Renewables were the fastest growing energy source in 2025, but global energy emissions still ticked up 1.1%, driven by an expansion of fossil fuel use in the US, found a report.

The Carbon to Value Initiative (C2V Initiative) has opened applications for the sixth cohort of its ‘carbontech’ accelerator, seeking startups developing carbon capture, utilisation, and removal technologies as well as AI-enabled tools designed to accelerate commercial deployment.

Taiwan is targeting the launch of a pilot cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme as early as 2028, but key policy aspects like the role of power plants in the scheme remain under discussion, a forum heard Tuesday.

The World Bank said it will scrap two headline climate financing targets, including its goal for 45% of financing to deliver climate benefits, as it shifts its focus from how much the bank spends on climate-related projects.

The Philippines is edging closer to establishing legislature for a carbon pricing framework and itst architecture, but a new report has raised issues including the risks of interacting with international markets and unusually broad sectoral coverage and generous tax incentives.

Atomic push - South Korea will explore ways to shorten nuclear power plant construction times as it seeks to expand electricity supply to support rising demand from artificial intelligence, the presidential office said, according to Bloomberg. The government plans to include the measures in its upcoming long-term electricity supply and demand plan. Nuclear power currently generates about one-third of South Korea's electricity, but Seoul expects additional capacity will be needed to support planned investments in semiconductor manufacturing and data centres.

No end date - Japan and Mongolia have issued carbon credits to four solar power projects under their bilateral Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), covering emissions reductions generated between 2021-25, according to a meeting report published on Tuesday. The credits, split between the two countries, total more than 214,000 tCO2e across the projects. The two governments also signed authorisation letters allowing the transferred credits to be used as internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under the Paris Agreement. Separately, the joint committee agreed to amend the bilateral JCM agreement to remove its end date.

Nuclear pact - Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) and Indonesia's nuclear regulator BAPETEN have signed an MoU to deepen cooperation on radiation protection, nuclear safety, security, and safeguards, the agencies said on Tuesday. The agreement covers collaboration on nuclear regulatory policy, emergency preparedness, environmental radiation monitoring, joint training, research, and personnel exchanges. The move comes as Singapore studies the potential role of nuclear energy in its future energy mix and aims to strengthen regional cooperation on nuclear safety through ASEAN platforms.

Countries have reaffirmed the importance of scaling up energy efficiency in a new action plan signed in Montreal this week at a conference hosted by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which includes reference to enhancing efficiency in data centres.

Miner BHP has argued attention should focus on cutting emissions from traditional blast furnaces, through carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) and other technologies, due to the technique’s dominance in global steelmaking supply chains.

China-Australia Synergy - Fortescue is collaborating with a roster of Chinese clean tech companies on mining decarbonisation initiatives, China Daily reported Monday. At the Iron Ore and Open Pit Operators Conference 2026 in Perth last week, Fortescue’s Director of Integrated Operations Katie Charuga said that Chinese partners have already helped the miner deploy electric excavators, electric drills, and battery energy storage systems. The technological demands of green steel on the iron ore value chain have created new opportunities for cross-border collaboration, with Chinese firms like LONGi Magnet Co supplying magnetic separation equipment and Shanghai Kminda Tech Co promoting ultra-fine screening machines to help Australian companies improve ore quality and resource utilisation.

Virtually solar-powered – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a financing package worth $57.4 mln for a rooftop solar aggregation and virtual net metering project in Sri Lanka, including $5.5 mln from Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism fund. The balance of the cash comprises a concessional loan of $35 mln and an EU grant of $16.9 mln. Combined with counterpart financing, the total project cost is estimated at $80.5 mln, ADB said. The project is to support two of the island nation’s state-owned utilities to establish a scalable model which pools solar power from large rooftop systems and then virtually distribute credits to eligible consumers. It is aiming to help lower power bills for community organisations as well as micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, which may not be able to install rooftop solar due to a lack of space. Sri Lanka and Japan signed an agreement to cooperate on the JCM in Oct. 2022.

Energy deal closed- Sydney-based asset manager HMC Capital and investment firm KKR closed the A$603 mln ($414 mln) Illuma deal after ACCC and FIRB clearance, with A$355 mln upfront and up to A$248 mln for Illuma’s first battery storage project. The completion came a day after HMC said the approvals were secured and financial close was expected.

Gassed up – A survey for industry body GasNZ has found that just over half of respondents supported importing LNG to New Zealand, and 75% were in favour of biomethane phasing out natural gas. The figure supporting imports rose to two-thirds when it was seen to be ensuring energy security and affordability, GasNZ said. Meanwhile, only 7% opposed replacing gas with biomethane, while 18% of the 1,022 respondents were unsure. GasNZ has proposed an action plan to ramp up the low-carbon fuel, which could see it replacing half of reticulated gas by 2050. The survey comes amid the government’s controversial plans to contract to build an LNG import terminal, claiming this would act as an insurance policy for New Zealand’s dry year risk, yet which many have argued would inflate energy bills and experts warned was in breach of the country's free trade agreements.

Accounting standardisation – The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment has updated its enterprise carbon accounting and reporting guidelines for power generation facilities, it announced Monday. Key updates included the standardisation of the carbon oxidation rate used per facility type as per the national emission factor database, the exclusion of indirect emissions from purchased and used grid electricity, and a new requirement for facilities to report on-site energy conservation and carbon reduction measures. Power generation facilities are expected to apply the updated guidelines starting this year.

The Malaysia Forest Fund (MFF), a federal government agency, has called for partners to pilot two new methodologies under its Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) Programme, with a focus on urban forestry and agroforestry, it announced. 

Borneo states claim carbon - Sabah NGO Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation has urged Sabah and Sarawak to retain full ownership of revenue from carbon resources, rejecting revenue‑sharing models, the Borneo Post reported. NGO Chairman Daniel John Jambun said that the land and nat­ural resources belong to the respect­ive state gov­ern­ments and rev­enue gen­er­ated from car­bon resources should accrue to the states. He added that the proposal marked an important recognition of the forests’ global environmental value.

Research development – New Zealand is allocating an additional NZ$40.7 mln ($23 mln) to help university researchers commercialise their output, the Beehive announced Tuesday. Universities will be required to co-invest in research supported by the enhanced Commercialisation Partner Network programme. The cash boost will help things such as low-emissions agtech solutions get to market sooner. It comes a few weeks after the government launched an accelerator to scale agricultural emissions reductions.  Agriculture accounts for around half of New Zealand’s GHG emissions profile, and the country has a target to cut its biogenic methane emissions by 10% by 2030 – which it said in January would be missed – and a new target of 14-24% by 2050, compared with 2017 levels.

Leadership shuffle – Engie's Southeast Asia arm is undergoing a leadership transition, as Varun Gujral concludes his tenure after 14 years as both country manager and CEO of the French energy major’s supply & energy management business in the region, the company announced Tuesday. Jacques Boonen will assume the role of country manager, while Jules Dufournier will become managing director of the supply & energy management business, effective July 1. Engie has more than 2,000 employees across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Analysis of 14 Pacific Island Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) found that a lag in climate finance flows to the region threatens their implementation.

Singapore and Indonesia are closing in on finalising an implementation agreement under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, local media reported Tuesday.

An Australian venture capital fund announced Tuesday it had successfully raised A$28 mln ($19.2 mln) on behalf of an aerospace company looking to scale its drag-reducing adhesive film that improves flight efficiency.

Pay up – The council for the Tasmanian capital of Hobart has passed a motion calling for the national government to create a National Climate Compensation Fund, which would apply a levy on major fossil fuel companies. Specifically, the motion – passed at the council’s meeting on Monday – calls on the city’s Lord Mayor to write to the government to ask for the fund to be established as well as for a federal inquiry into the adequacy of the country’s 2025 National Adaptation Plan. (Climate Media Centre)