European automakers' demands are shaping the draft texts for the revision of the 2035 CO2 emissions reduction target for cars and vans, researchers are warning, a move that could undermine carbon reduction efforts.

An average EU household could save around €2,220 a year by switching from gas boilers to heat pumps and from combustion engine to electric vehicles – equal to almost two years of free heating for an average household, even before the latest surge in fossil fuel prices, new analysis has found.

Root cause – Yale University has selected a 10,000-hectare restoration project in Panama developed by Ponterra, a tropical forest restoration project developer, as the site of a new study on tropical forest regeneration, supported by a 2026 Yale Planetary Solutions Constellation Grant. The study, led by researchers from the Yale School of the Environment and the Centro del Agua del Tropico Humedo para America Latina y el Caribe (CATHALAC) – a Panama-based water centre for the humid tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean – will examine how naturally regenerating seedlings can support large-scale forest restoration and help deliver carbon and biodiversity outcomes. The project on Panama’s Azuero Peninsula, backed by Microsoft and Rubicon Carbon, uses assisted natural regeneration and active planting of more than 100 native species to restore degraded tropical land. The research team will map existing trees and forest areas within agricultural sites and link those findings to seedling censuses across the landscape to assess where natural regeneration can best support restoration goals.

Carbon cooperation – The UN Development Programme (UNDP), Korea Environment Corporation, and Korea Research Institute on Climate Change held a workshop from May 12-13 in Ulaanbaatar to discuss carbon market cooperation between Mongolia and South Korea, bringing together more than 100 government, private sector, financial, and international participants. The event focused on carbon market mechanisms, GHG inventory management, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks, carbon credit authorisation, governance, policy considerations, institutional readiness, and case studies in Mongolia’s national context. Mongolia’s environment minister T. Sandag-Ochir said international dialogue, including with South Korea, was important as the country considers market-based approaches to support its climate goals, while the UNDP said the workshop was part of wider efforts to improve Mongolia’s readiness to engage in international climate and carbon market discussions.

South African commercial farmers could earn supplementary income from regenerative agriculture practices under a new bank-backed carbon credit programme.

Asian investors are incorporating climate change into governance, investment, and disclosure practices at a faster pace, but many still lack detailed transition plans, according to a study.

No more methane – Barbados climate envoy Elizabeth Thompson has called for legally-binding mechanisms to accelerate methane cuts, saying voluntary pledges have not delivered enough action. Speaking on Friday at a parliamentary seminar in Nairobi, Thompson said Barbados PM Mia Mottley and the 68-member Climate Vulnerable Forum are exploring a mandatory financing framework to reduce and ultimately eliminate methane emissions, particularly from the fossil fuel sector, while also discussing finance mechanisms to support implementation and compliance. Meanwhile, Kenya Senate Speaker Amason Kingi urged African parliaments to support investments in improved livestock feeds, breeding systems, waste management technologies, and biogas solutions, as the seminar aimed to strengthen legislative oversight and help lawmakers enact methane policies, shape climate budgets, and support implementation of the Global Methane Pledge. (Capital News)

ZEV support - California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced this week a new $1 bln rebate programme for electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The funding from the California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR) programme will be made available through 2030 and stems from revenue from the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). Beginning June 26, rebates will be available at authorised retailers for public and private fleets across the state. Rebates will range from $7,500 -$120,000 and can be applied toward the purchase of new electric medium‑ and heavy‑duty commercial vehicles, including drayage trucks, electric semis, box trucks, and delivery vans.

India has the potential to scale carbon removal from biochar to 450 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030, creating a $45 billion market largely from utilising a fraction of surplus agricultural residues, according to a report released Saturday.

More methods - Oneshot.earth and Global Heat Reduction are bringing the latter's superpollutant methodologies onto Open Carbon Protocol, the companies announced Friday. Four Global Head Reduction methodologies will be available - GHR002, methane recovery from anaerobic digestion of manure; GHR003, methane recovery from landfill gas; GHR004, methane emission reduciton from enteric fermentation; GHR005, emission reductions from rice cultivation.

Not in New York's backyard - The Center for Individual Rights, representing Iowa, Missouri and the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, filed a lawsuit on Thursday in federal court in Missouri, challenging greenhouse gas reporting requirements finalised by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation. The groups allege the rules are unconstitutional. (E&E News)

The recent spike in RGGI Allowances (RGA) is “disproportionately bullish” and will ease this year, but the long-term price outlook for the programme is still strong, a pair of analysts said at a webinar co-hosted by Carbon Pulse this week.

Agricultural assist – Quebec will reimburse agricultural businesses for costs imposed by carbon pricing, and increase support for the next generation of farmers under measures announced on Friday by CAQ Premier Christine Frechette, the Canadian Press reported (translated by City News Montreal). The provincial government said it will allocate C$87 million through its agricultural financing facility (French: La Financiere agricole du Quebec, FADQ) for a programme intended to offset carbon-related costs for more than 15,500 farmers automatically, while adding C$8.8 mln for a separate programme to support the next generation of farmers. Brechette said the measures were intended to ease financial pressure on the agricultural sector and strengthen competitiveness, after the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) argued carbon pricing was undermining Quebec farmers.

Both emitters and financial players pulled back in their overall net holdings in California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) and RGGI Allowances (RGAs), the latest weekly US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.

Investors risk misallocating climate finance unless companies and banks use clearer definitions and reporting to show whether capital is flowing to credible low-carbon activities, finance experts said on Thursday.

California regulator ARB published on Friday a notice confirming the May 28 date for a public hearing where proposed updates to the state's Cap-and-Invest Program will be considered for approval.

Brazil climate monitoring – Brazil’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA) has launched the inaugural session of Indica Clima, the new monitoring system that will track implementation of the country’s climate plan through 2035. Still under development, the platform will periodically collect, process, and analyse indicators linked to Brazil’s sectoral and thematic climate plans, including mitigation, adaptation, and cross-cutting strategies. The system is expected to provide interactive public dashboards showing progress on climate action in an accessible and transparent format. The ministry also said it expects to carry out a first assessment of the national climate plan implementation through the platform before the end of this year.

Data demand - PJM wholesale power costs rose 75.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, driven in part by data centre demand that the grid operator’s market monitor said was the main cause of tight capacity market conditions and higher prices. The Independent Market Monitor report for PJM said total wholesale power costs climbed to $136.53/MWh from $77.78/MWh in the first three months of 2025, while real-time load-weighted average prices rose 67.8% to $87.57/MWh. The report said existing and forecast data centre load increased customer bills by $13.77 bln across the 2026/27 and 2027/28 capacity auctions, even with a price cap in place, and warned that leaving forecast data centre demand in future auctions would mean other customers will continue to pay the price for the additional load.

Rural resistance - Hill County, Texas, passed a one-year moratorium on data centre and power plant construction in unincorporated areas this week, in what may be the state’s first county-level data centre ban, as officials seek more time to respond to a wave of proposed developments in the rural county southwest of Dallas, E&E News reported. The Commissioners Court voted 3-2 on Tuesday after county officials cited as many as eight potential data centre projects, many of which could include their own power plants. County Judge Shane Brassell, a Republican who backed the measure, said residents were begging for help and that the county had no other mechanism to respond. The move comes as opposition to data centres grows across Republican- and Democratic-led areas, with local concerns focused on land use, power demand, tax incentives, and the pace of development.

Express your interest - The Climate Action Reserve, a California-based voluntary carbon credit programme, seeks expressions of interest for a long-term partner to design, implement, and maintain a next-generation registry platform for its carbon crediting operations, as it expands globally and looks to support project data management, credit lifecycle tracking, interoperability, security, and alignment with standards including Article 6, CORSIA, country-specific compliance, and digital monitoring, reporting, and verification. Expressions of interest are due by June 8, with the first stage expected to finish by mid-July and a request-for-proposals process expected to select one or more registry platform partners by the end of 2026.

Much UNIDO about nothing - The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) signed a joint declaration Friday to advance high-integrity carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. IGES is the secretariat of the Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Partnership (A6IP), and aims to work with UNIDO to develop technical assistance projects, knowledge products, share information, and promote multi-stakeholder engagement.

Canada and Alberta have set a headline carbon price of C$140 per tonne by 2040 for the oil-producing province’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation (TIER) market.

Researchers have published what they describe as the first field-based evidence that deploying olivine sand for marine CO2 removal caused no detectable adverse effects on ocean ecosystems, potentially bolstering confidence in alkalinity enhancement pathways that have faced persistent environmental scrutiny.

European carbon prices are likely to remain rangebound near-term despite persistent geopolitical turmoil and political pressure for EU ETS reform, but structural supply tightness should reassert itself later this year and lift prices towards winter, according to analysts at a European investment bank.

Subsurface spark – GeoKiln Energy Innovation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ras Al Khaimah Energy Authority (RAKEA) to explore subsurface hydrogen production in the UAE, the parties announced on Thursday. Under the agreement, they will assess geological data and design a potential pilot programme using GeoKiln’s Manufactured Subsurface Hydrogen (MSSH) technology. The company said its approach could reduce costs and speed deployment by leveraging existing infrastructure and supply chains. It added that the agreement also gives GeoKiln a framework to evaluate hydrogen development opportunities in Ras Al Khaimah, including potential commercial rights covering up to 100 sq. km.

Logging less – Cheakamus Community Forest said revenue from carbon credit sales rose six-fold in 2025 as new industrial carbon pricing rules in British Columbia boosted demand for offsets, Business In Vancouver reported this week. The 33,000-ha project, co-managed by the Lil’wat Nation, Squamish Nation, and the Resort Municipality of Whistler, now earns more from carbon credits than timber harvesting. The project joined British Columbia’s carbon market in 2009 as the first initiative of its kind, and has typically generated around $100,000 annually from carbon credit sales. Proponents said prices for the project’s carbon credits more than doubled under OBPS, rising from around $30/tonne in the voluntary market.

A proposal to make it harder to sue companies over some “carbon neutral” claims based on voluntary carbon credits was effectively blocked in the California Assembly on Thursday.

European carbon prices are currently at "an interesting entry point" for buyers and could rise back towards €85 despite recent volatility, though any renewed spike in natural gas prices risks triggering political intervention that could weigh on the EU ETS.

Forest finance – The World Institute for Conservation and Environment (WICE), a sustainable development organisation, has committed to create a funding facility for forests in the Congo Basin, it announced on Friday. WICE has signed an MoU with the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC), an intergovernmental body coordinating forest policy across Central Africa, agreeing to work together on Congo Basin Forest Finance Facility. The facility aims to create a pipeline of nature-based forest investment opportunities through a blended finance approach, according to a statement from WICE. The two signatories plan to take a phased approach to developing the facility, kicking off with a $2 mln structuring round. As the world's second largest tropical rainforest, the Congo Basin is a critical carbon sink.

Too hush hush - The spread of green hushing is losing UK companies business opportunities, finds a survey by the Marketing Pod. Some 85% of 250 senior level decision makers in mid-sized and large UK organisations have intentionally reduced sustainability communication to the public. Some 29% of respondents fear keeping up with latest regulations; 19% fear a risk to professional reputation; 17% lack resources to revisit data; 16% lack knowledge; and 15% have no confidence that claims are back-dated. But almost all the respondents, some 98%, say they have also been excluded from a new contract opportunity, or have lost business, due to their inability to back up their sustainability credentials. The same percentage would also consider allocating a budget for sustainability communications experts to safeguard their organisation’s reputation.

Prairie push – MAX Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the City of Moose Jaw to advance natural hydrogen commercialisation within Saskatchewan’s Regina-Moose Jaw Industrial Corridor, it was announced on Friday. The agreement is aimed at supporting development of the company’s Lawson natural hydrogen system near Central Butte, approximately 80 kilometres northwest of the city, as it moves toward commercial validation. The parties signed the MoU at Moose Jaw City Hall on Thursday, with MAX Power planning a further operational update on Lawson next week.

European carbon prices solidified their position above €75 amid thin trading on Friday, as oil and gas benchmarks surged following combative statements from the US President, while UK Allowances digested news that a key challenger to Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer now has a clearer path to power, with a change of leadership potentially impacting progress on UK-EU market linkage talks.

A Canada-based carbon project financier reported a Q1 net loss on Friday that was lower from the previous three-month period while also disclosing first-quarter sales of CORSIA-eligible cookstove credits.

Companies using super pollutant abatement and carbon removal (CDR) to compensate for emissions should account for their warming impact over time, rather than rely on a single global warming potential horizon, according to a new preprint from researchers in the tech and CDR sectors.

April saw around 1.14 million tonnes of durable carbon removals (CDR) contracted, with deals that saw JPMorgan Chase and Boeing add to their existing portfolios, while a registry focused solely on CDR saw record monthly issuances and retirements.

A major northwest European chemical cluster will need a cross-border CO2 network to cut emissions, but the sector will struggle to justify low-carbon investment unless EU carbon policies do more to protect producers from cheaper fossil-based imports, found a new study.

State-law claims seeking damages from fossil fuel producers over local climate harms would allow courts across the US to set conflicting national climate policy, oil companies argued in a Thursday brief to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS).

Brazil’s ethanol industry could become a globally competitive source of engineered carbon removals through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), but developers are still waiting for the regulatory clarity and carbon pricing signals needed to make projects financially viable.

Early-stage capital invested in the carbon credit market reached a record $22 billion last year as more buyers sought to lock in price and quality, according to an analyst group.

Several European power companies have this week reported a drop in generation from EU ETS-covered plants in the first quarter of 2026.

Vietnam has issued a circular outlining market-surveillance architecture for domestic carbon trading, relying on its securities markets to detect and report abnormalities.

China’s national emissions market climbed back above the RMB 80 mark in early May as liquidity improved, following government confirmation of a timeline to integrate financial institutions into the trading scheme.

A new Ugandan bill to crack down on foreign vested interests in the country, broadly defined, poses grave implications for carbon project development in the emerging hub, local and international experts have told Carbon Pulse.

Better together - Global Green Growth Institute (GGI Kenya) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with environmental consultancy Systemiq to strengthen cooperation on green growth, sustainable finance, and climate action in Nairobi. The partnership aims to support efforts to unlock green investment, scale practical climate solutions, and strengthen green growth planning, according to the LinkedIn announcement.

Greener cement - Heidelberg Materials France has just completed a €350 mln-plus investment to modernise its cement plant in Airvault, western France with the commissioning of a new dry kiln line that's expected to reduce the site's CO2 emissions by more than 30% through the use of up to 90% alternative fuels. Cement production accounts for about 8% of global GHG emissions and Europe is racing ahead with low-carbon cement development ahead of planned changes to the EU ETS and rollout of the bloc's carbon border fee, a recent survey found. (L'Usine Nouvelle)    

Peatland progress - Scottish Water has completed the second phase of a peatland project surrounding Loch Katrine, north of Glasgow in Scotland. The latest work has seen a further 94 ha of degraded areas restored, and forms part of a wider environmental strategy aiming to restore up to 400 ha of peatland across the Loch Katrine catchment over the next decade. The aim is to restore the land’s natural water retention capacity to improve water quality, while also boosting carbon storage levels, and is supported by Scotland's national programme Peatland Action, which aims to restore peatland as part of the country's climate commitments. The restoration also forms part of a broader land management programme developed by Scottish Water in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland to expand native woodland across the surrounding hills. The Scottish govt has pledged £250 mln towards restoring 250,000 ha of peatland by 2030. A third phase of restoration work at Loch Katrine is due to begin later this year. (the Scotsman)

Equal footing - Seoul-listed Ecoeye has officially opened a Union Registry account with the European Energy Exchange (EEX), becoming the first Korean company to do so. After obtaining an EEX trading membership last year, Ecoeye said the latest move allows it to hold and transfer EUAs on equal footing with European participants. The company also aims to leverage this infrastructure to provide direct credit procurement for domestic and foreign shipping companies, as well as European industries.

Long-term procurement, delivery certainty, and measurable co-benefits are becoming increasingly important to scaling biochar carbon removals, a senior executive at the world’s largest biochar carbon removal producer by delivered volume told Carbon Pulse.

Green servers - Japan’s environment ministry this week launched a funding call for projects aimed at cutting emissions from data centres. The programme will support the development and demonstration of technologies, including cooling systems and optimisation tools designed to lower CO2 emissions from data centres, where emissions are expected to rise in the coming years. Applications are open from May 11 to June 11, with eligible applicants including companies, universities, and other organisations. The ministry said projects can receive up to JPY 500 mln ($3.2 mln) in combined outsourcing and subsidy support, with implementation periods generally lasting up to four years.

Collections - Pakistan raked in PKR 37.28 bln ($133 mln) through its newly introduced carbon levy in the first nine months of fiscal year 2025-26, local media Pakistan Revenue reported. The Climate Support Levy, introduced under the Finance Act 2025, imposes a PKR 2.5/litre charge on petrol and diesel, with the rate set to double next fiscal year. Islamabad has also applied the levy to furnace oil, as part of efforts to curb fossil fuel consumption. Overall, the measure is expected to raise $170 mln this financial year, with collections looking to be on track to reach that goal.

Heat strains grid - The Vietnamese government has urged businesses and households to do more to save energy, as electricity consumption in the Southeast Asian country surges to year highs due to hot weather, Reuters reported. Electricity consumption hit its highest level ​of the year on Wednesday, reaching ​1.1 bln kWh, state utility EVN said. A new heat wave is forecast to hit Vietnam in the last week of May, the ​government said, putting further pressure on ​the power grid.

The venture capital arm of a major oil refiner in Japan has decided to invest in a US-based startup dedicated to wastewater alkalinity enhancement (WAE) solutions, marking its latest push into the carbon removal market.

The New Zealand government has updated its guidance for voluntary climate change mitigation efforts, just days after it unveiled its strategy to grow the voluntary carbon and nature markets.

Gas supply assured - Australia will not impose export restrictions on natural gas this winter after exporters assured the government of sufficient supply for east coast markets, Reuters reported. The government had flagged possible activation of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism in Q3, which would have required prioritising local supply. The decision comes against the backdrop of Canberra’s 20% domestic gas reservation policy, part of its broader energy resilience measures shaped by the Middle East conflict.

The UK has reportedly slashed its contribution to the UN’s flagship climate finance vehicle by more than £800 million, in a move likely to deepen concerns among developing nations that wealthy countries are retreating from commitments to support the global energy transition and climate adaptation efforts.

Taking root - Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University has formed a working group on carbon credits to help farmers in the Indian state tap carbon market opportunities through sustainable farming practices, local media reported. The group will focus on teaching, research, and outreach linked to carbon farming and carbon-smart agriculture. The university hopes that practices such as residue management, biochar, agroforestry, and soil carbon enhancement could help cut emissions while generating additional farmer income through carbon credits. The initiative also included a training session on carbon farming and carbon measurement, with scientists and extension officers discussing challenges and opportunities for implementing such practices across Punjab.

Carbon removal markets will need to expand far beyond today’s voluntary offset model if the sector is to scale to the levels required to meet global climate targets, a think tank has warned, pointing to governments and supply chains as potential new demand drivers as concerns grow over the market’s reliance on big tech buyers.

Nuclear tech export - The South Korean government plans to establish a public-private committee to boost the country's nuclear power plant exports, amid increasing competition among countries' push to revitalise their nuclear industry, Yonhap reported. The committee will include executives from Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP) and other companies, as well as experts in the field. KEPCO and KHNP have been asked to jointly develop export-related nuclear projects, according to the report.

New participant - Australia's NH3 Clean Energy Limited has announced its participation in the pilot phase of the Ammonia Certification System (ACS), a globally recognised certification framework for international trade of low-emissions ammonia. The ACS framework will allow for the ongoing certification of the WAH2 Project’s ammonia, verifying its origin and carbon intensity to strengthen its standing in clean fuel markets, the company said.

Hot investment – New Zealand gentailer Mercury has committed NZ$75 mln ($44.3 mln) for appraisal drilling at two existing geothermal sites, it said on Thursday, with the two projects potentially totalling NZ$1 bln of investment. They could also add up to 1TWh of new capacity, with the first output aimed for 2030. It comes as the New Zealand government is aiming to double the country’s geothermal capacity by 2040, backed with over NZ$50 mln of public funding. Mercury said the investment is coming from its own balance sheet. The NZ ETS applies to the power sector, although the country's power grid is dominated by renewables, and emissions from electricity generation in Q4 2025 fell to their lowest since 1990, government data in March showed.