming to produce carbon-neutral breads.

A carbon utilisation company has appointed a new chief executive following a period under interim leadership, it announced on Tuesday.

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.

Fossil fuel fast track - US President Donald Trump (R) has invoked the Defense Production Act to direct federal support toward oil, gas, coal, and power grid projects, citing energy reliability and rising costs, according to determinations signed under the Cold War-era statute, E&E News reported. The orders allow the administration to tap billions of dollars to expand domestic energy infrastructure, including pipelines, LNG facilities, coal capacity, and grid components such as transformers and transmission equipment, with the White House saying the move will “strengthen our grid infrastructure and unleash reliable, affordable, secure energy". The action builds on a 2025 national energy emergency declaration and comes as electricity demand rises, partly due to AI-driven data centre growth, with officials framing the law as a tool to address affordability and supply concerns. Industry groups said the measures could unlock financing and accelerate projects, while analysts noted uncertainty over how funds will be deployed. Environmental advocates criticised the move as an expansion of fossil fuel support under emergency powers, arguing it prioritises industry over cost and climate considerations.

Hiding in plain sight - Chubb, a major US property and casualty insurer, said in a new sustainability report it will not disclose certain GHG emissions tied to its business, including those linked to fossil fuel investments, arguing they are not “financially material” and cannot be reliably measured, E&E News reported. The insurer said disclosure of such emissions is not merited at this time, citing shifting methodologies and data limitations. The stance aligns with other major insurers that have questioned the feasibility and value of calculating indirect emissions from underwriting and investment activities. Climate advocates, however, argue that insurers play a key role in enabling oil and gas production through coverage and financing, and should provide greater transparency on associated emissions to inform investors.

A US-based climate research group would see lifecycle refrigerant management (LRM) first scaled in Southeast Asia as it charts a path to policy intervention of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), including acceleration of carbon markets.  

California emissions from diesel and gasoline consumption decreased in January year-on-year (YoY), as state data showed a more than 10% decline in diesel for the first month of the year.

Global carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity is set to reach only a fraction of the levels needed to meet the Paris Agreement's 2C target, according to a study published Monday.

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.

Momentum for carbon removal (CDR) in Canada is tipping towards takeoff, but it remains to be seen if the sector could kick its “training wheels” and fly on the compliance side without voluntary corporate investment.

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.

Malaysia will likely delay plans to introduce a carbon tax, as the government reassesses the timing amid the energy disruptions in Southeast Asia from the Middle East crisis, the natural resources minister said on Tuesday according to local media.

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. 

Australia's carbon market recorded a surge in issuances in March, driven by a handful of large industrial and vegetation projects.

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.

Shine, baby shine - Tandem PV, a leader in high-efficiency perovskite-silicon solar panels, has opened its commercial demonstration factory in Fremont, California, reported Business Wire. The Fremont opening builds on recent research and development progress that Tandem PV is now translating into production panels, including 29.7% efficiency based on internal testing, much higher than the typical 22-23% typical efficiency of a new silicon panel. In accelerated lifetime testing, the latest-generation panels show less than 1% average annual power loss, about a 10-fold improvement versus the company’s results from a year ago. Tandem PV is targeting 25 or more year performance consistent with industry standards and warranty requirements for utility-scale solar projects. The Fremont factory line has approximately 40 MW of annual nameplate capacity, and the panels are roughly 60 times larger than Tandem PV’s research and development scale devices. The company plans to sell its first commercial panels in 2026 from this facility and is targeting high-volume manufacturing in 2028.

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.

Verra has approved the issuance of the first credits under its afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) methodology.

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.

Provisionally digital – The Global Carbon Council (GCC) has provisionally approved its first digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (dMRV) provider, the Qatar-based standard announced this week. GCC granted Next Green Tech Ltd provisional approval under Track-02 for dMRV Sectoral Scope #01 — Energy (Generation, Transmission, Distribution, and Energy Efficiency), and aligned with GCC GHG sectoral scopes #1, #2, and #3. Next Green Tech Ltd is owned by climate tech company NGX Global. The provisional approval is GCC's first step toward creating a system to integrate dMRV solutions into carbon crediting activities, the standard said. GCC is targeting 18 mln credit issuances in 2026, up from almost 4.5 mln in 2025.

The Pittsburgh Penguins professional ice hockey team has retired more than 12,500 tonnes of carbon credits sourced from local forest conservation projects in the US northeast.

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.

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a law amendment to legalise the country's market stability reserve (K-MSR) under the national emissions trading scheme, with more policy details to be finalised by August.

Malaysia has launched its National Carbon Market Policy (DPKK), setting out a framework to develop a domestic market and tap international finance under the Paris Agreement to help deliver on conditional emissions reduction targets.

Funding call - The Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC) has issued a call for business proposals to subsidise emissions reduction projects under the Japan-led Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM). Projects that aim to introduce advanced decarbonization technologies or create synergies will be considered. A budget of around JPY 180 mln ($1.13 mln) will be allocated for the funding programme during FY2026-27. The application deadline is set for June 1, GEC said.

Stay cool - Tokyo-based Linkhola announced Tuesday a new methodology for AI-powered energy saving under its carbon credit platform, Earthstory. It is the first of its kind in Japan to be specifically tailored to AI-powered air conditioning control in buildings. Lixil Group, a leader in Japan's housing and building materials sector, participated in the development process and is considering future applications based on the methodology.

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.

Scaling carbon credit financing and insurance remains a challenge as the market continues to grapple with legal and accounting uncertainties, according to a position paper published Tuesday.

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.

Australia’s climate minister has defended the use of carbon credits under the Safeguard Mechanism as it faces fresh criticism in the wake of newly released compliance data.

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.

Scuppered - Plans for a major green hydrogen project in Townsville, Queensland by Edify Energy have been scrapped after the company failed to secure any customers for the hydrogen it intended to produce, RenewEconomy reported. The project, proposed for the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct, had been positioned as a significant early hydrogen development but ultimately proved unviable without confirmed demand. The decision highlights broader challenges facing Australia’s hydrogen sector, particularly the difficulty of locking in buyers and commercialising large-scale projects.

Vietnam has launched a new initiative in partnership with South Korea to fund climate technology startups, as the country seeks to nurture a pipeline of investable low-carbon solutions.

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. 

An Australian carbon project developer has announced a leadership restructure by moving from a shared co-CEO structure to having just single chief leading the outfit. 

Bucks for batteries - The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (AREN) has announced over A$4 mln ($3.1 mln) in funding for the first two projects under its Battery Breakthrough Initiative, aimed at advancing next-generation battery technologies. The funding supports PowerPlus Energy to expand and automate battery pack production in Victoria, and Firebird Metals to develop a facility in Perth to process manganese into battery cathode materials. The initiative is designed to strengthen Australia’s battery manufacturing capability, reduce costs and emissions, and build a more resilient domestic supply chain as part of the clean energy transition.

For the family – The non-profit American Forest Foundation launched a data visualisation map on Monday to highlight conservation benefits from family-owned forests in Central Appalachia– a tool that combines previously disparate data sources into a centralised map of privately-owned forests. Viewers can see online a map of watersheds providing clean drinking water to downstream communities, the migration corridors for wildlife species, and fire alerts tha that highlight the importance of active forest management. The map also offers access to documents for due diligence and programme overview. The non-profit plans to update the map with more data sources and features.

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.

Tracking miles and emissions – Canadian climate solutions company Karbon-X launched a mobile app on Friday that allows travellers to measure and balance the emissions of their flights. The SkyXero app calculates emissions based on flight details, and allows users to contribute to third-party verified climate projects, including to projects with credits issued by Verra and Gold Standard. Karbon-X further committed to match user contributions as part of the launch for up to $250,000.

The Indian and South Korean governments on Monday announced they have signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.