Senate saves - Massachusetts Senate Democrats rejected a House-backed proposal to cut $1 bln from Mass Save, the state’s utility-funded energy efficiency programme, as part of a broader energy affordability debate, E&E News reported. Senators instead advanced legislation they said could save about $14 bln over a decade through utility reforms while largely preserving the state’s renewable electricity and efficiency programmes, following earlier versions of the bill that had considered weakening emissions targets and other climate policies.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) futures hovered around $44 through the US and Canada holidays, as traders said that market activity remained muted through hot temperatures in the US Northeast.

Nickel nixing borders - Mining company Canada Nickel will partner with carbon trading firm RWE Supply and Trading GmbH (RWEST) to support the commercialisation of low-carbon stainless and alloy steel products from its subsidiary, Net Zero Metals. The subsidiary uses feeds from Canada Nickel's Crawford Nickel Project. RWEST brings European and US market access for Canada Nickel, as well as CBAM expertise and carbon trading capabilities, the company said. The agreement would focus on semi-finished steel, alloys, and stainless products with long-term offtakes, help position Canada Nickel ahead of accelerating EU compliance costs.

Public guidelines - Peru’s environment ministry unveiled a draft sectoral guidance document designed to help public agencies identify and assess projects with the strongest potential to participate in carbon markets. The proposal applies a common set of eight prioritisation criteria, including emissions reduction potential, alignment with national climate targets, sustainable development benefits, and cost-effectiveness, aiming to standardise project evaluation across government entities. The final document will be made publicly available later this month.

Emitters reduced their California Carbon Allowance (CCA) net length, while producers and managed money alike narrowed their respective net shorts for RGGI Allowances (RGAs) and Washington Carbon Allowances (WCA), according to the latest US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data.

Climate litigation this month focused heavily on the rules and approvals that shape fossil fuel growth, as claimants challenged gas projects, clean air waivers, liability shields, carbon offsetting, and corporate transition claims, and new research found a persistent accountability gap for the companies most closely tied to historical emissions.

Europe should resist calls to weaken its carbon market because the main barriers to industrial decarbonisation are slow electrification and weak investment signals rather than climate policy, according to a report published on Tuesday.

IETA has urged the European Commission to pursue a broad overhaul of the EU Emissions Trading System after 2030, arguing the bloc should integrate carbon removals, prepare to use international credits from 2031, reform the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), and prioritise linking the scheme with the UK carbon market.

The Brazilian government has completed the text of a draft resolution setting out the procedures for Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, Carbon Pulse has learned.

The European Parliament's environment committee endorsed on Monday a provisional agreement to strengthen the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) for the EU's new emissions trading system covering buildings and road transport (ETS2), paving the way for final approval in plenary.

Lawmakers in the European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) voted to extend the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to more than 400 product codes on Monday, as well as for tougher anti-circumvention measures.

Lawmakers in the European Parliament's environment committee (ENVI) voted on Monday to extend carbon leakage financial support to downstream sectors, cement, cereals, and more fertilisers, while they limited support to the exported share of production.

The deadline has passed for countries hosting Kyoto-era Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects to approve transition to the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), with just one-quarter of eligible activities making the cut – and Latin America leading the charge.

Green shoots - Green Earth Group has published its Q2 2026 trading update, reporting  progress in its shift from project development to commercial delivery. During the first half of 2026, the company increased its sales order book to €41.5 mln, including €4.1 mln in prepaid contracted sales, which it said reflects growing commercial traction as it scales project execution.

European carbon prices broke out of their recent range and raced to a seven-day high as a burst of aggressive buying in the afternoon clawed back the morning's losses and drove the market to a key technical resistance level.

Benchmark ICE CORSIA futures bounced back towards $10/t last week, climbing from two-year lows, as the European Commission's assessment of the international aviation offsetting scheme that will affect the participation of EU carriers inches closer.

Cookstoves for Nigeria - Developer Greenplinth Africa reiterated its promise to roll out 80 mln cookstoves in the country, it said during a two-day project implementation and stakeholder engagement meeting in late June. This will be complemented with an initiative to plant 4 bln trees in Nigeria, it said, according to the news outlet Business Day. Greenplinth last year launched a smaller proof of concept cookstove project with Gold Standard financed solely from PACM credits, while waiting for an approved methodology from the UNFCCC, its COO told Carbon Pulse in November.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is warning against fragmenting carbon regulation for the global aviation industry ahead of the EU assessment of CORSIA due for publication this month.

World Cup offsets - Brazil’s men’s national football team is set to offset its residual World Cup emissions with carbon credits supplied by state-owned bank Caixa, under a partnership between the Brazilian Football Confederation and the von Bohlen Halbach Climate Institute, Brazilian news outlet Terra reported. The credits are linked to emissions reductions from the Rio Waste Treatment Plant in Seropedica, Rio de Janeiro, a project managed by Regenera Rio under Caixa’s UN-registered activities programme for solid waste and carbon capture.

Tribal forest RFP – The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI) has opened a request for proposals for the second phase of an improved forest management carbon credit project on Tribal forestlands in Oregon, with responses due July 22. The selected contractor will assess feasibility, design the project and inventory, estimate carbon stocks and credit yields, and begin initial project development to prepare for potential carbon market transactions under Washington’s Cap-and-Invest Program. The work will cover seven parcels totalling around 14,742 acres across Lincoln, Lane, Douglas, Coos, and Curry counties, while incorporating Tribal management priorities and protections for sovereignty and cultural resources.

The government of Peru's recently announced pledge to improve Indigenous land recognition will only help people secure their territories in the Peruvian Amazon if this high-level statement drives official, long-lasting land demarcation, an Indigenous Kichwa leader told Carbon Pulse.

The UK risks locking in higher emissions unless it develops a national cooling strategy that limits demand for air conditioning, a London-based non-profit warned on Monday.

Blue carbon ambition – Trinidad and Tobago intends to explore blue carbon crediting according to a status report on its progress on implementing the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework ahead of the UN’s upcoming biodiversity talks in Yerevan this October. The Caribbean country said it will look into establishing a blue carbon credit system in a bid to move away from project-dependent funding for conservation and restoration. The island nation would like revenue earned from blue carbon crediting to provide permanent nature financing, according to its 7th National Report submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity on Sunday.

CO2 emissions from ships covered by the EU's monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system rose modestly in 2025 year-on-year, according to preliminary data, but the share falling within the scope of the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) edged lower compared to 2024 levels.

Ghana needs to treat carbon markets as a tool for national development, and position itself as a regional hub for credible carbon credits that attract credible international investment, technology, and partnerships, parliamentarians said during a debate on the country's carbon market framework.

The World Bank has announced a $265-million financing package to support a major hydropower infrastructure project in Morocco, just days after retiring its climate finance targets amid US pressure.

Divergent views - Talks between the UK and EU about linking their respective emissions trading systems are exposing differences over issues such as free permits and the UK emissions cap. A particular sticking point is the UK request for exemptions from EU rules governing free carbon permits, with the EU arguing that such an exemption would undermine the principle of a level playing field for its own industrials. Also yet to be decided, are details on the decision-making process and how the UK emissions cap will be calculated. The EU wants the level and rate of the British cap made integral to the linking agreement. (Bloomberg)

New electric vehicle car sales in the UK surged in June to take 30% of the market, but still fell short of the government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, data showed Monday.

Upcoming court cases are challenging the Australian environment minister’s decision to approve the North West Shelf (NWS) gas facility’s exporting licence, and will argue he failed to consider the impacts of its emissions on native wildlife, among other issues.

Fresh connection – The Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust), which links and aggregates carbon credit data from registries worldwide, has added Node-as-a-Service, the cloud-based infrastructure model that allows developers and businesses to connect to and interact with blockchains without having to build or maintain their own hardware as a default connection, it announced on social media. The Node-as-a-Service will be the default connection model as the CAD Trust transitions to Data Model v2.0. The CAD Trust was founded by the World Bank, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), and the Government of Singapore.

The developer of a new nuclear power plant in southern England aims to keep construction emissions below 2.1 million tonnes of CO2e through a number of low-carbon measures, which is 0.9 MtCO2e lower than previous lifecycle assessment estimates for the plant.

Funding circularity - Infra Impact Investment Managers has acquired a minority stake in South Africa's Cape Town Biogas, purchasing the interest from existing investor Metier Sustainable Capital Fund II, which will remain the controlling shareholder. The company operates an organic waste processing plant in Cape Town that uses anaerobic digestion to convert around 250 tonnes of organic waste daily into compressed biomethane, renewable beverage-grade CO2, and agricultural by-products. The purchase was made through Infra's Mid-Market Infrastructure Fund 1, said the statement on LinkedIn.

Italy appears to be moving away from its controversial proposal to reimburse carbon costs, with a new consultation on plans to instead introduce a temporary gas price cap mechanism that analysts say is more likely to win regulatory approval but would have a much smaller impact on electricity prices.

Singapore and Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding on carbon credits, agreeing to identify projects and work towards an implementation agreement under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The European Commission on Monday published the second quarterly reference price for certificates accepted under the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

Carbon credit co‑labels have emerged as a “trust currency” in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), with market participants noting that they are shaping pricing tiers, buyer behaviour, and project design standards.

A strengthening El Nino could add 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to India’s emissions just over the next year as extreme heat drives up demand for electricity and weaker wind and rainfall curb renewable power generation, according to an analysis.

The EU’s flagship Emissions Trading System (ETS) risks scaring off long-term investment unless policymakers curb regulatory “noise” and set out a clearer plan for how subsidies and the carbon price will work together to drive decarbonisation, said Italy’s largest power company.

A German direct air capture (DAC) startup has launched the country’s largest DAC plant, with capacity to remove 150 tonnes of CO2 a year, it announced last week.

As the European Commission prepares to unveil its proposed revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on July 17, Carbon Pulse walks you through the main issues at stake in the reform – what is already on the table, and the key decisions still to come.

Demand for durable carbon removals (CDR) could outstrip annual supply more than five times by 2036, opening a roughly 50 million tonne shortfall as corporate needs struggle to be met by a market that has issued just 2 mln units to date, according to a new report.

EU ETS revenues siphoned off - Germany's finance ministry wants to divert half the country's EU ETS revenues to its general budget, and away from a dedicated climate fund, reported news site Euractiv on Monday. “Starting in 2027, a portion of the [EU] ETS1 revenues will be incorporated into the federal budget,” it said, citing a 1600-page draft text that will be decided on Monday. Germany earned €5.4 bln from the EU ETS in 2025 and the finance ministry wants to direct half of that into the general budget, Euractiv reported. How much would be redirected in future years remains unclear; the document suggests an "annual amount", it added. Normally, Germany's carbon trading revenues - €21 bln from a national ETS (nEHS) and the EU ETS combined - are ringfenced for the country's Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF). (Euractiv)

India consults on fuel norms - India’s Ministry of Power invited stakeholder comments on draft amendments to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Cycle II notification, according to a LinkedIn post by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). The draft proposed changes to passenger vehicle fuel efficiency standards and seeks industry and civil society feedback. The amendments are aimed at providing regulatory clarity, establishing a transparent compliance mechanism, incentivising superior performance through a credit‑based framework, and reducing compliance uncertainties while preserving CAFE objectives.

Mongolia’s parliament has passed the country's inaugural law on climate change, creating a legal framework to curb emissions, build climate resilience, and advance the carbon market.

Indonesia’s flagship project on avoided deforestation re‑entered the global carbon market with the verification of 20 million credits, one of the project managers said.

Bangladesh's carbon drive - Bangladesh Prime Minister Tareque Rahman ordered officials to craft a national plan to cut emissions and boost carbon credit prospects, aiming to position the country in the global market, according to regional broadcaster RTV News. At a climate meeting in Dhaka, Rahman pressed for scaling renewables, deploying clean industrial technologies, improving efficiency, conserving forests, and expanding tree‑planting to raise carbon absorption. He also urged for realistic strategies to capture emerging opportunities in international carbon trading.

Fresh capital - PyroSA, a waste-to-value carbon removal infrastructure platform operating in Southern Africa, has secured its first catalytic grant for an undisclosed amount from venture capital firm Kinjani. The company said the funding will enable the engineering, permitting, and lifecycle work ahead of construction, strengthen its commercial and offtake partnerships across agriculture, mine rehabilitation, cement and durable carbon removal.

The road ahead - Verde Resources has signed a 10-year commercialisation agreement with Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, the largest supplier of asphalt and pavement preservation products in the US, to integrate biochar into road paving. They plan to launch test projects utilising Ergon’s cold paving applications that incorporate Verde’s engineered biochar technology. The companies said their partnership is also expected to generate carbon credits, without disclosing more details.

Dual approval – Murilo Granemann, the leader of the Manoa REDD+ Project in the Brazilian Amazon said in a LinkedIn post Friday that the initiative had become the first in Latin America to be verified under both Verra's Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards and the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta). He added the project (VCS1571), has also achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for forest management.

ETS on the way – Brazil’s Ministry of Finance (MF) met with representatives of the country’s power sector this week to discuss the harmonisation of rules for implementing the Brazilian emissions trading system (SBCE). Representatives from the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the National Electric Energy Agency also participated in the meeting. According to the MF, the meeting marked the 10th workshop held with sector representatives to discuss issues related to monitoring, reporting, and verification, as well as regulatory uncertainty surrounding the system’s implementation. The Ministry also launched a guide to environmental assets, aimed at outlining the main characteristics of different asset classes, including carbon credits.

Forest carbon momenutm - Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry has launched a Forestry Carbon Hub (IFCH), intended to bring together actors from across the forest carbon ecosystem, local media reported on Monday. Edo Mahendra, principal advisor to the Minister of Forestry, told local media that the establishment of the hub signals the government’s commitment to building a ecosystem that is “credible, transparent, and capable of generating both environmental and economic benefits.” On Thursday this week, Indonesia will launch its national carbon registry, the Carbon Unit Registry System (SRUK), and is also expected to launch an international sale of more than 30 mln forestry carbon credits.