A Canadian developer of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies announced an agreement on Monday to sell some 626,000 carbon removal credits to tech giant Microsoft.

Verra has placed two methodology idea notes and a tool under development on hold, the organisation said, citing its review process.

H2 go – Uzbekistan has launched a clean hydrogen project, with support from the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), focusing on creating favourable conditions for the fuel, the Seoul-based intergovernmental organisation said in a press release last week. With its NDC 3.0 aiming to increase the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix to 54% by 2030, Uzbekistan has already initiated policy measures and pilot programmes to explore green hydrogen. The GGGI project – funded by the Korea Green New Deal Trust Fund, under Korea’s Ministry of Finance and Economy – is aiming to strengthen regulatory frameworks for hydrogen development, capacity building in the public sector, and unlock project opportunities to accelerate development of the clean hydrogen market.

Search engine – Tech giant Google is in negotiations to purchase gas-fired electricity to power a planned data centre in Texas, research organisation Cleanview said in a report. The new 933 MW plant, being developed by Crusoe Energy, would power two buildings on Google’s Goodnight campus, near the town of Claude, and emit as much as 4.5 MtCO2e annually, the report said. It comes after Google in Oct. 2025 signed its first ever deal to purchase power from a gas-fired plant with CCS. Cleanview said its analysis found that the tech company – which has matched 100% of its power use with renewables since 2017 – is pivoting from what it called a grid plus renewables strategy to an everything, everywhere, all at once strategy.

Solar site secured – New York has approved plans by independent power producer Cordelio Power to build a solar plant of up to 300 MW in Montgomery County, expected to supply electricity to around 40,000 homes annually. The Flat Creek Solar project received its final siting permit from the state’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission after an application filed in Sept. 2024, and will be located in the towns of Root and Canajoharie. Backed by an investment of about $350 mln, the project was among 26 selected in New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's 2024 Tier 1 Renewable Energy Standard solicitation and is scheduled to begin operations by late 2028 or 2029, with an anticipated lifespan of at least 35 years. (Renewables Now)

Power shift – Canada could reach net zero emissions by 2050 without increasing overall energy system investment or reducing useful energy service levels, said a new study, relying instead on capital reallocation across sectors. The research, published on Monday in npj Climate Action, used a subnational integrated assessment model to show spending shifts from fossil fuel supply towards electrification, efficiency, hydrogen, and enabling infrastructure. It indicated transition pathways would diverge significantly across provinces, with fossil fuel-intensive regions undergoing structural supply changes while electricity-rich jurisdictions expand electrification. The study concluded that while the transition appears technically feasible and system cost-effective, it would require coordinated policy across federal and provincial levels to manage uneven regional impacts.

Green gutting – The Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget request proposed deep cuts to US climate and environmental programmes, including a 52% reduction to US EPA funding, cancellation of billions of dollars in infrastructure law support for renewable energy, carbon capture, and EV charging, and termination of $1.6 bln for NOAA climate research, while shifting resources toward fossil fuels, mining, AI, and other energy dominance priorities, E&E News reported. The proposal also targeted offshore wind, sought to merge two Interior offshore energy bureaus, and reduced NASA science spending. Although the plan is not binding, it will serve as an opening position for congressional appropriations negotiations.

Solar scrutiny – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has launched legal action against four residential solar companies over alleged fraudulent and deceptive practices, his office said, marking the start of a broader probe into the rooftop solar sector, E&E News reported. The office issued civil investigative demands to Sunrun, Freedom Forever, Lone Star Solar Services, and CAM Solar after receiving more than 100 complaints, with Paxton stating the move is only the beginning of efforts to stop alleged widespread fraudulent activity in the solar panel industry, as he campaigns in a Senate primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn (R).

Flare-up – The US EPA on Monday finalised revisions to elements of the 2024 Clean Air Act rules for oil and natural gas operations, citing industry feedback and petitions for reconsideration, and estimating the changes will reduce compliance costs by $2.5 bln over 15 years. The updates extend allowable temporary flaring during maintenance from 24 to 72 hours, with additional flexibility under certain conditions, and ease monitoring requirements for vented gas by limiting when net heating value testing is required. The agency said the revisions are not expected to change emissions outcomes but will reduce testing obligations and administrative burdens, while forming part of a broader effort to repeal Biden-era regulations.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) futures rallied in recent days to historic highs around the $30 mark as Virginia detailed its planned timeline for rejoining the programme in the coming months.

Private sector capital continues to gain momentum across Latin America’s carbon markets, with a growing share targeting carbon removals (CDR) as developers and financiers scale new supply hubs beyond early strongholds.

Ammonia play – Plug Power has been awarded a 275 MW electrolyser Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract for a low-carbon ammonia project in Canada’s mining sector, the company announced last week. The US-based company will supply a GenEco PEM system for Hy2gen’s Courant project in Baie-Comeau, Quebec. Powered by hydroelectricity from the Hydro-Quebec grid, the facility will produce low-carbon ammonia for conversion into ammonium nitrate used in mining explosives. The company said the project represents one of its largest electrolyser awards to date.

The US EPA has approved a marine research permit allowing an offshore carbon removal (CDR) field trial in the Gulf of Mexico, marking a rare authorisation for ocean-based biomass storage experiments.

Strategy shift – BlackRock said in its recently-released 2025 Climate Report that its science-aligned emissions reduction targets for corporate operations are currently under review. The asset manager reiterated that its approach to the low-carbon transition is driven by client mandates and financial returns, while highlighting uncertainty over how the transition will unfold in practice. It described climate risk as one of several macro forces shaping markets, with investment decisions guided by materiality and client preference.

Legal challenge – Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) has issued an official letter to the Secretariat of the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), recommending the immediate suspension of the certification process and any authorisation for the sale of carbon credits from the jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) programme in Para state. In the document, the agency argued that the certification should only proceed after the conclusion of the public civil action filed by the MPF in 2025, which highlighted alleged irregularities in the J-REDD+ programme and the Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA). The letter has been submitted as an official comment to the certifier’s public record, opened by ART in February.

A London-based project developer has secured a loan from a non-profit organisation to support the early-stage operations of its afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) project in Mexico.

Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) projects on the Massachusetts coast face regulatory uncertainty, with existing environmental laws having potential to complicate permitting and slow large-scale deployment, according to a recent report.

The Trump administration's ongoing lawsuits against other states' climate superfund lawsuits could reveal a “roadmap” for a potential legal challenge against California’s cap-and-invest programme, according to a legal expert, while others agreed any challenge against the ETS would be unlikely to succeed.

A consumer class action alleging misleading “carbon neutral” claims tied to Apple products is before a US appeals court after a district court dismissed the complaint without prejudice.

The World Bank's arm for the private sector has unveiled a framework to define and guide regenerative agriculture across its investment and advisory operations.

Urban forestry - The South Korean city of Busan has secured the country’s first approval to register an urban forest project within the national emissions trading scheme boundary, converting a former landfill site into a carbon sink under the 'Haeundae Arboretum carbon absorption enhancement project'. The initiative is expected to absorb around 1,365 tonnes of CO2 over 15 years and generate tradable credits, with authorities positioning it as a new “Busan-type” carbon asset model to scale across the country. (Seoul Economic Daily)

Climate reporting - Philip Morris International (PMI) cut absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46% compared to 2019 and reached carbon neutrality in its direct operations, according to its Value Report 2025. The company also reported a 31% reduction in Scope 3 forest, land, and agriculture emissions versus 2010, alongside sourcing 99.3% of tobacco without net deforestation or ecosystem conversion, and outlined climate, circularity, and biodiversity as core priorities under its Value Plan 2030+. PMI's carbon credit purchases fell sharply to around 4,650 in 2025 from roughly 44,290 tonnes a year earlier.

New ERW datasets - US non-profit Cascade Climate said its ERW Data Quarry has doubled the amount of data available on the platform with three new datasets from projects led by Mati in Chhattisgarh, India, InPlanet in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the Carbon Drawdown Initiative in Germany. The update also adds new project developers Terrasols and The Rock Flour Company, bringing the total pipeline of data-sharing commitments to 26 as the group seeks to improve transparency around commercial enhanced rock weathering deployments.

EU expansion - RepAir Carbon, a developer of electrochemical carbon capture technology, has opened a new office in Luxembourg, adding to its operations in the US and Israel. The company recently raised $15 mln in a Series A extension and is targeting industrial emitters in Europe under frameworks such as the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming framework (CRCF) and ReFuelEU Aviation, with plans to deploy its technology for both point-source capture and direct air capture (DAC).

Solar buildout - PPC Group has completed 2.13 GW of photovoltaic projects in a former lignite mining area in Western Macedonia, Greece, forming what it described as Europe’s largest solar cluster. The projects are expected to generate 3,150 GWh annually, covering nearly 6% of national electricity demand and avoiding more than 1.5 mln tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, with battery and pumped storage projects under development to support renewable integration.

Keeping quiet - Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO, only mentioned "climate" once in his 47-page annual letter to shareholders, published Monday. JPMorgan pulled out of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, a global climate initiative, in January 2025 along with several other US banks. The solitary climate-related reference Dimon made was a criticism of the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive disclosure rules. Dimon referenced climate six times in last year's letter and 11 times in 2024.

Efforts to scale high-integrity blue carbon projects are being constrained by a fundamental tension between scientific rigour and market viability, according to a Singapore-based project developer working on a mangrove restoration initiative in Indonesia.

An Italian infrastructure group has allocated €1 million to support its in-house carbon removal unit, according to its 2025 integrated annual report.

A global consulting group has acquired a Tokyo-based carbon markets specialist to strengthen its capabilities in carbon credit evaluation, procurement, and supply chain emissions tracking, the company said last week.

Carbon removal (CDR) project developers are nearing commercial readiness but remain constrained by limited access to capital, with nearly 60% at risk of delays, downsizing, or cancellation without near-term funding, according to a survey.

Ammonia deal - Indian renewables company Jakson Green has signed an agreement with state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to supply 85,000 tpa of green ammonia under the government’s hydrogen incentive scheme, the company said in a press release. The contract, valued at about $465 mln, will support supplies to Coromandel International’s fertiliser facility in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2029.

Space emissions tracking - Japan-based ANA Holdings has joined a domestic consortium led by Axelspace to develop satellite and aircraft-based CO2 monitoring technology under a programme backed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The project will deploy compact sensors across satellites, commercial flights, and ground networks to track emissions by source, time, and location, with support from partners including Meisei Electric and JIJ, and a demonstration satellite planned for launch in the early 2030s.

Cookstove rollout consultation - Kenya-based Burn Manufacturing has invited stakeholders to consultations for a proposed Article 6.2 activity titled “Distribution of 100,000 IoT-enabled Electric Induction Cookstoves across targeted urban and peri-urban areas in Kenya”. The large-scale project will deploy connected electric cookstoves across urban and peri-urban regions, with meetings scheduled in Nyeri, Nairobi, and Kisumu in early April to gather feedback from local communities, non-profits, and policymakers.

Farm credits -  Japan-based Green Carbon and Toyota City have started accepting corporate donations to support the country’s first AWDJ-Credit methodology demonstration project, based on alternate wetting and drying (AWD) rice cultivation. The initiative builds on an earlier pilot and is backed by a cooperation agreement on agricultural carbon credit creation, with plans to expand nationwide using a corporate hometown tax scheme to fund farm-based emissions reductions and support farmer income.

Taiwan is considering deferred or instalment payment plans for emitters under the island's carbon fee programme amid a global oil shock, while the rules for the use of international carbon credits are set to be announced around summer.

Climate initiative - Cambodia has launched a regional climate technopreneurship initiative aimed at scaling green innovation and supporting climate technology businesses across Southeast Asia. Funded by the Green Climate Fund and led by the Global Green Growth Institute, the programme will provide incubation, acceleration, and technical support to climate-focused startups while facilitating partnerships and investment readiness. A $200 mln Climate Technopreneurship Fund will channel capital into high-potential climate enterprises across Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The initiative, running through 2030, aims to support 185 climate tech businesses across five countries, while promoting women-led firms, and is expected to avoid 1.63 MtCO2e in emissions.

Several leading companies in China's power sector have formed an industry alliance to develop an offset methodology for nuclear projects under the country's national voluntary CCER programme.

Moving early - Malaysia’s state energy firm Petronas is aiming to bring forward the first CO2 injection at its Kasawari carbon capture and storage (CCS) project offshore Sarawak to as early as 2027, accelerating its earlier timeline of 2029-30, Bernama reported. The move is part of efforts to reduce emissions from the gas field, which began production in 2024 and is expected to capture around 3.3 MtCO2e annually for storage. The project – set to be one of the world’s largest offshore CCS developments – highlights the need for stronger policy and regulatory clarity, including the proposed CCUS Bill 2025, as well as potential bilateral agreements with countries including Singapore and Japan to enable cross-border carbon transport and storage, the state media outlet added.

Early deals - Indonesia’s national oil and gas firm Pertamina group has signed a series of preliminary agreements with partners including POSCO, ExxonMobil, and SK Group to explore carbon capture, hydrogen, and broader low-carbon technologies, Ecobiz Asia reported. State upstream unit PHE is advancing plans for cross-border CCS projects and a potential domestic storage hub. Separately, Pertamina and POSCO will study CCS, CCUS, blue hydrogen, and ammonia, alongside carbon market potential. The non-binding deals focus on technical studies, business models, and regulatory frameworks.

CCUS push - India has proposed a variety of carbon capture and utilisation projects spanning oil recovery, refinery integration, and cement-sector applications, with a concentration in the states of Assam, Gujarat, Odisha, and Rajasthan, according to a government statement. Proposals include multiple CO2 enhanced oil recovery projects by Oil India and ONGC, refinery-based conversion projects by Indian Oil, and cement-linked mineralisation and capture pilots. India earmarked $2.2 bln for CCUS under its latest budget earlier this year.