Seeking recommendations – The Washington Department of Ecology extended its deadline for comments on no-cost allocation for electric utilities through Aug. 15. Ecology will accept comments on broader recommendations for no-cost allowances under its cap-and-trade system until Sep. 3. As part of that wider proceeding, the department held a public hearing on Wednesday regarding no-cost allowances for emissions-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) industries in the state. State staff are seeking broad comments to implement into a report to the Washington legislature regarding recommendations for extending the allowances from 2035-50.

Offshore CCS – Northern Endurance Partnership, the infrastructure developer working on a CCS system on the east coast of northern England, tapped manufacturer Halliburton on Tuesday to provide completions and downhole monitoring services for the North Sea project. The project, a joint venture between oil and energy majors, will transport CO2 emissions from regional industrial centres via a 145-km offshore pipeline for subsea injection below the seabed. The project will initially store up to 4 MtCO2 per year.

Unlocking cheap DAC – California-based carbon neutral fuels producer Prometheus announced on Wednesday that it has achieved direct air capture for less than $50/tCO2 through the system sited at its headquarters in Santa Cruz. The reduction in cost – 80% lower compared to industry prices – is due to its patented system that captures CO2 from ambient air and converts it into fuel, avoiding traditional purification, compression, absorption, and desorption steps. The DAC system, scheduled for completion this year, has been independently validated for costs and fuel economics by engineering firm Ramboll.

Fresh start - The new CEO of CO2 pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions sent letters to Iowa landowners along its pipeline project route earlier this week, noting that the company would be announcing several updates that would open new markets and create greater opportunities for the region, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Wednesday. Landowners who had not signed an easement agreement should expect a revised proposal in coming weeks that would reflect the company’s commitment to offering terms that better support landowners and their long-term interests. The company’s project has been at the heart of public scrutiny surrounding CO2 transport in the US for several years.

Green has got to go - BP Ventures, the investment arm of the namesake oil major, has cut back its US workforce and sold select green investments in order to free up cash and prioritise fossil fuel production technologies, Axios reported Tuesday. Separately, BP on Tuesday also launched a cost-cutting review, months after it quietly retreated away from clean energy investments.

Solar power first – Renewable energy developer Africa REN has commissioned West Africa’s first solar power plus battery storage project, it announced in an emailed press release on Wednesday. Situated in Bokhol, Senegal, the €40-mln Walo Storage facility has 16 MW of nameplate solar capacity plus 10 MW/20 MWh of storage capacity. Africa REN said the development, which began construction in 2024, will avoid 26,600 tCO2 annually and is a technological breakthrough for Senegal. CEO Gilles Parmentier added that it is a milestone in the firm’s ambitions to build €500-mln worth of sustainable assets by 2030. The company focuses on the development, financing, build, and operation of sustainable infrastructure across Sub-Saharan Africa.

No magic here - Merlin K. Thompson, the CEO and owner of an electric vehicle company, has been sentenced to two years in Oregon state prison after pleading guilty to racketeering, tax evasion, and theft for defrauding the state’s Clean Fuels Program of $1.8 mln. Between 2022 and 2023, Thompson falsely claimed to be operating three EV chargers in Sheridan, enabling him to receive and resell carbon credits from the state's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). In reality, the chargers were never used. A court ordered him to repay the full amount at $50 a month due to his indigent status. Following the fraud, the DEQ has tightened oversight of credit applicants and capped quarterly credit allowances per charger. (Oregon Live)

The voluntary carbon market is shifting toward higher integrity through the adoption of the Core Carbon Principles, but project developers - especially in nature-based solutions - face challenges in aligning with these standards and call for clearer guidance, greater feasibility, and stronger collaboration to scale adoption.

A Canadian-headquartered timber company has been severely hit by a lack of carbon credit sales in the first half of this year, a sharp contrast to the C$24.6 mln in offset revenue recognised in H1 2024.

The state of New Jersey began accepting applications this week for a second round of grants totalling $30 million for nature-based climate solutions.

European carbon prices are expected to remain around current levels over the coming weeks before rising to average €82 in Q2 next year as looming supply constraints fuel bullish sentiment, according to a European investment bank.

Costa Rica’s net forest emissions baseline figure under the UNFCCC REDD+ framework has come in at 76,938 tonnes CO2, suggesting its forests were net emitters – not a significant carbon sink, as per the country’s original calculations – according to a UN report published Wednesday.

Brazil’s Ministry of Environment published on Tuesday a resolution that puts REDD+ credits one step closer to being able to become part of the national emissions trading system (Portuguese: SBCE), and of concessions of public lands for carbon credit projects.

Term sheet - Fuel-grade hydrogen developer HydrogenXT announced on Tuesday a funding agreement worth $900 mln with investment firm Kell Kapital Partners and its institutional investors. The term sheet, which includes combined debt and equity financing, would support the construction of 10 production and dispensing facilities in the US, including California, Oregon, Washington, and North Dakota. The company aims to deploy 100 blue hydrogen plants across North America and more than 200 dispensing stations, with plans to scale internationally. The agreement is part of HydrogenXT’s goal to deploy at scale without the use of federal subsidies.

Clean green cement - Two startup low-carbon cement manufacturers both announced separate deals Tuesday that will help each company advance its low-carbon cement technology. The California-based manufacturer Brimstone inked a deal with Amazon in which the tech giant agreed to reserve annual volumes of Brimstone’s low-carbon Ordinary Portland Cement for use in Amazon buildings. Meanwhile, Massachusetts-based Sublime Systems secured a deal with the data centre builder STACK Infrastructure under which STACK will use Sublime’s electrochemically produced cement in its data centres.

Insurance for CDR deal - The New York insurance broker Marsh announced Wednesday that it has placed a carbon credit insurance policy for the CDR developer Chestnut Carbon. The developer, which specialises in forestry projects, recently signed an offtake agreement with Microsoft to deliver 7 mln afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) credits – a deal that is estimated to restore 60,000 acres (24,300 hectares) of land in the southern US. Chestnut’s insurance policy with Marsh helps protect Chestnut from the risk of non-delivery of the carbon removal credits as part of the Microsoft deal.

Cementing change - Graymont, a global supplier of calcium-based solutions, and Fortera, a US-based green cement manufacturer, have entered a strategic partnership to accelerate the large-scale deployment of Fortera’s low-carbon cement. The agreement combines Graymont’s existing lime production infrastructure and international supply network with Fortera’s carbon mineralisation technology, designed to cut emissions from cement production while maintaining performance standards for construction and industrial applications. The collaboration aims to expand global availability of low-carbon cement and support decarbonisation efforts in the building sector.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal court this week to throw out a lawsuit brought by youth plaintiffs challenging three executive orders (EOs) by President Donald Trump, alleging that they worsen climate change and threaten their constitutional rights.

Gold Standard has unveiled a new carbon crediting methodology to tackle methane emissions from cattle via wearable technologies that convert the high-polluting gas into those with lower global warming potential, such as CO2.

The Swedish Energy Agency has approved SEK 228 million (€20 mln) in grant funding to support a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility, it announced Wednesday.

European carbon allowances resumed their slow decline on Wednesday, despite an initial rally that echoed Tuesday's price action, as European trading were characterised by the same listless energy that saw all major markets end the day lower.

CDR expansion - US-based Terraset, a non-profit which pools tax-deductible donations to try and scale the carbon removal sector, has invested in 11 new companies, it said Wednesday. These include Carba, Carbon Run, Deep Sky, Eion, NY Carbon, Pryogen, Recoolit, Sinkco Labs, Terraton, Tradewater, and Undo. The additions have broadened Terraset’s portfolio to seven different CDR categories. Terraset has launched a new financing mechanism known as the Terraset Revolving Fund, which it originally announced in May. The revolving fund is designed to pre-purchase credits now, sell the credits upon delivery to corporate buyers, then use the proceeds to pre-purchase more credits, according to the non-profit. The mechanism creates a self-sustaining fund for carbon removals, the company says.

Google's AI research lab DeepMind has unveiled a new earth monitoring model that compresses huge amounts of data to create more accurate, comprehensive pictures of earth, which may help with carbon project monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).

Irish farmers against CBAM - Irish farmers and the Irish Climate Change Advisory Council are united in opposing the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, saying it will increase prices of fertilisers and therefore food production. The climate council said the government should consider price increases of urea, which will become more expensive as a result of the new CBAM tax in 2026. (Irish Examiner)

Greece state-owned power company PPC reported a 6% drop in lignite-fired electricity generation in the first six months of 2025, compared to last year.

Clever tactics - Uniper succeeded in receiving payouts in the three-digit millions amount following Gazprom's abruptly curtailed gas supplies as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The company, once the biggest German buyer of gas from Moscow, employed a clever legal tactic that allowed it to get favourable rulings on an accelerated timeline by filing emergency ruling requests. Uniper started to receive some money from Gazprom's debtors in late 2023, Bloomberg reported.

Better together - The Italian government wants to merge the German and Italian gas trading market. The proposal is part of the draft energy decree, which contains new regulations for the Italian electricity and gas markets. Within 90 days of the decree becoming law, the Italian regulatory authority Arera will submit a corresponding proposal for the complete integration of the two natural gas markets. As gas and carbon prices are strongly interlinked, this could have an impact on EU carbon allowance prices. (Energate)

The fast-moving remote sensing revolution in forest management should undergo an artificial intelligence (AI) transformation, according to a tech firm that is now offering a free open source model to speed up progress in the space.

Activist demands - Malaysian climate activists this week urged their government to include a national forest audit under the 13th Malaysia Plan, among five key demands submitted to members of parliament, local media reported. The memorandum, backed by nine NGOs, also called for a protected forest registry, a national monitoring hub, and direct forest funding for indigenous communities.

Approaching FID - Graphyte's carbon removal facility in the US is getting closer to a final investment decision to triple its capacity, Semafor reports. The company takes plant waste from paper and timber mills, farms, and other facilities and converts it into solid bricks that are buried underground, sequestering the biogenic carbon. It opened its Arkansas facility last year and has so far sequestered about 5,000 tonnes of CO2. Its current plant can process up to 14,000 tonnes annually and within the next two to three weeks, Graphyte expects to be able to commit to an expansion bringing its capacity to 45,000 tonnes. Plans are also underway for new sites in British Columbia and Arizona to sequester carbon from trees felled to prevent wildfires.

Germany's government cabinet adopted a draft law to accelerate the development of CO2 storage and transport infrastructure on Wednesday.

Russia will aim to reduce its GHG emissions 65-67% by 2035, compared to a 1990 baseline, according to a new decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, the national news agency reported Wednesday.

Hydrogen alliance - The North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) has announced the addition of three new members - industrial automation company Schneider Electric, energy storage company Storengy UK (part of Engie), and industrial process supplier Endress+Hauser. The additions bring NWHA's membership to the highest since its founding in 2018 - helping it to build an ecosystem to unlock the UK's hydrogen future, stated the release on Wednesday.

Several stakeholders, including the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), have taken aim at a new draft permanence standard that forms part of the governance process for the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), arguing that the text is so strict it may deter interest in Article 6.

EU importers are getting anxious about missing critical data points related to the bloc's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which fully comes into force in 2026, with some going as far as to prepare for a delay to the next stage of the carbon leakage policy.

Change of court - The Trump administration's lawsuit challenging New York's Climate Superfund Act will remain in the Southern District Court of New York after a US district court judge ruled in the federal government's favour, rejecting the state's request to move the case to a court closer to Albany, Law360 reported. The judge said New York's arguments were strong enough to overcome the federal government's right to proceed in its preferred jurisdiction.

A new application round has launched to secure funding from major global corporates looking to invest in durable carbon removal projects.

Solar slighted - An analysis by the American Clean Power Association, a US trade group representing wind, solar, and battery storage companies, shows that a July Interior Department order from Secretary Doug Burgum could negatively affect renewable energy projects on private and state lands nationwide, E&E News reported. The order requires the secretary’s approval for 69 permitting steps for projects connected to public lands, with 27 of those steps also applying to developments on private property. The group said the policy could delay or halt wind and solar projects across the country.

Thames hydrogen from waste - Chinook Hydrogen has secured £200 mln from Middle East backers to launch a hydrogen-from-waste plant at Thames Freeport’s Tilbury Tax Site in southeast England. The venture will form part of a £1 bln hydrogen corridor for HGV refuelling and industrial decarbonisation by 2028. Expectations are for it to divert 300,000 tonnes of waste annually - creating jobs and kickstarting hydrogen infrastructure for clean energy. (Hydrogen Fuel News)

No bidders here - An offshore wind auction in Germany has ended with no bidders - highlighting investors' disinterest in participating in the market with zero-subsidy contracts. The failed auction is the latest hurdle for Europe's beleaguered offshore wind industry, which has been battling rising costs and supply chain issues. It reverses the trend from just two years ago when BP and TotalEnergies agreed to pay billions of euros for the right to develop major projects. Investor appetite is also dwindling for unsubsidised solar projects due to falling power prices. (Bloomberg)

Vietnam will launch the pilot phase of its emissions trading scheme this year, taking a step towards meeting climate commitments and navigating trade pressures from carbon regulations abroad, but faces steep challenges in readiness, infrastructure, and balancing its economic competitiveness, according to experts.

A recent study has found that the practice of enhanced rock weathering has mixed results on the amount of CO2 released from the ground, and is highly dependent on the context in which the carbon removal is rolled out.

A new carbon standard has launched an updated version of its Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR) methodology for crediting forest restoration projects, in a bid to rival Verra’s dominance of the sector.

July was one of the biggest months in purchase history for durable carbon removals (CDR) with over 8 million tonnes contracted, according to an industry marketplace report circulated this week.

An Estonian firm has completed a funding round to accelerate the rollout of its AI-powered energy efficiency platform across Europe, targeting markets with some of the continent’s most inefficient building stock.

Emissions clarity - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is partnering with software company Chooose to expand market access to IATA CO2 Connect emissions data, it said in a release Wednesday. The collaboration means that airlines managing their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) programmes via the Chooose platform will be able to deliver IATA CO2 Connect data directly to their corporate and consumer customers. This data is based on real operational inputs from over 70 airlines. 40% of travelers, particularly business travelers, regularly check their flight-related CO2 emissions, according to IATA. Chooose’s 30+ global airline partners will now also be able to incorporate IATA CO2 Connect emissions data into their emissions calculations.

Canadian-grown rapeseed, wheat, and peas have significantly lower carbon footprints than equivalent crops produced in major exporting countries such as Germany, France, the US, and Australia, a new study has found, even when factoring in transoceanic shipping emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions from European dairy farming may be significantly underestimated due to the widespread omission of drained peatlands from carbon footprint assessments, according to a new study.

Greening transport - Indian transport and logistics company Greenline Mobility is planning to invest INR 4 bln ($45.7 mln) in order to boost its electric truck supply for mining company Hindustan Zinc, thereby replacing the diesel vehicles which the latter uses for its mines and smelters, Reuters reported. The investments will also be used for scaling battery-swapping infrastructure commercially and doubling Hindustan Zinc’s LNG-powered truck fleet for the transport of  long-haul finished goods. In April, Greenline had invested $275 mln to accelerate decarbonisation of heavy trucks.

Gaining confidence - Zimbabwe is experiencing a rise in carbon credit project registrations following the introduction of Statutory Instrument (SI) 48 of 2025, which formalised the country’s carbon market and introduced a national carbon registry. Six projects have been registered, with over 30 more in the pipeline, Herald Zimbabwe reported. The instrument, launched in May, includes mandatory revenue-sharing provisions – allocating 30% of credit proceeds to the government and the remainder to developers and communities. The country has issued Letter of Authorisation (LoA) for about 2.86 mln Article 6 ITMOs to be issued to a cookstove project, with 5,000 of those receiving corresponding adjustments.

Updated auction volumes for the remainder of 2025 and next year, published last week, were broadly in line with analysts' expectations despite an additional 14 million carbon permits being front-loaded to 2026 sales from member states' 2027-30 totals.

South Korea's petrochemical industry would likely need around KRW 2.9 trillion ($2.08 billion) in short-term investment and stronger policy support to drive its low-carbon transformation, according to a report released this week.

Standing firm - The EU's methane regulation requiring oil and gas importers to monitor and report their methane emissions has come up in US trade talks, but the bloc stand firmly behind its legislation, an EU official said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The official said that questions concerning energy still need to be worked out in a joint statement on EU-US trade that is expected to be finalised soon. They added the bloc "can be flexible in its implementation for instance in reporting" but stressed the regulation would not be withdrawn. In June, EU countries considered asking Brussels to simplify the law.

Local initiative - A disctrict in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya has signed a 40-year agreement with agroforestry company Earth-Tree to restore degraded land through forest regeneration by planting timber and fruit-bearing trees, with an aim to generate carbon credits, local media Syllad reported. The project hopes to start earning credits in five years, with estimated earnings of INR 15,000 ($170) per ha.

India’s leading carbon credit developer and supplier, EKI Energy Services, has reported a net consolidated loss of INR 12.8 million ($150,000) in the quarter ending June 30.

Cooked - The Great Barrier Reef has suffered its worst annual decline on record, a report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) said Tuesday. It follows a mass bleaching event last year, driven primarily by warmer seas. Despite the devastation, the reef, which is off the northeastern coast of Australia, remains the largest in the world. But researchers warned of a fast approaching tipping point if disturbances continue to outpace recovery.

Tipping the scale – Fiji’s government is shifting its focus from small-scale projects to large-scale, investment-ready initiatives that can attract funding from multiple sources, FBC news reported Minister for Environment and Climate Change Mosese Bulitavu as saying. This is part of the country’s new course to unlock climate finance from both domestic and international sources, he said. Bulitavu pointed to the Rural Electrification Trust Fund and the funds it has mobilised – including from Australia and the UNDP – as an example, and said the government also plans new green and blue bond issuances.

To develop nuclear energy in Poland the government should connect small modular reactor development with that of larger plants, establish cross-regional and international collaborations, and lay out more transparent and detailed plans, according to a think tank.

Fill in the gaps – New Zealand companies’ climate disclosures have improved, but some still need more work, particularly around climate-related risks and opportunities, the Financial Markets Authority said in a report on Monday. The regulator’s review of 109 disclosures found that some had improved their reporting since the FMA’s last assessment, but there is still room for improvement around specifying risks or opportunities, and some omitted or obscured material information. Around 170 entities in New Zealand are required to produce climate disclosure reports, including insurers with assets in excess of NZ$1 bln ($592 mln) or annual gross revenue in excess of NZ$250 mln, registered banks with NZ$1 bln or more of assets, and  investment managers with assets under management (AUM) greater than NZ$1 bln, among others.

Citizens for climate – Nauru has awarded the first citizenships under its Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program, it said in a press release distributed via Carbon News. The applicants are a family of four from Germany living in Dubai who were looking for an alternative citizenship, given current geopolitical uncertainty, said the programme’s CEO Edward Clark. The citizenship by investment programme, launched at COP29 last year, is designed to raise funds to invest in sustainable development and climate resilience initiatives in the Pacific Island nation. This includes its Higher Ground initiative to relocate coastal communities and essential infrastructure.

Australia's green hydrogen sector has seen a bloodbath over the past 18 months, but some smaller startups have survived, protected by newer technologies, specialised focus, and ambitions smaller than gigawatt-scale clean production of the universe’s most abundant element.

Initial progress – Japan Airlines (JAL) has completed the first phase of its world-first initiative to promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which focused on pilot testing a trading platform for Scope 3 emission reductions associated with SAF use, according to a recent company statement. Companies participating in the first phase include Itochu, Eneos, and Mizuho Bank. The second phase of demonstration testing will involve participants, and the project partners will consider approaches ahead of the full-scale implementation of the scheme, JAL said.  

Green and clean – Stakeholders from across Africa adopted the Tangier Declaration on Accelerating Green Economy and Carbon Neutrality in African Cities at a forum in the Moroccan city, the UNFCCC said on Monday. The declaration frames carbon-neutral cities as both an urgent priority as well as a development opportunity, and stakeholders – which included mayors, policymakers, business leaders, and youth representatives – committed to mainstreaming carbon-neutrality into urban development plans and local strategies. It also encouraged more private sector investment in key areas, such as renewable energy, transportation, buildings, and waste management, and endorsed urban reforestation, among other nature-based solutions, as a key pillar. It also welcomed the establishment of the World Green Economy Organization’s Carbon-Neutral Cities Initiative, which is supporting decarbonisation in 11 cities across the continent.

Oil and gas majors are using CO2 removal (CDR) as a tool to continue fossil fuel development, hedge against climate policy, and delay decarbonisation, according to new research.