Louisiana lousy CCS - Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming (R) is campaigning for a seat in the US Senate with a promise to oppose carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to KTAL News. Fleming said, if elected, the first bill he would submit would be to defund and repeal 45Q tax credits. Three bills recently filed in Louisiana propose changes to state law affecting CCS projects, by removing eminent domain powers and expanding parish-level authority over project siting.

US sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production surged fivefold in 2025, but industry executives said weak federal mandates and a tax credit expiring in 2029 threaten to stall growth as producers call for decade-long policy certainty.

Breezing through - A US federal judge has ruled that construction on the $5 bln Empire Wind offshore wind project off Long Island may resume, dealing a setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to halt multiple East Coast wind developments. US District Judge Carl Nichols said the Interior Department’s stop-work order would likely cause irreparable harm and found the government failed to show it had followed required legal procedures, including providing notice or an opportunity for the developer to be heard. The administration had paused Empire Wind and four other projects last month, citing national security concerns. The decision follows a similar ruling earlier this week allowing the Revolution Wind project to continue. (New York Times)

Clean fuels expansion - Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff presented on Thursday to the state’s Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) the proposed timeline to an updated rulemaking on the state’s Clean Fuels Program (OCFP). A Nov. 18 executive order from Gov. Tina Kotek (D) directed the DEQ to update and expand the OCFP, among other things, in a way that will better align Oregon’s programmes with neighbouring jurisdictions. The DEQ will convene a rulemaking advisory committee (RAC) in January or February, aiming to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the final quarter of 2026. The agency would bring the rulemaking before the EQC for a vote in late 2026 or in the first half of 2027.

He ain't heavy - Republican lawmakers appear to be introducing legislation to stop compensation lawsuits aimed at Big Oil, according to E&E News. The outlet reported lawmakers in Oklahoma and Utah have filed bills to prevent lawsuits that seek to impose unreasonable burdens on the commerce of fossil fuels, and that persons will not be liable for climate change, respectively. Climate compensation lawsuits against fossil fuel companies have cropped up in a number of states in recent years, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, and others.

Barbados has emerged as a flagship case for how small island developing states (SIDS) can use debt restructuring and climate finance tools to scale mitigation investment and lay the groundwork for future carbon market mechanisms, according to a recently-published report.

Large-scale infrastructure offers a key pathway for mainstreaming and financing nature-based solutions (NbS) amid broader challenges to securing capital, panellists said during a Thursday webinar.

Colombia-based carbon standard Cercarbono announced on Wednesday the final update of its methodology for afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) projects, following a public consultation launched in July last year.

Canada remains well off-track from its climate targets and needs a strategy on international carbon credits and carbon removal, an advisory body to the federal government has recommended.

European carbon prices will average €104/tonne in 2026, with supply tightness and fewer REPowerEU auctions than previously anticipated giving the bulls the upper hand, analysts said on Thursday.

Two global investors have announced plans to launch a new $1.2 billion climate finance vehicle.

Demand arising - 2026 could be the year where an effective demand signal arises for carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the EU, particularly bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) and direct air capture and storage (DACS), said Mark Taylor, co-founder and chief product officer at Sightline Climate on a webinar Thursday. He referenced plans to integrate domestic and permanent carbon removals in the EU ETS as helping to drive the incentive for companies to invest and potentially generate revenue from doing so, as well as the EU target for 50 mln tonnes of CO2 injection capacity by 2030 and the under-subscribed Northern Lights project. However, Sightline's Co-Founder and CEO Kim Zou countered that the opportunity could be capped, particularly for BECCS, given limited biomass feedstock and competition for it from other industries such as synthetic fuels. They both spoke on a webinar presenting the company's report looking back at climate tech VC investment in 2025, which marked an 8% increase in year-on-year from fewer, larger, and later-stage bets focused particularly on energy security, adaptation, and supporting AI growth.

European carbon allowance prices managed to record a modest daily increase on Thursday after rising almost €2.00 to set a 31-month high before giving up all their gains having breached a technical channel, as a brief turnaround in the gas market in the middle of the day encouraged sellers, while UKA prices also hit another 33-month peak and retreated.

Denmark on Thursday awarded a new offshore carbon storage exploration permit in the North Sea to a consortium led by TotalEnergies, further expanding the country’s emerging CO2 storage portfolio and adding a nearshore site that could serve future CO2 capture projects.

The CEO of one of the world's largest fertiliser producers, Yara International, slammed an EU proposal to temporarily exclude fertilisers from the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), saying it severely imperils confidence in the stability of the jurisdiction's wider climate policy framework.

An investment manager for the forestry sector this week unveiled an Ecosystem Integrity Index (EII), designed for timber companies to monitor biodiversity while logging and replanting trees.

Germany is preparing a major revision of its federal export credit guarantee system, raising questions over whether the policy will fully align with the global objective of limiting warming to 1.5C, according to analysis from a climate think tank.

SBTi governance - The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has been approved as an ISEAL Community Member and opened applications for the next term of its independent Technical Council, in steps it says will further boost its governance and oversight. ISEAL is a global membership organization that defines and promotes good practices for sustainability systems and standards. By becoming a community member, SBTi will participate in its learning, collaboration, and innovation activities. SBTi has also launched applications for the next term of its Technical Council for the 2026-2029 period - the technical decision-making body responsible for reviewing and approving its standards and other documents. Candidates are sought with extensive climate mitigation and sustainability expertise and are appointed for a three-year term. The deadline to apply is Feb. 26, 2026.

Quebec’s initial free carbon allowance distribution of 2026 dipped by about 1% year-on-year (YoY), even as the number of recipient industrial emitters remained the same, provincial data published Wednesday showed.

US airlines were responsible for over 55 Mt of emissions in 2024 that are subject to CORSIA offsetting requirements, data recently published by UN agency ICAO shows, even as analysts highlight ongoing uncertainty around their participation in the scheme.

Greenlit plans - The European Commission will sign off Germany’s state support plans for new backup gas power plants and an industry power price, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a conference in Halle on Wednesday. The govt plans to subsidise 10 GW of new gas power plants that can back up intermittent renewables. The business case can only be assured with additional state support and so a state aid scheme must be agreed with the Commission, and Merz's statement likely refers to the general agreement on the terms of support. The industry power price also requires EU approval under law and is a key part of Merz's plan to halt industrial decline and bolster Germany's economic growth. (Clean Energy Wire)

A voluntary carbon asset management platform and an infrastructure provider have announced a strategic partnership aimed at improving how carbon credits are sourced, evaluated, and transacted across the market.

Fossil fuel demand is on track to peak around 2035, but the surge in global living standards will boost oil demand by another 3 to 5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the early 2030s, according to Shell.

A wave of new LNG supply is coming to the rescue of Europe's beleaguered industry, with potential to cut annual energy costs almost €40 billion by 2032 and deliver cumulative savings of nearly €200 bln, according to analyst forecasts.

Carbon removal (CDR) experienced bumper growth in 2025 with a burst of new contracts, although Microsoft continues to dominate the market, according to a report released by a portfolio manager this week.

Japan and Azerbaijan are close to finalising a carbon trading deal under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, with credits set to come from a project to decarbonise the Caspian country's largest oil and gas terminal, an executive told Carbon Forward Middle East on Thursday. 

Accurate reporting of  dollar-per-tonne costs of carbon removal needs to be implemented by CDR project developers to avoid 'mitigation deterrence', academics writing in a leading journal said on Thursday.

Carmakers stick to EV plans in Europe – Global carmakers say they will stick with electric vehicles in Europe despite a European Commission plan to ease the bloc’s 2035 petrol and diesel engine ban, the Financial Times reports. Kia, Renault and Stellantis executives said EVs remain central to their product plans, while warning the revision offers only “very small flexibility” and risks leaving European brands exposed to cheaper Chinese electric rivals. (FT)

AI train - Mining giant Rio Tinto on Thursday said it will supply Amazon Web Service’s US data centres with low-carbon copper produced using its Nuton bioleaching technology. The process, which cuts emissions and water use, produces 99.99% pure copper at site, avoids smelting and refining, and shortens the supply chain, Rio Tinto said. Under the two-year deal, AWS will provide cloud analytics to Rio Tinto to optimise production at the Johnson Camp copper mine in Arizona. Emissions from data centres are set to rise significantly over the coming years. Rio Tinto is also in talks with rival Glencore to form the world's biggest miner.

Steel and CBAM - The European steel industry is battling significant challenges with implementing the EU carbon border tax as importers are facing “excessive cost surprises” from last-minute regulations, Eurometal president Alexander Julius told S&P Global Energy in an interview. The European Commission published more than 1,600 pages of new calculation factors in Dec. 2025, which has complicated problems in the steel supply chain by imposing changes to compliance requirements. Julius argued that the steel sector is also likely to press for a CBAM exemption, similar to the fertiliser sector, due to the competitive disadvantage it places on the industry. There are serious errors and inconsistencies with the steel sector's default values under CBAM, according to trader Gerber Steel, whilst Julius referred to the default value system as "a mystery". (Eurometal)

The European Commission has updated the EU’s central carbon registry to reflect tougher climate targets for 2030 and clarify how national governments can use emission trading and land-use flexibilities to meet their obligations under the bloc’s Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR).

Malaysia’s palm oil industry could generate significant volumes of carbon credits, but structural challenges in the country’s carbon market such as low liquidity, high costs, and regulatory uncertainty continue to constrain progress, according to experts.

Public actors need to strategically tackle the widening gap in insurance against climate-related natural disasters through four actions that embed nature throughout, WWF said on Thursday.

An Indonesian lender has teamed up with a carbon project developer to roll out what the Jakarta-based partners said is the country’s first dedicated financing facility for forestry-based carbon credits, on Thursday.

The period 2026-30 is by far the most important for UK tree planting if it is to count towards the country’s 2050 net zero target, a non-profit research group said this week.

Climate fund - Swiss voters will go to the polls on Mar. 8 to vote on a proposed new climate fund, put forward by a committee arguing that despite the country's net zero by 2050 goal, climate policy and decarbonisation are too slow. The fund would be financed by annual contributions of 0.5-1% of GDP until 2050, amounting to between CHF 3.9 bln (€4.2 bln) and CHF 7.8 bln a year, say sponsors of the proposal led by the Socialist and Green parties. Money raised would go towards expanding solar power, renovating buildings and public transport, protecting biodiversity, supporting job resilience, and backing climate tech. Yet opponents say it would be wrong to saddle future generations with the debt the fund may incur, and point to the already available CHF 2 bln per year for climate protection and restructuring the energy system.

A bigger share - Revenue from EU carbon taxes tripled from 2017 to 2023, rising from €15 bln to €51 bln, Eurostat reported. Their share in overall energy taxes increased from 6% in 2017 to 19.7% in 2023. In 2023, some 76.4% of the carbon taxes were collected from businesses, while households contributed 22.3% and non-residents 1.3%. The energy sector accounted for 30.1% of total carbon taxes, followed narrowly by manufacturing at 29.4%. Govt revenues from auctioning allowances under the EU ETS are included as a subset of carbon taxes.

FDI ranking boost - The UK has moved up the rankings for new foreign direct investment (FDI), helped by growth in AI and clean energy, said McKinsey. The country became the world's third-largest destination for newly announced FDI projects between 2022 and 2025 - behind the US and India, up from fourth place in 2015–19, the consultancy said in a report published Thursday. Inflation-adjusted inflows averaged about $85 bln a year, stronger than a 20% increase in global announced FDI, and higher than the $45 bln and $43 bln averages attracted by France and Germany respectively. Much of the UK's new FDI is focused on $1 bln-plus clean energy and AI deals, with relatively little directed into advanced manufacturing in areas like EV batteries. Around 80% of the public inflows to Britain came from Europe and the US, with the country at risk of missing out on capital from the Gulf, South Korea, Taiwan, and elsewhere. (Reuters)

Bids requested - UNDP last week launched a tender seeking a consulting firm to conduct a mapping and baseline study on Vietnam’s blue carbon potential, according to procurement documents. The assignment, running from Jan. to Mar. 2026, will assess mangroves, seagrass, and tidal marshes, alongside policy frameworks, financing flows, and investment gaps. Findings will inform Vietnam’s National Blue Carbon Action Partnership and a forthcoming national roadmap, the documents said. UNDP said women-owned firms are encouraged to bid, with preference given where technical scores are equal.

Accelerator update - L'Oreal has named the 13 first participants in its sustainable innovation accelerator, which will provide €100 mln to startups and scaleups over five years and the chance to pilot their solutions potentially across its global operations. Those to be selected for the first cohort from the 950 applicants include seaweed-based packaging producer Kelpi, Japanese bioplastics firm Bioworks, and fungi recycling innovator Novobiom. UK digital carbon intelligence company Neutreeno was also chosen, and Brazilian biomethane producer Gas Verde. The programme is run in partnership with the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (Edie.net)

US-based tech giant Microsoft has signed a carbon removal (CDR) offtake agreement with an Indian project developer, marking its first durable CDR purchase in Asia, according to an announcement Thursday.

Sold out - Tokyo-based Green Carbon has sold out around 65,000 domestically issued J-Credits from rice projects, amid rising domestic demand. Inquiries from corporate clients have been on the rise, driven by the policy progress about Japan's mandatory carbon market, the developer said. Green Carbon said it had begun accepting reservations for J-Credits scheduled for approval from June 2026 onwards.    

New hubs - The South Australian government will provide a A$12 mln ($8 mln) loan to back a new project poised to turn Port Augusta into a national hub for the green cement industry. The loan will support Hallett Group Pty Ltd's A$200 mln green cement transformation project with the establishment of two infrastructure hubs, where waste by-products be re-purposed into green cement.

New unicorn - Europe has a new climate-tech unicorn in the form of German startup Osapiens, which raised $100 mln at a $1 bln valuation. The Series C round for the company that provides sustainability and compliance software to companies for ESG reporting was led by Decarbonization Partners, with participation from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Armira Growth. Its more than 2,400 customers include  BAT, Tesco, Lidl, Carrefour, and Coca-Cola North America, according to the LinkedIn announcement.

The European Commission is preparing detailed EU-wide rules to certify CO2 removals from carbon farming activities, setting out how projects in agriculture, peatland rewetting, and afforestation must prove their climate benefits to generate tradable units under the bloc’s new Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation.

The European Commission's proposal to pause its border carbon fee for fertiliser imports highlights the risk of investing in low-carbon products, amid "frustrating" political indecision, industry insiders said at Carbon Forward Middle East on Thursday.

Japan's emerging hydrogen sector has seen a pivotal shift from small-scale domestic projects to engaging in large-scale international supply chains, a report published Thursday has found.

Show me the money - Pacific island nation of Samoa said it will seek to use Article 6 carbon credits under the Paris Agreement to help finance delivery of its latest climate pledge, and is interested in selling carbon credits to more developed countries that may be interested. In its third NDC, Samoa set an economy-wide target to cut GHG emissions by about 104 MtCO2e by 2035, relative to 2020 levels, while stressing that much of the ambition is conditional on external support. The government said it is targeting 75% renewable electricity by 2035, increased use of electric and hybrid vehicles, and large-scale reforestation to cut emissions from land use.

India could bring its electricity sector into the country’s new compliance carbon market with far less friction than expected, as existing regulations already provide a legal pathway to pass down carbon costs, according to a report released this week.

Seeded - Indian climate technology startup RenewCred has raised INR 42.5 mln ($0.51 mln) in a seed funding round to build what it said in a press release is the country’s first technology-native carbon credit standard and registry for the voluntary carbon market. The round was led by Campus Angels Network, with participation from Kairos Early Opportunity Fund and several angel and institutional investors, the company said. RenewCred is developing a fully digital platform offering continuous monitoring, reporting and verification, aiming to cut verification timelines by 75% and transaction costs by more than half. The company plans to focus on non-nature-based credits, including biochar, electric vehicle fleets, renewable energy, and industrial decarbonisation, and expects to issue its first credits this quarter.

Microsoft will purchase 2.85 million soil carbon removal (CDR) credits from a US-based agtech firm as part of a new 12-year deal, it was announced on Thursday, marking the third transaction between the two companies.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are moving ahead with plans to create compliance markets in the coming years, market-makers told Carbon Forward Middle East, providing fresh confirmation to international speculation. 

New service - Japanese project developer Green Carbon has launched a new set of consulting services to help clients formulate their carbon strategy, particularly for emissions permits, it said Thursday. The services include simulation of multiple scenarios for estimated emissions, allowance and carbon credit price range forecast, design of medium- to long-term allowance trading strategies, as well as plans for credit creation and procurement. The launch comes as Japan's GX-ETS is set to enter its mandatory phase from April onwards, requiring companies with annual emissions of 100,000 tonnes or more to fulfil obligations.

First blue carbon credits - An Awaji Island-based blue carbon project has received certification for the fixation of 12.4 tCO2 under Japan's J-Blue Credit programme, the first of its kind for the island. The initiative was implemented by Inabata Fine Tech, Bluable, and a local fisheries cooperative. It aims to visualise CO2 fixation through seaweed farming as carbon credits, thereby improving the profitability of the local fishing industry and building a sustainable fishing model.  

Quiet fundraise - Sustainable aviation fuels startup Lydian has raised $43.7 mln, Axios Pro reported last week. Following inquiries from Carbon Pulse, Lydian declined to comment on the reporting. The company secured $12 mln in seed funding in 2023 and initially targeted a pilot plant by 2024, with an envisioned production capacity surpassing 5,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per annum.

California regulator ARB is more than 90% likely to complete its cap-and-invest programme amendments by Sep. 1, setting the stage for updated industrial allocation rules and potential linkage with Washington, a former senior regulator said.

As the rulemaking for New Mexico’s Clean Transportation Fuel Standard becomes finalised, a programme official told conference attendees on Wednesday that the agency is on track to go into effect on July 1.

California regulator ARB granted offsets to just one project in its first issuance of 2026, according to data published Wednesday.

The rapid expansion of the forward offtake market in the voluntary carbon market may be here to stay, and could determine credit pricing dynamics in the years ahead, according to analysis from a carbon data firm and rating agency.