Australian miner Rio Tinto has lobbied the government to keep the diesel fuel tax rebate, arguing the technology needed to decarbonise its operations is still years away from being ready to deploy. 

Emitters added net length to their California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) and their RGGI Allowances (RGAs), diverging from financial players, who cut their net holdings across the two compliance carbon markets, the latest US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed.

A gem of a fix - Colorado's Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) agreed during its latest meeting to hold a rulemaking hearing in July 2026 to consider revisions to Regulation 27, which sets GHG reduction targets for the state's 21 highest-emitting industrial and manufacturing facilities under its Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Management for Manufacturing (GEMM) programme, according to a presentation from the regulatory body. Facilities covered under the programme had cut emissions 23.4% from 2015 levels as of 2024, the presentation showed, with the GEMM group projected to far exceed its 2030 group target. Proposed revisions would not change fundamental emissions reduction requirements but would improve trading programme transparency, clarify credit issuance rules for direct air capture (DAC) and carbon capture and storage (CCS), and require regulated sources to disclose key terms of future and long-term credit transfer contracts within 30 days of signing. According to the AQCC, the industrial and manufacturing sector is on-track to meet its 2030 goal of 20% GHG reduction vs. 2015 levels.

US clean energy and transportation investment ended 2025 marginally ahead of 2024, but a Q4 slowdown signals a tightening clean tech pipeline.

Pilot scrapped – US-based fertiliser producer CF Industries reported strong full-year 2025 results in its earnings release this week, Market Beat reports. The company discussed high operating rates, constructive global nitrogen market conditions, and continued shareholder returns. Executives addressed an extended outage at the Yazoo City complex ammonia production plant in Mississippi. Management said global nitrogen pricing has remained above levels implied by its indicative cost-curve framework. The company also halted its Donaldsonville electrolyser pilot, booking a $51 mln impairment charge due to its return profile.

Jet set, go - Montana Renewables and World Energy on announced a three-year  agreement to deliver more than 70 million gallons (265 mln litres) of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which the companies said could cut as much as 600,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This agreement took place as Montana Renewables prepares to expand production capacity through its MaxSAF 150 project this spring, which seeks to increase its fuel output up to 150 mln gallons. World Energy, which describes itself as the world's first commercial-scale SAF producer, said it would use the supply to serve corporate clients seeking to decarbonise their aviation operations through carbon insets, a market that enables companies to acquire environmental attributes derived from SAF.

New sheriff, same grid - California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) named John Reynolds as the new president of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the state regulator overseeing utilities and clean energy policy, as the body faces pressure to cut electricity bills while advancing the state's 2045 clean power target. Reynolds, a commissioner since 2022, replaces Alice Reynolds, who is set to step down in late February and move to the California Independent System Operator's (CAISO) board.

Impurity complex - Switzerland-headquartered technology company ABB has launched an integrated gas analyser package for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) applications, bundling three of its existing measurement technologies into a single system to monitor CO₂ stream purity from capture through to storage, ESG Post reported. The turnkey unit combines laser, chromatographic and infrared analysers to detect impurities such as hydrogen sulphide, moisture, and oxygen that can corrode pipelines, affect compression, or trigger network rejection and venting penalties. The system targets sectors including cement, power generation, and bioenergy, and links to ABB's digital twin platform for lifecycle management, the company said.

Kernel of truth - BASF launched a digital platform to help US ethanol producers verify the carbon intensity (CI) of their agricultural feedstocks and capture value under the Section 45Z clean fuel production tax credit, as biorefineries seek to document low-CI corn supplies ahead of federal implementation. The Circalo: Low Carbon Intensity Crops platform links farm-level data collected by agronomists through BASF's xarvio software to biorefinery procurement systems, enabling third-party verified feedstock reports that could qualify producers for low-CI premiums, the company said. The platform is operational for the 2026 growing season, with a look-back option covering 2025.

A US company working with farmers and landowners launched a third-party audited soil carbon certification programme, according to a Thursday announcement.

The US EPA announced on Friday the finalisation of its repeal of a Biden administration 2024 rule regulating hazardous air pollutant emissions from power plants.

A climate group has urged sweeping reforms to California's ETS, warning proposed updates fail to address flaws that sustain fossil fuel usage and defer decarbonisation.

The state of Colorado tightened methane rules for its oil and gas sector, bringing the state into alignment with federal standards.

Carbon calling - In its third year, the Productive Arrangements programme from the legislature of the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo is entering a new strategic phase focused on the carbon credit market, reported A Gazeta. The initiative will guide family farmers in structuring environmental projects capable of reducing GHG emissions, seeking to combine environmental preservation and income generation in rural areas. The new focus complements the already established actions for technical training and productive diversification, and runs parallel to the territorial expansion of the programme, which will cover 35 municipalities in the state starting this year.

IT offset offering - Germany-based IT services provider Bechtle is now offering customers the chance to offset carbon emissions generated during the production and delivery of purchased hardware via a collaboration with Berlin-headquartered nature-based solutions platform goodcarbon, it announced Thursday. The projects selected for Bechtle CO₂-Conscious IT enable companies to credibly support their beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) activities in line with the requirements of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), goodcarbon said, and involve activities such as supporting renewable energy projects and protecting or restoring natural ecosystems.

Mangrove market valuation – Mangrove forests in Ecuador’s Churute Ecological Reserve stored an average roughly 1.7 mln tonnes of carbon between 2015-2021, equal to around 6.1 MtCO2e, according to a study published this week. Using satellite land-cover data and standard IPCC factors, the authors determined that carbon stocks were largely steady from 2015-19, while a sharp decline in 2020 was mainly linked to changes in mapping methods rather than actual forest loss. Based on carbon prices used in the analysis, the reserve’s notional annual market value ranged from $18-123 mln, with price swings driving most of the variation. The authors stressed the need for consistent high-resolution data to track real changes over time.

Rotterdam runway – A Zurich-based aviation fuels startup has raised $24 mln to scale its methanol-to-jet technology from demonstration to commercial deployment, Fuel Cells Works reported this week. Metafuels, founded in 2021, will use the Series A proceeds to advance a Swiss demonstration facility and move a commercial-scale e-SAF project at the Port of Rotterdam toward final investment decision. The plant would produce its aerobrew fuel from captured CO2 and green hydrogen via green methanol, marking the first industrial rollout of the pathway. The round was led by UVC Partners with backing from Energy Impact Partners, Contrarian Ventures, RockCreek, Verve Ventures, and Fortescue Ventures.

Canada's natural resources ministry will spend C$3 million ($2.2 mln) to forward net zero goals in Quebec.

The US Gulf Coast ranks as the most suitable region for large-scale deployment of electrochemical marine carbon removal (e-mCDR) systems, outperforming other coastal hubs on cost, infrastructure readiness, and overall suitability, according to a new peer-reviewed study.

European carbon prices ended the week with a flourish, climbing 3.4% on the day to give the market its first weekly increase since mid-January, as bulls gained in confidence and tested the upside throughout the day, while natural gas appeared to shrug off growing concerns around possible attacks on Iran, and responded to forecasts for higher temperatures in Europe.

Balance is best - A combination of policy measures, rather than a CO2 price alone, would help decarbonise Germany as fairly and efficiently as possible, according to a report by the state-funded Kopernikus Ariadne project. A range of approaches including carbon pricing for polluters, subsidy programmes, and regulation of polluting products would ensure the burden doesn't fall too heavily on certain households, such as those with less financial stability or in less efficient buildings. The research led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Institute for Economic Research (ifo) suggested this wider approach would help sustain social acceptance for the transition, which is key to its success.

RGGI relief – New Jersey will redirect unused but available RGGI revenues to subsidise electricity bills, shifting funds away from emissions reduction programmes as Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) moves to freeze utility rate. In a joint statement on Thursday, administration officials said RGGI auction revenue will be steered toward affordability measures. RGGI, the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic power sector cap-and-trade programme, has raised roughly $950 mln for the state to date, according to the statement.

Motion commotion – A US district court has scheduled a Mar. 30, 2026 hearing in two cases, including one brought by the Trump administration challenging actions by Vermont. The hearing will take place in Rutland before District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier and will consider multiple motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, alongside motions and cross-motions for summary judgment in both proceedings. The Trump administration is seeking a ruling declaring Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act unconstitutional.

Molecular heat  - Chemists at UC Santa Barbara have developed a new way of storing and releasing heat that does not require bulky batteries or electrical grids. A paper published in the journal Science, Associate Professor Grace Han details a new material, a modified molecule called pyrimidone, that captures sunlight, stores it within chemical bonds and releases it as heat on demand. To create this molecule, the team looked at DNA. The pyrimidone structure is similar to a component found in DNA that, when exposed to UV light, can undergo reversible structural changes. By engineering a synthetic version of this DNA structure, the team created a molecule that stores and releases energy reversibly. In the study, the researchers demonstrated that the heat released from the material was intense enough to boil water.

Balancing act - Rising carbon prices may signal stronger climate policy, but they also expose significant risks, the World Economic Forum wrote in a blog post published Friday. As prices have climbed - especially in Europe’s carbon market - financial investors such as hedge funds are increasingly trading emission permits as speculative assets rather than compliance tools. This “financialisation” could detach prices from real emissions reductions, turning carbon markets into volatile commodity markets similar to oil or food, the WEF said. Unpredictable price swings would weaken the credibility of the carbon signal that companies rely on for long-term investment decisions. Firms might delay clean-technology investments if they suspect prices reflect short-term trading rather than stable policy direction. Sudden spikes could also raise energy and industrial costs, provoking political backlash and pressure on governments to intervene or weaken climate measures. If trust in the market erodes, the effectiveness of carbon pricing as a decarbonisation tool diminishes. The article warns that without stronger oversight and complementary policies, rising carbon prices could undermine - rather than accelerate - the energy transition by creating instability instead of certainty, according to the post.

The European Parliament has appointed Socialists and Democrats (S&D) lawmaker Mohammed Chahim to lead negotiations on reforming the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a source told Carbon Pulse on Friday.

The EU should exclude companies developing new fossil fuel projects from all categories under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), urged more than 100 organisations and experts in an open letter.

An Australian oil and gas company on Friday signed a long-term agreement to supply vast quantities of gas to a steel plant in a bid to make low-emissions iron, raising questions over whether gas-based output can credibly be labelled “green”.

Climate-related disasters and high carbon emissions are increasingly pushing up sovereign borrowing costs, with fiscally fragile and developing countries facing the steepest penalties on their debt, according to new research by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Battery swaps - African electric transport company Ampersand Energy has opened its first franchise-operated battery swap station in Rwanda, which it says creates a new model for expanding electric transport energy infrastructure through local partners. Ampersand opened the Miduha swap station with Rwandan EV charging infrastructure company Power Charge, and is working to strike more franchise partnerships that combine its battery technology, swap systems, and operational standards with local expertise. This enables faster and more capital-efficient growth, it said. The Miduha station is expected to facilitate more than 72,000 battery swaps a year, supporting hundreds of commercial e-motorbike riders in Kigali.

A provider of battery swapping services for electric vehicles in Nairobi aims to generate carbon credits to fund the infrastructure behind its international expansion plans, and is seeking approval for Article 6 accreditation in Kenya.

The European Commission convened an expert workshop last week to examine the potential of so-called “mineral carbonation” methods, putting the cement and construction industry at the forefront of EU efforts to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and put climate change into reverse gear.

China's high-level climate policy is increasingly centred on building global leadership in clean technology rather than accelerating near-term emissions reductions, a report published this week has argued.

The Australian government will this year finish the legislative work needed to bring the country’s carbon market in line with outstanding review recommendations, according to a progress report Friday, but could not say when they would be introduced to Parliament.

A Tokyo-based project developer has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an Indonesian research institute to develop nature-based carbon credits in the Southeast Asian country, particularly in agriculture and land-use sectors, it announced Friday.

Australia’s new mandatory climate-related reporting rules are driving a higher level of sophistication in corporates’ understanding of their impacts, but also draining resources away from actions that could curb them, a conference heard this week.

Pacific pact - The Asian Development Bank and the Pacific Islands Forum have signed an agreement to accelerate regional cooperation and integration in the Pacific, focusing on deeper collaboration to address shared development challenges, strengthen connectivity, and promote sustainable growth across the island nations. The partnership will strengthen efforts to deliver Pacific-led solutions that build resilience, expand opportunity, and mobilise climate and development finance in line with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific, a statement noted.

Qualified - Australia's Optimal Renewable Gas (ORG) has qualified for New South Wales' government's Low Carbon Product Manufacturing grant to help develop its Griffith Biohub, part of a funding round worth up to A$95 mln ($67 mln) for low-carbon industrial projects, it announced. The project will use anaerobic digestion to convert up to 100,000 tonnes of agricultural organic waste each year into biomethane. ORG is developing the project alongside partners Jemena, Baiada Poultry, and Osaka Gas Australia.

LNG push - South Korea's SK Innovation has been selected to develop a $2.3 bln liquefied natural gas (LNG) power project in Vietnam's Nghe An province, according to Korea Herald. SK Innovation will work with Vietnam’s state-run PetroVietnam Power Corporation and local firm Nghe An Sugar for the LNG project, which includes the construction of a 1,500-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant, a terminal with storage capacity of 250,000 cubic metres. Construction of the power plant and the terminal will start next year, with completion targeted for 2030.

Paddock to power - Australian vegetable grower Kalfresh has secured A$80 mln ($56 mln) from Wollemi Capital and Queensland Investment Corporation to build a bioenergy facility transforming food waste and crop residues into renewable natural gas, it announced. The funding agreement marks the start of construction on the A$291 mln Scenic Rim Agricultural Industrial Precinct, Kalfresh said, which at full capacity using anaerobic digestion technology, will produce enough energy to power up to 31,000 homes and reduce emissions by 430,000 tCO2 per year. Renewable gas production is expected to start from mid-2027 and be scaled up in stages.

Colorado's climate cowboy - US Senator Michael Bennet (D), running for Colorado governor, said his proposed an economy-wide cap-and-invest programme would look to link to trading schemes in other states or countries, including California or Canada. Bennet told the Steamboat Pilot & Today the plan would aim to accelerate progress toward net zero by 2050. He also criticised federal efforts to keep ageing coal plants open, saying Colorado should instead double down on clean energy.

Thanks Trump? - Sacramento lawmakers are discussing whether the Trump administration's rollback of the federal endangerment finding could give California the power to set its own vehicle tailpipe standards without federal approval, Politico reported. Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D), chair of the Utilities and Energy Committee, said said the repeal could hand California greater latitude and direct responsibility over vehicle emissions rules. Transportation accounts for roughly half of California's carbon emissions, state officials estimate, making tailpipe standards a key lever for the state's cap-and-invest programme. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has said California will sue to stop the rollback.

An Australian landfill gas operator saw its carbon credit generation rise by 20% in the second half of last year, and expects to see further increases in the financial year according to half-year results published Friday.