Cap-and-Invest vote – California regulator ARB published a revised agenda on Wednesday for its upcoming board meeting, focusing on the proposed updates to the state's Cap-and-Invest Program. The Board will consider adopting changes to the programme outlined in the Initial Statement of Reasons (ISOR) and subsequent 15-day notice, beginning at 0900 PDT/1200 EDT (1600 GMT) on Thursday. The meeting may continue on May 29 to conclude any remaining business. The revision saw a struck item considering the revisions for the California Extreme Ozone Nonattainment Areas, based on federal actions in the last year.

Backing Brazilian SAF – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment branch of the World Bank Group, announced this week its participation in financing Acelen Renewable's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant in Brazil. The landmark Bahia project is one of the world's largest hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) biorefineries and the first commercial SAF project in Latin America. IFC invested an undisclosed amount of the $1.5 bln needed to construct the plant. The multilateral bank will co-coordinate financing with HSBC, it said.

Paraguay's potential - Paraguay could receive revenues of $500 mln per year from carbon credits if the South American country concretes 5-10 bilateral agreements under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Kiantar Betancourt, president of the local private-sector association, Capadeco, told Infonegocios. International emissions transfers would be mainly sourced from forestry and other nature-based projects, he said. Paraguay has already signed Article 6.2 MoUs with Taiwan and the UAE, and is in active conversations with South Korea, Japan, and Switzerland.

The California regulator issued fewer than 75,500 compliance-grade offsets over the most recent reporting period, with no direct environmental benefits (DEBs) to the state, according to data released on Wednesday.

Alberta is seeking public comment on proposed updates to its carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) quantification protocol that would let eligible direct air capture (DAC) projects account for low-carbon electricity, while clarifying how removal credits and storage reversals would be handled under its large-emitter system.

Disclosure demands - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) urged the Administrative Office of the US Courts to strengthen rules governing privately funded judicial seminars and press the Federal Judicial Center to reinstate a rescinded climate science chapter in its Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, arguing that fossil fuel-linked funders and groups have sought to shape how federal judges assess climate science in court. In a May 19 letter to AO Director Robert Conrad, Whitehouse said existing disclosure and ethics rules are failing, citing reporting on a George Mason University Law & Economics Center symposium that he said promoted scepticism of climate liability and mass-tort claims while omitting fossil fuel-related funding ties. He also called for the centre to disclose any earmarked funding for judicial education, saying further steps may be needed if judges continue attending industry-funded seminars.

Getting ghosted - The US DOE has stopped communicating with two carbon capture and storage task forces created under the 2020 USE IT Act, according to members who said the committees have been inactive for months despite spending more than a year drafting recommendations on permitting, offshore CO2 storage, pipelines, and other issues, E&E News reported. The task forces, established to help accelerate carbon capture project development, were expected to meet in November and December to discuss and finalise a draft report, but those meetings did not take place, with some members saying they last heard from the DOE in September and one saying November.

Some survivors - Some elements of the US EPA’s greenhouse gas standards for coal- and gas-fired power plants, currently in the process of being repealed, could survive, E&E News reported Wednesday. One example could be the 2015 New Source Performance Standard, which requires coal-fired units to capture and store 40% of their CO2 emissions. A narrower, technology-focused rule on carbon capture and storage and co-firing of gas at coal plants appears to be the subject of focus at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

OH CSS - Ohio Senate has passed a bill authorising carbon capture and storage (CCS) activity in the state, according to Morning Ag Clips. The bill clarifies landowner rights in pore space and charges the state’s Natural Resources Department with development of a CCS regulator programme.

Cleaner data centres - Non-profit Elemental Impact launched of the Data Center Innovation Initiative (DCII) designed to test and validate critical technologies in data center environments or demonstration sites, creating potential pathways for future adoption across broader energy and industrial sectors. The DCII is backed by tech majors Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. Elemental CEO Dawn Lippert said the initiative would accelerate technologies that reduce emissions and deliver more positive impact for communities amid data centre buildout.

Fast track – The California Energy Commission on Tuesday approved a 400 MW battery storage project in Alameda County under its accelerated Opt-In Certification programme, marking the third major clean energy facility cleared through the pathway in the past year. CEC said Clearway Energy Group subsidiary Levy Alameda will build the Potentia-Viridi Battery Energy Storage System, capable of storing up to 3,200 MWh of electricity. The agency said the three projects approved under the programme since 2025 represent around 3,300 MW of clean energy capacity and more than $3 mln in community benefits.

Utility pivot – Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has launched a request for proposals seeking projects that can cut GHG emissions from its natural gas distribution systems. The US utility said it would consider any proposal meeting the RFP requirements, with bids due by July 15 and a final list of potential projects expected to be filed with Washington state regulators in Q3-Q4 2026. PSE has appointed consultancy Carbon Direct as independent evaluator for the process, while a virtual bidders’ conference is scheduled for June 8. Agreements for selected proposals are expected to be executed in Q4 2026-Q1 2027, following approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

Brazil's total area of native vegetation deforested remained below 1 million hectares in a single year for the first time since 2019, according to a new report.

Small island developing states (SIDS) are pushing for two emerging 1.5C implementation tools to become practical routes for faster finance and project delivery, as negotiators look to shape the initiatives ahead of the SB64 talks in Bonn, Germany.

Ardea ascends – Founder Marcos Almeida launched Ardea Climate this week, which is an environmental assets company specialising in the commercialisation of credits in the VCM. The new Sao Paulo-based firm said it will operate across sales, brokerage, and commercial advisory services, connecting selected climate projects with a global network of corporate buyers across REDD+, ARR, landfill gas, renewables, and I-RECs. Almeida previously led international sales and business development at Biofilica Ambipar Environment, and has also held roles at Bank ABC Brasil, Louis Dreyfus Company, ED&F Man, and PwC.

Regulating offshore energy – The Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS) published a draft resolution guiding the preparation of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for offshore wind energy projects. By adopting a set of terms of reference (ToR), this norm would standardise the technical and legal requirements for EIAs, reducing the uncertainty of offshore developers. Public consultation of the resolution runs from May 26 to June 2 on the official MADS portal.  

US policymakers should align voluntary and compliance carbon markets around common standards and infrastructure to improve market efficiency, a public policy group reported.

The Q2 California-Quebec carbon auction last week sold out above the 2026 price floor but a bit below the $29 mark, within the expectations of most market participants, according to a notice published Wednesday.

Peru will by June accredit new standards to its national RENAMI carbon registry and approve over a dozen Article 6 projects, just on the heels of its recent authorisation of a flagship clean cooking project under Article 6.2, according to a senior official.

Pipeline pressure – Summit Carbon Solutions’ (SCS) supporters and opponents have urged Iowa regulators to act on the developer’s revised CO2 pipeline proposal, with industry groups requesting a hearing on Tuesday while some landowners called for the plan to be denied over eminent domain concerns, local media reported this week. The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) this week formally asked the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) to schedule a hearing on Summit’s revised route application, arguing delays are costing Iowa ethanol plants about $5.2 mln per day in forgone revenue. Summit unveiled the revised route on May 13, before affected landowners formally filed requests with the IUC on May 20 seeking denial of the updated proposal.

A broad coalition including the US federal government, states, business groups, legal scholars, and tribal interests has urged the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to block a landmark climate damages lawsuit against two oil companies, arguing it would let local governments regulate GHG emissions through state tort law.

Local communities must be put at the heart of clean cooking projects for them to generate credible carbon credits and fulfil their potential as one of the only climate measures that can be deployed fast and at scale in displacement settings.

Peru will be looking to sell around 1 million forest carbon credits a year into the Singapore market under its bilateral Article 6.2 deal, a project developer told Carbon Pulse this week.

Corporate buyers of legacy voluntary carbon credits could face growing audit, disclosure, and impairment risks as carbon accounting rules tighten, according to a recent guide by a US investment bank.

From CDM to PACM – Brazil has approved nine additional projects and programmes from the former Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for inclusion in the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), it announced on Tuesday. This adds to a previous round of approval for 80 projects. While most of the projects focus on renewable energy, the reforestation initiative Renewable Source of Wood Supplies for Industrial Use in Brazil stands out among them.