Ireland’s data centres have already added an estimated €715 million to household electricity bills between 2015 and 2023 and are now consuming more than 22% of the country’s electricity — the highest share in the world – according to a report published on Thursday, ahead of an EU policy initiative on AI and energy.

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.

As the incoming presidency of the Council of EU member states, Ireland intends to push renewables and ensure that carbon market cooperation with the UK benefits both sides, Minister of State Thomas Byrne said on Wednesday.

The EU could implement electrification policies to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels while using carbon pricing to boost the competitiveness of some industrial sectors, according to a paper shared by three European think tanks on Wednesday.

European carbon made an early run at the €80 mark on Wednesday as the surge in buying activity extended into a second day,  before profit-taking in the afternoon took the shine off the day, while UKA prices also posted a daily gain despite post-midday weakness as both markets continued to reflected greater optimism around regulatory and political changes to come.

Temporary carbon removal (CDR) could have a scientifically valid role in compensating short-lived climate pollutants such as methane, but should not be used to offset CO2 emissions directly, according to a new study.

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.

Renewables rising - Africa's next set of power generation projects is increasingly being built around solar, wind, and batteries, as governments turn away from coal and large hydropower in favour of cheaper and faster electricity. Of the 322 energy projects announced across the continent last year, 173 were solar projects, followed by hydropower at 46, wind at 34, gas at 22, and hybrid energy projects at 14, according to Electron Intelligence. Greater emphasis is now placed on deploying systems faster and expanding them gradually with flexible financing, and solar in minigrid systems is a rising trend. Africa added a record 11.3 GW of renewables last year - triple that of 2024, with South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia accounting for much of the growth, according to the IEA. Increasingly affordable technology is helping, and much of the growing is through distributed solar and battery systems installed directly in mines, factories, telecom towers, and homes. Investors also increasingly favour renewable projects due to the faster returns and lower exposure to fossil fuel shocks, while policy changes are accelerating the momentum. But big obstacles remains, such as African utilities' frequent financial trouble, leading lenders to be wary of long-term PPAs, and higher financing costs due to perceived country risk. (ABC News)

Ireland is still falling short of its legally binding goal to halve emissions by 2030, and needs to implement a wide range of policies to hit a projected reduction of 25%, the country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Wednesday.

A Dutch carbon market standard setter has approved a new methodology for generating voluntary credits from crop residues transformed into long-lived biobased construction materials, in a move aimed at supporting circular building supply chains and scaling carbon storage in the built environment.

German chemicals giant BASF plans to buy back €12 billion of its own shares between 2025 and 2028, even as it complains about EU carbon compliance costs, according to a new paper warning against significantly weakening the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS).

African alliance - African leaders called for greater investment in energy, infrastructure, and climate finance, with Gabon's carbon framework also mentioned, during a presidential dialogue on Tuesday, at the start of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB). The discussion featured the presidents of Gabon, Central African Republic, and Republic of Congo, as well as President of the AFDB. President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon said how his country sought to turn its environmental assets into economic growth through biodiversity finance, ecotourism, and by monetising forest conservation using its national carbon credit framework as well as an agency to market environmental credits internationally. He also called for greater global compensation for Congo Basin countries that preserve global forest ecosystems, while Congo’s President Nguesso stressed the importance of diversifying economies beyond hydrocarbons, said the AFDB press release.

Zimbabwe's dispute over the eligibility of its carbon credits for aviation offsetting scheme CORSIA highlights the persistent political uncertainties around Sub-Saharan Africa's race to enter international carbon markets – while scientific studies warn that carbon investments could be key to saving the continent's vital forest sinks.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has committed $9.8 million to a UN-led nature-based climate resiliency initiative in Ethiopia, it announced this week.

A green shareholder activist group has claimed the firing of BP’s chairman on Tuesday is fixing a symptom, rather than the cause of the company’s broken governance, in a world where oil and gas profits may be squeezed in the future.

Market-based carbon and biodiversity mechanisms are one option that could help overcome key financial barriers to expanding primary forest protection in the EU, according to a study.

Short planning horizons among EU ETS participants and industrial investors, alongside limits on allowance banking and policy risk, could weaken carbon price signals, delay low-carbon investment, and push steelmakers towards less efficient transition technologies, a recent study has found.

Gold Standard has opened a consultation on updates to a methodology that credits activities that tackle methane emissions during organic waste disposal, which will align with requirements set out under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Wind shield – The chief executive of wind turbine maker Nordex has urged Brussels to restrict access to “non-western” manufacturers from the EU market, warning that Chinese technology threatens the bloc’s security and industrial base. Jose Luis Blanco said proposed EU rules that restrict “high-risk” suppliers and tie public support to EU-made equipment do not go far enough, and should apply to all new wind capacity connecting to European grids. He called for “non-western” manufacturers to be classed as high risk under cyber security rules. In response, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU warned that a “discriminatory approach” would undermine fair competition. (Financial Times)

Only a third of EU ETS stakeholders are explicitly in favour of allowing the use of international carbon credits in the cap-and-trade market, whereas a strong majority backs the bloc's use of credits outside the scheme, data from the European Commission's call for evidence reveals.