Front lines - Residents of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, are relieved that the CO2 pipeline and storage project by chemicals company Air Products has been cancelled, local news Verite reported on Wednesday. Parents that were interviewed expressed concern about the health impacts of a CO2 pipeline leak, particularly on children. Many embarked on a pressure campaign on Air Products’ business partners, though leaders in parish government expressed disappointment that the project will no longer go through.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) futures edged slightly higher over the last week but remained in recent ranges as the market continued to be quiet, traders said.

RGGI Allowances (RGAs) pulled back on Thursday from a mid-week spike to the upper $40s as the power price surge that drove the rise reversed course, with RGA futures returning to previous levels in the $45 range.

Projects for more than 20 GW of new capacity from solar, wind, and battery storage have been cancelled during the second Trump administration, according to an economic analysis released by a US-based nonpartisan business group on Thursday.

Microsoft's greenhouse gas output rose 25% in fiscal year 2025 as the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure drove higher emissions across its value chain, but the technology giant reiterated its commitment to become carbon negative by 2030 through a combination of operational decarbonisation and one of the world's largest CO2 removal (CDR) procurement programmes.

Perusing public dollars - The national development banks (NDBs) of G20 nations average roughly $36 bln annually in clean energy finance, larger than the international public finance from those nations and the multilateral development banks combined at $29 bln, according to analysis published Thursday by Oil Change International of 2016-2024 data. The advocacy organisation said that NDBs could provide an additional $28 bln for the just energy transition annually, if all NDB fossil fuel and other energy finance was shifted to support the buildout of affordable renewable energy systems. The organisation based its analysis in data from the Public Finance for Energy Database.

Plug-in solar stride - New Hampshire has become the latest state to approve a law establishing guidelines for plug-in solar devices, reported the New Hampshire Bulletin. Governor Kelly Ayotte (R) signed the bill (SB 540) last week, which caps the technology at one unit per metred customer, with a maximum power output for each device of 1,200 watts. It also requires balcony solar installed in the state to comply with safety standards set by a national testing laboratory, while the New Hampshire Department of Energy is tasked with communicating rules and requirements for balcony solar to the public. Three other New England states, namely Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut, have also approved regulations for plug-in solar, while nearby Massachusetts and Rhode Island are also considering similar measures.

UK-US tensions - The UK's plan to tackle illegal deforestation and align its policy on the issue with that of the EU is causing tensions with the US, E&E News reported. The UK plan would require British businesses trading in certain commodities, including beef, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood, to show their products are not linked to illegal deforestation, similar to the EU's anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR) set to go into effect towards the end of 2026. The Trump administration has been a vocal critic of the EUDR.

Canada’s sustainable finance taxonomy would include a separate category for select oil and gas emissions-reduction investments, setting up a later fight over guardrails for fossil fuel-related projects seeking climate-aligned finance, according to a draft published this week.

Revenue recycling mechanisms such as direct household rebates, tax cuts, and visible environmental investments are the most effective way to increase public support for carbon pricing policies, according to a systematic review published this week by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), which also found that how carbon prices are communicated can significantly influence public acceptance.

Voluntary carbon certification body Gold Standard has published two new methodologies on Thursday as it continues to align its crediting programme with the principles of the Paris Agreement.

A Canadian carbon offset provider is stepping into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) by opening a registry account in Spain, as part of the company's growth into Europe, it announced on Thursday.

A US carbon capture technology developer and a Danish thermal systems engineering company have agreed to standardise molten salt tank systems, aiming to make carbon capture projects more modular and easier to deploy for heavy industry.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced $900 million in new commitments to expand clean cooking in Africa, unveiled alongside its Clean Cooking in Africa 2026 report.

A new digital carbon registry has launched, aiming to bring building decarbonisation projects into carbon markets.

Europe dominates worldwide sustainability performance due to its progress on energy transition and other areas, but still few countries are on track to meet the global goal of achieving net zero by 2050, according to an index published Thursday.

JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker that is under threat of legal action by an environmental group, is stepping back from a 2040 net zero emissions goal.

Adding "co-benefit premiums" to carbon markets to reward nature-based climate projects that deliver measurable adaptation, biodiversity, and social benefits alongside carbon sequestration, could redirect investment towards higher-impact projects that are currently overlooked.

Build green - California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 1350 into law on Monday, expanding the use of green hydrogen. The bill takes effect immediately after sailing through the state Senate and Assembly with near-unanimous approval. Green hydrogen will be accepted as a transition fuel for natural gas power plants in the state, to help California achieve its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), a 100% renewable energy by 2045 goal. SB 1350 explicitly allows natural gas plants using green hydrogen to qualify as clean energy sources for RPS credit. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power already plans to retrofit several of its natural gas plants to run off renewable hydrogen fuel by 2045, according to CalMatters. The bill was supported by the Green Hydrogen Coalition and the State Building and Construction Trades Council. (Fuel Cell Works)

A group of German researchers has proposed a new framework for classifying carbon offset projects based on the underlying mechanisms by which they reduce or remove greenhouse gases, arguing that existing taxonomies obscure important differences in project quality and accounting approaches while lumping together fundamentally different activities.

Colombia’s incoming environment minister has pledged to revive the country’s carbon market by reversing key policies introduced under the outgoing administration, including a cap on the use of carbon credits to offset the national carbon tax and controversial draft regulations governing carbon projects.

Wealthy countries inflated the 'true value' of climate finance they provided to low- and middle-income countries in 2024 by about $100 billion, with some 65% of the total delivered as loans, many on market terms, according to a non-profit.