Reform of the EU ETS and CBAM, and measures to lower electricity prices are key pillars of a plan to bolster the German chemicals industry jointly presented by the German government and sector representatives in Berlin on Thursday.

California Carbon Allowance (CCA) futures edged higher over the last week to the mid-$29s as the market continued to be relatively quiet in the backdrop of wider energy developments, traders said.

Fixing Canada’s industrial carbon pricing system could be as easy as implementing a price floor, according to a new analysis by a Canadian think tank.

Offshore wind win - Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, the largest offshore wind project in the US, start generating electricity on Monday, E&E News reported. The project is the results of a decades-long push to build offshore wind projects along the East Coast, but whether future projects follow is an open question amid ongoing opposition by the Trump administration, which paid TotalEnergies $1 bln earlier this week to abandon offshore wind projects off New York and North Carolina. Analysts have said Total’s move will have little practical impact on the US offshore wind market in the short-term, as both projects were years away from establishing their first turbines.

Democratic agenda - Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) unveiled Wednesday an energy and climate agenda that could preview the party's agenda ahead of midterm elections later this year, Politico reported. Priorities include restoring Inflation Reduction Act clean energy tax incentives and easing permitting hurdles for wind, solar, and other zero-emissions energy sources. The five-point plan seeks to seize on national focus on affordability, framing the Democrats as the party of not only clean energy and fighting climate change, but also of lower electricity bills and more jobs. Schumer presented the plan at the League of Conservation Voters’ annual Capital Dinner.

A global transition away from fossil fuels demands the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, Colombia’s environment minister said this week, amid a global energy crisis – hailing from a major fossil fuel producer that will next month co-host a global summit on energy transition.

Bamboo carbon credits - Guatemala's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food (MAGA) is launching the Bamboo Carbon Credits initiative, supported by the Taiwanese embassy. The initiative aims to generate carbon credits for participants, who would look to sell them on the international market. Organisations with land management capacity, including cooperatives, associations, municipalities, community organisations, environmental organisations, and companies, are also invited to take part in the initiative, the MAGA said. Selected organisations will receive high-quality bamboo seedlings, specialised technical assistance, and support in the international certification processes. Interested parties can fill out the following form.

J-REDD+ - The Secretariat of the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) confirmed on Thursday that it has accepted a set of documents from the Brazilian state of Acre, as previously announced by the local government in January. These include a TREES Monitoring Report (TMR) for 2023 and a TREES Registration Document (TRD) covering the 2023-27 crediting period. After deductions, Acre’s jurisdictional programme (J-REDD+) expects roughly 6.5 mln credits for 2023.

City slicker - The Brazilian city of Cubatao will sign on Mar. 31 a Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) with the Brazilian Institute of Education and Development in Sustainable Innovation (IBEDIS) with the objective of structuring and implementing the Cubatao Verde Program, aiming to be the first municipality in the Baixada Santista region to engage in the trading of carbon credits in a regulated structure. Planned actions include conducting a technical diagnosis of environmental assets, developing a structured work plan, developing an ESG-GGA (Environmental, Social, and Governance and Global Goal on Adaptation) certification methodology, and raising private funds from companies. The agreement does not foresee the transfer of public funds. All financing will be carried out exclusively through private investments raised by IBEDIS, without the municipality assuming any financial or contractual responsibilities. Governance will include a joint management committee responsible for monitoring, validating, and overseeing actions, and the signing of the ACT is also expected to include the participation of representatives from the industrial sector.   

ICE Futures Europe has proposed changes to the trading calendar and delivery timelines for its CORSIA-eligible and nature-based carbon credit futures, in a move aimed at aligning the contracts more closely with established compliance market conventions.

Assessing additionality in forestry carbon projects remains a key challenge, panellists said in a webinar on Thursday.

Paraguay’s government is ramping up efforts to finalise and operationalise Bilateral Agreements (BAs) with existing partners, while holding discussions with major buyer countries in international trade under Paris Agreement Article 6.2, two senior officials told Carbon Pulse.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) operator listed its California carbon series on the London Stock Exchange, the company confirmed on Thursday.

Verra will release the first phase of its Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program in Q3 2026, delaying an earlier timeline as it works to align the framework with external standards and ongoing pilots, it announced on Wednesday.

Atlantic wood to fuel - Low-carbon fuel developer Vyterra Renewables, a subsidiary of Ensyn Corporation, has secured C$3.8 mln ($2.74 mln) from the federal government and the Nova Scotia Timber Loan Board for its planned facility in Nova Scotia. The plant will convert 140,000 mln tonnes of wood residues into 40 mln litres of low-carbon fuel oil per year once operations. The project is working to be shovel-ready by the end of 2026 and would be the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, according to the company.

Fast-track the server stack - The US House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on Thursday on the Protect American AI Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) that would limit federal litigation challenging permits for data centres supporting AI infrastructure, E&E News reported. The proposal would allow permits to remain valid even if environmental reviews are contested in court, aiming to reduce legal delays for project development.

Relief risks reversal - Maryland lawmakers are advancing the Utility RELIEF Act backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore (D) and legislative leaders, aimed at lowering energy costs by cutting utility-funded energy efficiency programmes and introducing broader regulatory changes, E&E News reported. Supporters say the measure could reduce average annual household bills by at least $150, largely through scaling back efficiency spending. However, critics, including environmental groups, utilities, and some businesses, argue the bill risks increasing long-term costs by undermining programmes that typically reduce energy demand and expenses over time. The proposal, which has already cleared the House on a fast-tracked basis, faced pushback during a Senate hearing, highlighting broader political tensions as Democrats balance short-term affordability concerns with longer-term climate and energy goals.

A pair of prominent US lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require AI hyperscalers to report their environmental impacts, including GHG emissions.

European carbon prices shrugged off Wednesday's headline-triggered dip and resumed their recent climb amid relatively light trading, while energy markets also surged higher amid contradictory reports about peace talks with Iran and continued military strikes on targets on either side of the Persian Gulf.

The European Union risks losing sight of its 2040 climate target as it prepares to negotiate plans this summer to soften the bloc’s Emissions Trading System (ETS), an NGO has warned.

A global carbon management platform has raised $7 million in fresh capital, doubling its total funding, as investor appetite grows for tools that can translate corporate emissions data into operational decision-making.

CRCF challenge rejected, again – The European Parliament on Thursday voted down a draft motion for resolution to reject the EU’s proposed permanent carbon removal methodologies under the EU’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) regulation. The motion had already been rejected last week in the Parliament’s environment committee, but left-wing parties (Left, Greens and S&D) had resubmitted the motion for a vote in plenary.

Key gaps remain - Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) second draft of its Automotive Net-Zero Standard shows notable improvements but still contains important gaps to ensure high transparency, credibility, and comparability of corporate climate strategies, according to the New Climate Institute. The non-profit recommends that SBTi set mandatory volume targets for procured materials, that it mandate sales share targets for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), and that it maintain disaggregated ZEV sales targets by geography and vehicle type to ensure clarity and accountability.

Carbon credit registry Isometric has certified Version 2.0 of its core standard, expanding its crediting scope to super pollutants.

Great British winds - Great Britain hit record wind energy generation, producing nearly 24 GW, or enough to power over 23 mln homes. Wind generation hit a new high of 23,880 MW between 1330 and 1400 GMT on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of 23,825 MW on Dec. 5. Solar and wind together produced 34 GW a little earlier on Wednesday. This squeezed the more expensive gas supply to just over 1 GW, the lowest level since Apr. 2024.

Kenya cement collab - DAC developer Octavia Carbon has partnered with local cement manufacturer Bamburi Cement to explore CO2 mineralisation in concrete, it announced on social media. The collaboration will assess how captured CO2 can be permanently stored in building materials, as part of efforts to decarbonise cement production, which is among the hardest-to-abate industrial sectors.

The UK government has awarded a £64 million grant to back Port Talbot's bid to become the first port in the Celtic Sea specifically designed to support floating offshore wind.

Stakeholders across the UK’s carbon and nature markets hold differing views on whether the government should use voluntary integrity initiatives as best practice guides, the government said on Thursday.

China’s grip on clean energy technologies has left other countries exposed to supply chain shocks in key manufacturing sectors like solar PV, wind power, heat pumps, and batteries, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Carbon removal (CDR) should be treated as a limited global resource with its own allocation rules, rather than being folded into overall net emissions targets, a study published Thursday has found.

RECs for energy access - The African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa has approved a $5.65 mln reimbursable grant to pilot the Peace Renewable Energy Certificate (P-REC) Aggregation Facility, which will deploy renewable energy certificates to fund a portfolio of mini-grids across Africa’s poorest countries. Co-financed with the Nordic Development Fund, which committed an equivalent amount, the $11.3 mln facility will be managed by fund manager Camco Clean Energy and US non-profit Energy Peace Partners. The certificates come solely from small-scale mini-grid projects in conflict-affected and energy-poor areas, and are voluntarily purchased by global corporates seeking to drive socio-environmental impact. Hard currency will then be sent back to project developers. Some 856,000 people across 14 African countries are expected to gain electricity access as a result.  

Dumping the pumps - Lawyers at environmental charity ClientEarth have warned that companies in the UK gas industry may have breached competition law by coordinating efforts to slow the uptake of heat pumps. In legal letters sent to 10 firms in Feb. 2026, the organisation points to evidence suggesting that some companies may have worked together to influence the home heating market, including by shaping public perceptions and discouraging adoption of heat pumps. The concerns centre on three main areas:

• alleged dissemination of misleading or negative messaging about heat pumps, including PR activity designed to generate hostile media coverage
• coordinated promotion of hydrogen as a future heating solution, despite expert consensus that it is unsuitable for domestic use, potentially encouraging consumers to delay switching away from gas
• a reported agreement among major boiler manufacturers to align pricing of future “hydrogen-ready” boilers with conventional gas boilers, raising concerns about price coordination

ClientEarth argues that such behaviour, if coordinated, could constitute anti-competitive conduct, even where companies also operate in the heat pump market. The warning comes as the UK government expands financial support for heat pumps, including a £7,500 grant, to accelerate low-carbon heating. Despite their higher efficiency, lower running costs, and environmental benefits, heat pump uptake in the UK remains the lowest in Europe. The Climate Change Committee has identified misinformation around cost and performance as a key barrier to adoption. ClientEarth contends that industry messaging may have contributed to this, limiting consumer access to accurate information and slowing the transition away from gas heating.

Existing clean cooking solutions can help to close the massive gap in access by 2030, but only a fraction of the necessary investment has been mobilised so far, and uptake of available finance is limited, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

A dynamic, two-way relationship often emerges between coal and EU Allowance (EUA) prices during instances of acute geopolitical conflict, as the war in the Middle East continues to show signs of further escalation, according to peer-reviewed analysis.

EU member states’ agricultural imports are still responsible for a significant amount of deforestation, equal to approximately 112,000 hectares annually, a new analysis has found.

Pipeline benefits outweigh carbon costs - A new report by Canadian think tank Clean Prosperity has found the financial benefits of the new 1 mln-barrels-per-day pipeline, outlined in the Canada-Alberta MoU, would far outweigh the carbon costs of the deal’s minimum effective price of C$130 ($94) for provincial carbon market TIER. The think tank modelled the impact of these two MoU provisions on the profitability of four oil sands facilities, representing a range of emissions intensities, finding they’d see an increase in per-barrel profitability of 30% to 91%, net of carbon costs. It found facilities would quickly recoup their additional carbon costs and see net profits of C$3.2 bln in the 15 years following pipeline construction.  Alberta’s royalties would also increase by C$957 mln in the same period. MoU negotiations are ongoing, with a deadline set for Apr. 1. However, reports suggest the two governments will miss the deadline.

The first transaction under the European Union’s new carbon removal framework has been publicly disclosed, involving carbon removal credits tied to a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) project in Sweden.

The UN’s climate chief has welcomed India’s newly approved 2035 climate targets as a boost to clean energy growth and economic development, although analysts and campaigners have warned the plans may fall short of driving deeper emissions cuts.

Conclusions adopted by the European Council on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) mark a step towards longer-term progress but fall short of addressing immediate industry challenges, the European ceramic sector said this week.

Scotland's new Climate Change Plan sets out over 150 policies and proposals aimed at reaching net zero emissions, in response to criticism that the draft plan lacked details on how it would achieve its longer term carbon budgets.

Nuclear nucleus – Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) is to commission three studies looking into international safety standards and potential environmental impacts of nuclear power facilities, as the country considers deployment of the energy source. In a press release on Thursday, the NEA said the three studies would consider things such as how to design and operate reactors safely, environmental standards, and how to protect public health. Nuclear is essential to holding global warming to 2C, Carbon Forward Asia attendees heard on Tuesday.

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) has announced plans to expand its environmental markets offering with the introduction of new UK carbon derivatives, responding to increasing demand from traders and compliance participants.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Gabon’s government will move forward with a nature conservation $200 million financing project, aimed at helping the Central African country meet its 30x30 target.

Adoption of an emissions trading system is considered a crucial aspect of Taiwan's climate policy agenda, but the exact market design requires more deliberation about policy linkage and liquidity, a webinar heard this week.

The EU risks missing an opportunity to create lead markets for low‑carbon steel and other materials under its Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) unless the proposal is reinforced with tougher standards and assigned dedicated funding, a German climate think tank has said.

Australia should use its role as president of the COP31 negotiations to advance a decarbonisation deals platform to bridge the gap between Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) ambitions and economic implementation, the country’s Climate Change Authority (CCA) has proposed.

Challenges around additionality, financing, and limited demand are emerging as key constraints for scaling blue carbon markets, even as interest in high-quality projects remains strong, experts said on Thursday.

Tender open (again) - The government of Balochistan in Pakistan has reopened bids for the Khor blue carbon offset project, a large-scale initiative aimed at restoring coastal ecosystems and generating carbon credits through afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation activities. Being developed under a public-private partnership framework in collaboration with the Balochistan Public Private Partnership Authority, the project will cover 34,351 ha along the province’s coastal belt and is expected to sequester over 300,000 tonnes of CO2e annually. Bids for the project are open until Apr. 15.

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) has urged Brussels to avoid locking Europe’s nascent CO2 transport and storage industry into a rigid, gas-style market model, as the European Commission prepares a sweeping infrastructure package for the third quarter of 2026.

A global climate investment and advisory firm has been awarded up to $25 million to develop a blended finance platform to scale a Timor-Leste community agroforestry programme with the potential to generate up to 20 mln verified carbon credits over its lifetime.

Carbon pricing schemes deliver significant emissions reductions, but their effectiveness can be more than doubled when combined with well-aligned climate policies, according to a new study.

Ireland’s Court of Appeal has upheld the government’s approach to climate planning under national law, rejecting a legal challenge that argued the country’s flagship decarbonisation roadmap lacked sufficient detail and certainty to meet binding emissions targets.

Blue carbon potential - China's national voluntary CCER programme has registered its first blue carbon project, according to a statement released this week by the China Quality Certification Center (CQC). The project, developed by government affiliate Third Institute of Oceanography, is expected to generate 32,466 carbon credits through mangrove restoration in Fujian province during 2016-23. It represents a replicable and scalable path for realising the value of marine carbon sinks in China, CQC said.

A new satellite-based monitoring tool aims to detect early-stage risks in forest carbon projects, offering developers and investors faster visibility into project performance.

The UK Transition Finance Council's initial draft guidelines for financial firms, designed to steer climate conscious investments, recognise the value of carbon credits to offset residual emissions and support wider environmental outcomes.