Malaysian CCS potential – Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg has called on the Malaysian federal government to establish a regulatory framework for the transportation of carbon dioxide into country, as the number of requests from foreign firms to store carbon off the coast of the state increases. Openg pointed to requests from Japanese and Singaporean companies wishing to utilise Sarawak’s depleted offshore gas fields as storage facilities. The Malaysian state already has its own CCS legislation, but since cross-border transportation falls under federal jurisdiction, coordination with the federal government is necessary.

In limbo – An amendment to New Zealand’s Climate Change Response Act (CCRA) tabled on Wednesday is unlikely to pass parliament before the Nov. 7 election, climate minister Simon Watts told RNZ. He told the outlet that he wanted the bill – which would add non-forestry removals to the NZ ETS, tweak industrial allocation settings, and require local councils to establish climate adaptation plans – to go through a full select committee process. However, there is not enough time to clear this ahead of the vote, with parliament rising on Sep. 24 ahead of its dissolution on Oct. 1, he said.

New Zealand business groups are urging the government to take what they describe as a balanced approach to its proposed ETS price controls and settings, while others have argued the proposals are shortsighted and not fit for purpose.

When gas is cheap – Gas power emissions rose in Canada, and the sector is poised to surge as Ottawa and other fossil fuel-focused provinces are rolling back emissions controls, according to the National Observer. The analysis showed British Columbia and Alberta are increasing their extraction of natural gas, despite the availability of renewable energy, as gas remains cheap in Western Canada. The outlet reported that the increase in CO2 emissions from increased gas activities is reducing the gains in GHG reductions from the country’s efforts to phase out coal power.

US manufacturing boost – The Clean Investment Monitor reported a 4% increase in US clean technology manufacturing investment QoQ in its Q2 report, reaching $8 bln. This follows six quarters of consecutive declines, and investment remains nearly 24% below YoY levels. The EV supply chain continues to dominate manufacturing investments in the sector at 88%. However, solar manufacturing projects in the US helped rocket up quarterly new project announcements to $10 bln from $2 bln in Q1.

Electrifying - ASX-listed Janus Electric has received around A$45 mln ($31.5 mln) in signed US fleet orders, more than quadrupling its order book in the country, it announced. The company, which converts heavy diesel trucks to electric using its proprietary modular battery swap and conversion platform, has signed orders with Golden State Express, WEHACO, Tradelink, and King Fio for a combined 67 diesel-to-electric truck conversions, 77 swappable battery packs, and four charging stations. Janus said California government incentives remain a key commercial catalyst, noting HVIP vouchers and Port of Los Angeles 'Plus' Grant reduce the net cost of a Janus conversion to near zero for qualifying operators. It follows the company securing further orders in the US earlier this week.

Paper park - The Australian subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries has launched a softwood tree plantation and carbon credit generation project in the Green Triangle region of Victoria, it announced. The company said after operating a hardwood tree plantation business, it had decided to switch to softwood species for reforestation now that its existing plantations have reached maturity. It will gradually convert existing hardwood tree plantations into softwood, and by 2028 will establish around 1,500 ha of softwood plantations to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). Nippon said it will explore expanding to 10,000 ha as part of Phase 2 of the project. The company has already registered the carbon project (ERF208261) with the Clean Energy Regulator, and expects credits to be generated from 2027.

A US power producer and a Japanese industrial group said Wednesday they would work to cut the cost of integrated gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by half.