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The 2026 US National Grasslands Survey reveals that while 71% of Americans are likely to support grassland conservation, grasslands are perceived as the seventh most threatened ecosystem. The report segments the population into five groups—Passionates, Leisures, Environmentalists, Materialists, and Indifferents—and finds that providing information significantly increases the perceived importance of grasslands, moving them from the fourth to the first most important ecosystem among respondents.

The report examines how wastewater treatment plants can be transformed into carbon removal hubs by managing alkalinity and repurposing biosolids. It identifies two primary intervention categories: alkalinity management (including Wastewater Alkalinity Enhancement and Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement) and biosolids management (including biomass burial, biochar, supercritical water oxidation, and incineration with CCS). The document highlights synergies such as the safe destruction of PFAS and the use of existing pumping infrastructure to reduce capital and energy costs. Globally, the biogenic carbon in municipal wastewater represents a theoretical removal potential of 120–460 MtCO2 per year, though current treatment rates limit this to 70–260 MtCO2. Key barriers to scale include feedstock supply chain development, quantification challenges for carbon credits, and ecological risks.

The Canadian Climate Institute argues that the memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Canada fails to effectively address the dysfunction of Alberta's industrial carbon pricing system. While the agreement introduces a price floor and hedging contracts to stabilize carbon credit markets, the Institute claims the price levels—$60 per tonne by 2030 and $110 by 2040—are too low to drive necessary investments or meet 2050 net-zero targets. Furthermore, the document warns that this agreement sets a low national benchmark that may encourage other provinces to weaken their own carbon pricing systems, potentially hindering Canada's overall climate policy effectiveness.

The Alberta-Canada Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) implementation agreement is criticized for cementing low stringency in industrial carbon pricing, which the author argues will limit emissions reductions and investment in low-carbon projects. While the MOU introduces a minimum market price and joint carbon contracts for difference to stabilize credit markets, the price floor of $60 per tonne by 2030 and $110 by 2040 is deemed too low to meet Canada's net-zero 2050 commitment. The author contends that this agreement sets a low de facto minimum standard for other provinces and that strengthening the system to $130 per tonne would have a negligible impact on oil sands competitiveness, adding less than 50 cents per barrel to the cost of Western Canada Select crude oil.

The author refutes industry claims that industrial carbon pricing is unaffordable or harmful to competitiveness, noting that the cost for Alberta's oil sands producers would be less than 50 cents a barrel by 2030. The text highlights that carbon pricing is increasing globally, covering nearly 30 per cent of global GHG emissions, and is necessary to avoid carbon border tariffs from jurisdictions like the EU. It concludes that a strong industrial carbon market in Alberta is critical for Canada to reach net zero by 2050.

The author refutes industry claims that industrial carbon pricing is unaffordable or detrimental to competitiveness, noting that the cost for Alberta oil sands producers would be less than 50 cents per barrel by 2030. Analysis of 17 years of provincial trade data shows no statistically significant contraction in exports linked to carbon pricing. The text highlights that global carbon pricing coverage has increased from 12% of emissions in 2015 to nearly 30% today, with the EU implementing border carbon tariffs. The author concludes that a robust industrial carbon market in Alberta is critical for Canada's trajectory toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

Six climate and clean energy organizations are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to resolve the Alberta-federal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on energy and climate policies. The letter emphasizes that the failure to meet the April 1 deadline is stalling industrial investment and hindering Canada's transition to a low-carbon economy. The organizations identify three critical unresolved areas: the need for a minimum effective TIER credit price of $130 by 2030, the removal of barriers to wind and solar deployment to meet rising electricity demand, and the implementation of methane regulations that are equivalent to federal standards.

The study evaluates 23 CDR pathways for Massachusetts, concluding that while several are suitable for deployment and R&D leadership, in-state CDR alone cannot meet the projected 14 million tCO2e annual removal need by 2050. The report suggests that achieving the Net Zero 2050 mandate will require a combination of additional emissions reductions, regional coordination, and out-of-state CDR procurement.

Carbon Market Watch proposes that the EU replace 'net' climate targets with three distinct targets for emissions reductions, land-based sequestration, and permanent carbon dioxide removals (CDR). The guide argues that current EU governance is inadequate, noting that the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation lacks rigour and the Net-Zero Industry Act's goal of 50 Mt of geological CO2 storage does not specify the volume for permanent removals. To implement this, the author suggests integrating permanent removal targets into the Effort Sharing Regulation and strengthening the Governance Regulation to require credible feasibility and sustainability assessments by March 2027. Proposed target designs include a 'floor' for minimum delivery and a 'ceiling' to prevent over-reliance on CDR, with targets expressed in absolute volume (MtCO2) and as a percentage of 1990 gross emissions. Financing should be shared between the public sector and high-polluting companies through progressive taxation or direct removal obligations.

The report highlights a growing gap in 2025 where global coal capacity increased by 3.5% despite a 0.6% decrease in generation, signaling a shift where coal serves as a backup rather than a primary power source. While China and India continue to expand capacity for energy security, the total number of countries proposing or building new coal plants fell to 32 in 2025. The document specifically contrasts the policies of South Korea, which has committed to a 2040 coal phase-out and joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, with Japan, which maintains a large coal fleet and focuses on abatement technologies like ammonia co-firing and CCS without a binding national phase-out date.

In 2025, global coal power capacity increased by 3.5% while generation fell by 0.6%, reflecting a trend where coal plants act as 'system insurance' rather than primary power sources. This gap is most prominent in China and India, where record-high completions coexist with falling generation due to rapid wind and solar expansion. While the number of countries proposing new coal projects decreased from 38 in 2024 to 32 in 2025, and Latin America reached a state of no new proposals, some regions like the US and EU delayed planned closures due to energy security and political intervention. South Korea has committed to a 2040 coal phase-out, contrasting with Japan's more gradual approach focused on ammonia co-firing and efficiency improvements.

The global iron and steel industry faces a 'coal lock-in crisis' as blast furnace (BF) capacity continues to expand despite decarbonization targets. While electric arc furnace (EAF) and direct reduced iron (DRI) capacities are growing, the transition is slowed by massive legacy assets in China and aggressive new coal-based developments in India. Green hydrogen remains a critical but underutilized bottleneck, with only 2% of operating DRI capacity using it as a primary reductant. The report highlights a significant gap between announced net-zero goals and actual industrial investment, particularly regarding the relining of existing blast furnaces.

The Wood Solution Thailand Program's engagement phase (March–June 2026) seeks to transition Thailand's building sector from concrete to sustainable timber to reduce emissions and support rural development. The initiative, a partnership between the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Eco-Innovation Foundation, and the Thailand and Nordic countries Innovation Unit, focuses on five workstreams: conducting a value chain feasibility study, supporting pioneer pilot initiatives, creating a support platform for international experts, hosting a vision event in Bangkok, and developing funding partnerships. The program intends to link cities to local forests, utilizing plantations, agroforestry, and managed secondary forests to create permanent carbon sinks and improve rural livelihoods.

A joint statement from research organisations, think tanks, and civil society arguing that the European Commission's Industrial Accelerator Act proposal lacks the ambition needed to create effective lead markets for low-carbon materials. The signatories call for progressive increases in public procurement quotas, the inclusion of private procurement, and robust definitions of 'low-carbon' to avoid stranding committed supply and to provide the investment certainty required for large-scale decarbonisation.

The document argues that while the second Trump administration has targeted wind, solar, and electric vehicles, bipartisan support for clean firm energy—including nuclear, geothermal, and carbon capture—remains durable through existing statutory foundations and congressional appropriations.

The report examines the shift in U.S. energy policy from 2020 to 2026, highlighting a conflict between the second Trump administration's efforts to roll back clean energy initiatives and a persistent bipartisan congressional consensus on 'clean firm' energy. While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) significantly curtailed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits and rescinded grant funding, key credits for nuclear, geothermal, and carbon capture remained. The administration has aggressively targeted wind, solar, and electric vehicles through deregulation and the cancellation of billions in obligated funding, while the federal workforce has seen a significant loss of STEM expertise. However, the report notes that annual appropriations processes have partially mitigated the administration's requested spending cuts, and billions in prior clean energy outlays remain in place.

Drax biomass power station received record public subsidies of £999 million in 2025, costing UK households approximately £13 each per year. These payments are expected to drop by about half to £460 million per year starting in 2027 as the Renewables Obligation scheme ends. Despite the subsidy reduction, Drax is projected to remain the UK's largest carbon emitter until at least 2030, while its long-term plans for carbon capture technology remain uncertain.

The policy brief outlines seven critical functions that U.S. states perform to advance clean energy and climate goals, emphasizing that state-level action is resilient to federal political swings and provides scalable models for emissions reductions and economic development.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) advocates for a managed, financed, and equitable fossil fuel phaseout during the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia. CIEL proposes a binding Fossil Fuel Treaty to fill governance gaps and argues that states have a legal obligation, supported by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to phase out fossil fuels. Key priorities include dismantling Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, ending offshore oil and gas licensing, halting petrochemical expansion, and rejecting carbon capture and geoengineering. The document emphasizes that the transition must be funded by the largest cumulative polluters and grounded in human rights and Indigenous leadership.

The Tassiriki Call, adopted in April 2026, outlines a vision for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific based on 100% renewable energy and the 1.5°C temperature limit. It advocates for a global Fossil Fuel Treaty, scaled-up grant-based finance, and the creation of an Inter-Governmental Taskforce for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific. The statement emphasizes the need for a managed decline of fossil fuel production and warns against the use of carbon capture and geoengineering to justify continued production.