The Washington Department of Ecology (ECY) published on Monday the latest proposed changes to the state’s Cap-and-Invest Program, as part of its updates and linkage rulemaking.

RGGI Allowance (RGA) futures volumes tripled week-on-week (WoW), as warmer temperatures held benchmark prices above the $23 handle through the period.

A US-based micro-nuclear technology firm announced Tuesday it has completed a preliminary design review (PDR) in the UK for its power plant design, becoming the first developer to do so in the country.

A Saskatchewan-based fertiliser company, which captures carbon for its production process, is taking steps to develop an up to C$150 million ($109 mln) demonstration facility in the south of the province.

Canada needs to modernise its industrial carbon pricing system, but doing so alongside implementation of its incoming oil and gas cap could tank its largest carbon market, a trio of domestic climate researchers has warned. 

Brazil is working on a plan alongside global alternative asset management firms to deploy some R$20 billion ($3.6 bln) in climate finance as the country looks to step up efforts ahead of its hosting of COP30, Reuters reported Monday.

News in J-REDD+ – Brazil's State of Mato Grosso is looking at the possibility of new partnerships for its jurisdictional system for REDD+ (J-REDD+), which already includes the LEAF Coalition. If established, the new collaborations will be launched at COP30, to be held in Belem, from Nov. 10-21. At an event in Sao Paulo last week, the Secretary of Environment for Mato Grosso Mauren Lazzaretti affirmed that the state has one of the best national performances in fighting illegal deforestation, with the highest percentage of inspection and/or authorisation actions in the deforested area. Despite this, however, Mato Grosso was the state with the largest deforested area in the first six months of this year, according to data released earlier this month. In the Centre-West region of the country, the state spans the Amazon Forest, Cerrado, and Pantanal biomes.

Emission omission – The US EPA plans to release a draft proposal on Tuesday to repeal the 2009 endangerment finding, a foundational scientific determination that has enabled federal regulation of GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act, E&E News reported. If successful, the repeal could significantly limit the EPA’s authority to regulate CO2 emissions and dismantle key Biden-era climate rules. Administrator Lee Zeldin is expected to announce the move during a visit to a truck-linked facility in Indiana.

Asphalt advances – Verde Resources, an infrastructure technology company focused on low-carbon materials, and the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) have reported early findings from a biochar-infused asphalt test section installed in Dec. 2024 at NCAT’s Alabama test track. The material, developed by Verde, is designed to sequester CO2 and has shown consistent performance under roughly 50,000 ESALs of heavy truck traffic, indicating potential for low-volume road use. It is also the first asphalt to generate verified carbon removal credits, certified by Puro.earth.

Appalachian methane – The methane abatement firm Zefiro announced Monday that it had landed its first methane monitoring contract under the US EPA’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program. Per a press release, Zefiro has been awarded a contract by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection related to orphaned well plugging. The firm will perform pre-plugging and post-plugging methane quantification in addition to locating oil and gas well candidates for plugging operations. The EPA’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program was created under the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated $850 mln for grants to tackle the potent GHG.

REDD+ registry launch - Kenya launched its REDD+ Registry and REDD+ Nesting Guidelines on Monday in Nairobi, alongside the British High Commissioner to the country, according to a post on LinkedIn by lawyer Clarice Wambua. The registry, part of the country's 2024 Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulation, tracks and verifies carbon credits and emissions reductions from forests. The nesting guidelines enable REDD+ projects led by communities, NGOs, and the private sector to integrate into Kenya's carbon accounting system, ensuring alignment, equity, and benefit sharing.

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has reintroduced legislation that would create a national biochar research network to test biochar in agricultural applications across the country.

Environmental and public interest non-profits filed a legal petition last week challenging recent amendments to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), alleging the changes exceed California regulator ARB's legal authority and fail to comply with key statutory requirements.

The EU has reduced the volume of carbon allowances that will be auctioned in the final four months of the year by 6% compared to the same period in 2024, it was announced late on Monday.

Futures carbon contracts eligible for the current phase of CORSIA settled at a record high this week on at least one exchange, as momentum builds ahead of expected new supply being made available to the market.

Ecuador has signed a second Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a carbon standard, strengthening technical and regulatory readiness ahead of the anticipated approval of a national environmental markets law later this year.

Qatar has threatened to divert its liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports away from Europe unless the European Union weakens its incoming corporate sustainability due diligence law, according to a letter from Qatar’s energy minister to the Belgian government.

Pricing of CO2 emissions explains stock returns for UK-listed firms at least as much as oil prices, with carbon prices becoming the single most important energy or environmental variable to consider in determining corporate value, according to a recent study.

Romanian modernisation - Romania has drafted a €300 mln state aid scheme to support the production and transport of geothermal energy for district heating or cooling systems, with money coming from the EU ETS-funded Modernisation Fund, Profit.ro reported. The subsidies would be spread equally over six years, from 2025-30. It's expected to support nine projects or companies.

Electrification beats gas - New York Judge Glenn Suddaby has found the Energy Policy and Conservation Act doesn’t violate a federal law governing energy efficiency for appliances, reported E&E News. Suddaby ruled in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York that the act doesn’t preempt the state from changing its building and energy codes to block new gas infrastructure. The outlet wrote the decision is giving renewed hope for clean energy advocates pushing to expand building electrification and reduce reliance on gas.

COP30 president and longtime climate negotiator Andre Correa do Lago sees a clear integrity hierarchy among forest carbon credits and believes restoration is in the top tier, he told Carbon Pulse.

Bristol brewery - Bristol Beer Factory, a long-established brewery in Bristol, southwest England, has expanded into a new 12,000 square feet facility - doubling its original footprint. The company is investing £1.2 mln in the new, environmentally sustainable facility to expand its production capacity and aims to be carbon neutral by 2040. Capital import finance has been secured from Lloyds. (Insider Media)

A global call for durable carbon removal (CDR) projects has attracted 282 applications, with nearly two-thirds of submissions using biochar and over half coming from Africa or Asia, according to early insights from the first round of a request for proposals (RFP) launched by a climate finance company last month.

A new index for measuring a company's contribution to carbon neutrality – including through the purchase of carbon credits – is being developed, with the methodology set to be released at COP30 and the findings used to guide the decarbonisation strategies of investors.

Move over, methane - The US EPA is preparing to issue an interim final rule that would suspend methane emissions requirements for oil and gas operations, bypassing the typical public comment process, E&E News reported. The rule, expected this week, would pause enforcement of a Biden-era mandate requiring enhanced monitoring and repair of natural gas leaks, including at new facilities and states drafting implementation plans for existing ones. While the EPA said the delay allows time to revise the standards in response to industry concerns, environmental attorneys argued the move misuses a process intended for emergencies.

The EU's commitment to buy $750 billion of US oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and nuclear fuels over the next three years goes against the bloc's climate pledges and is anyway not technically feasible, experts said on Monday.

A UK-based company announced the end of a seed funding round, it said was oversubscribed, on Friday after raising approximately £4.87 mln for its non-genetically modified, bacteria-based fertiliser product.

EUAs failed to gather any bullish momentum on Monday, after news over the weekend that the EU and US had inked a trade deal that some thought would boost European carbon prices, while Brussels also announced a cut in auction volumes from September to the end of 2025 after the close.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could play a crucial role in restoring trust and improving price transparency in the voluntary carbon market, according to a recently published report, which identified AI-driven tools as critical to addressing concerns over credit quality, additionality, and fragmentation in the market.

Mangrove pilot - India' s southern state of Tamil Nadu has initiated its first carbon credit pilot, selecting the Muthupet mangroves in Thiruvarur district as the launch site, local outlet DT Next reported. The state plans to develop carbon credits through afforestation, mangrove restoration, and wetland conservation. The Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company will lead the project, supported by an expert firm. Muthupet was chosen for its rich blue carbon ecosystem and high sequestration potential.

Mangrove potential - Pakistan’s coastal mangroves could yield $20-50 mln annually from carbon credit sales, Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said, as reported by The Dawn. He highlighted Sindh’s Delta Blue Carbon (DBC) project, which he claimed has already generated $40 mln and spans 350,000 ha. Launched in 2015, the public-private initiative targets mangrove restoration in the Indus Delta.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy has inaugurated a new mobile direct air capture (DAC) testing unit in the Kingdom, it announced Monday.

The UK's 10 most prominent net zero technologies are at least potentially vulnerable to climate change impacts such as flooding and storms, according to a study published by the government on Monday.

The Negative Emissions Platform, a broad industry group, has called for a gradual integration of carbon removals (CDR) in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), saying the system should be carefully designed to avoid mitigation deterrence.

The recently signed free trade agreement between the UK and India will spur a rise in emissions, according to the UK government, which also warned of carbon leakage and lack of coherence with Britain’s climate goals.

Leave your feedback - The joint committee for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) between the Philippines and Japan is seeking feedback on a carbon credit project that cuts emissions through the implementation of the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique, according to a notice. The initiative is expected to cut emissions by almost 2 MtCO2e during 2025-30, a potential supply boost to the mechanism, the project design document showed. It was proposed by Creattura, which has been working closely with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the irrigators' associations in the Philippines. The call for public input will be open until late August.

Europe's first dedicated CO2 monitoring satellite was launched over the weekend, aiming to provide more granular detail about CO2 emissions from cities and forests to help verify climate targets and guide net zero strategies including for carbon capture and storage.

The engineering arm of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group is seeking to increase its participation in carbon capture projects and expand investments in low-carbon industrial solutions.

The International Partners Group (IPG) has disbursed $1.2 billion of cash in Indonesia via the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and has another $5-6 bln on the way, a senior official said Monday.

Uruguay joins I-REC(E) - Uruguay has been approved for I-REC(E) issuance by the International Tracking Standard Foundation (I-TRACK Foundation), enabling small-scale renewable electricity generators under 1 MW to issue internationally recognised certificates. The Green Certificate Company will act as the initial issuer, with plans to expand access to larger generators in a second phase, the I-TRACK Foundation said on its website.

An agricultural commodities firm based in Texas has secured a 37.5% equity stake in a blue carbon project in Indonesia’s Riau Islands, with an aim to reduce net emissions across its commodity supply chains through nature-based solutions (NbS).

The idea of Australia reintroducing an economy-wide price on carbon has been gaining media attention in recent weeks, but many are sceptical about how realistic the proposition could be.

Peaker approval - Australia’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has approved the development of a new gas-fired peaking plant to go to the due diligence stage so as to source potential debt funding. QPM Energy plans to build the 112 MW fast-start generator in central Queensland as part of its Isaac Energy Hub. It will be fed by the company’s own gas. QPM said its plans align with the federal government's Future Gas Strategy and Queensland’s own net zero roadmap, which sees a place for gas to back up renewables. Peaking plants can be switched on and ramp up quickly when renewables drop out of the grid. A final investment decision is expected next quarter.

Withdrawal - South Korea's largest electric utility Kepco has reportedly withdrawn a lawsuit against the country's environment ministry for the cancellation of around 633,000 emissions permits for 2021-23, according to Chosun Biz. The ministry argued that, based on the existing regulations, if the GHG emissions decrease to 50% or less of the allocation due to facility shutdowns, suspensions, or closures, the residual emission rights can be revoked. While the power company said the cancellation was unjust, the court determined that the decision was valid, as public interest takes precedence over property rights. Kepco filed a total of three lawsuits against the ministry regarding the matter, and in May lost successive lawsuits related to the cancellation of emissions allowances for 2021 and 2022.

Landmark investments - Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has catalysed A$25.7 bln ($16.9 bln) in investment value to the renewable energy transition in the 12 months to June 30, 2025, it announced Monday. The government-owned green bank said last financial year it committed a record A$4.7 bln, including a record A$3.5 bln to renewable energy projects and grid infrastructure - 2.5 times more than the previous 12 months. The 2024-25 financial year saw increased activity and impact from the Rewiring the Nation fund, the Household Energy Upgrades Fund, and the Powering Australia Technology Fund, the CEFC said. CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said the corporation was tapping into growing consumer sentiment in favour of measures to address climate change. Referring to BNEF research, the CEFC said Australia needs to invest some $59 bln every year between now and 2030 - 2.6 times current levels - to remain on target for net zero by 2050.

Repeal - Australian former Nationals party leader, MP Barnaby Joyce, on Monday introduced a private members bill to federal parliament attempting to repeal Australia's net zero emissions by 2050 target. The bill argues that the government's effort to reach net zero emissions is causing massive damage to the economy and it is exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. The legislation seeks to repeal the Climate Change Act 2022, bills relating to the government's Future Made in Australia initiative, and the Net Zero Economy Authority Act 2024. It comes as the Coalition, made up of the Nationals and Liberal parties, is conducting an investigation into their electoral defeat on May 3, with its emissions reduction and net zero positions among the suite of policies up for review. Joyce has incorrectly told local media that Australia is part of a waning group of countries that are still committed to the Paris Agreement, and that nothing Australia does will contribute to addressing climate change.

Call from communities - Eighty eight organisations across the community sector have urged the Australian government to aim for a net zero emissions by 2035, according to a joint statement published Monday. Rapidly worsening climate change is hurting communities, the statement noted, with the community NGO sector being on the front line in responding to the impacts on people's mental and physical health, homes, jobs, and general quality of life. The letter noted that while there are challenges, many of the solutions needed to cut emissions more rapidly are readily available, such as large-scale renewables, more energy efficient and electric homes, workplaces, industry, and transport. Signatories of the statement included Amnesty International, Action Aid, Oxfam Australia, Anglicare Australia, among others. Australia is currently contemplating its 2035 NDC, and has legislated to reach net zero emissions by 2050.