Singapore and the Philippines have signed their first legally binding agreement to facilitate carbon credit transfers, marking a significant step in regional efforts to deepen international climate cooperation and accelerate decarbonisation strategies. Singapore and the Philippines have moved to formalise one of Southeast Asia’s most closely watched carbon market ties, signing an Implementation Agreement that creates a legally binding framework for carbon credit cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. According to Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, the arrangement will allow carbon mitigation projects in the Philippines to generate credits that can be transferred to Singapore, where they…

The Asian Development Bank unveils a $70 billion plan to enhance cross-border power grids and regional digital networks, aiming to boost clean energy access and digital inclusion by 2035. The Asian Development Bank is preparing a $70 billion push to reshape Asia-Pacific infrastructure by 2035, with the funding split between a cross-border power network and a regional digital backbone. For industrial decarbonisation professionals, the scale matters: the programme is designed not just to expand access, but to make cleaner electricity and better connectivity available across borders, where both remain major constraints on electrification and competitiveness. According to the bank’s plan,…

Governor Kathy Hochul announces a significant overhaul of New York’s climate legislation, shifting targets and adjusting timelines to address economic concerns while maintaining long-term emission reduction commitments. New York’s climate policy is being recast in Albany as state leaders try to reconcile decarbonisation goals with mounting concerns over power bills, fuel costs and grid reliability. Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Thursday that the state has struck a $268 billion budget agreement that will amend the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the landmark law that set some of the country’s most ambitious emissions targets. Under the deal, the administration…

The ACCA recommends tighter alignment of sustainability disclosures between the UK and China, highlighting benefits for trade, investment, and economic development amid calls for coordinated standards and clearer guidance. Strengthening the way the UK and China report on sustainability could help support trade, investment and wider economic growth, according to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The body has urged policymakers in both countries to keep their approaches as closely aligned as possible with international norms, warning that unnecessary divergence would raise costs and complicate cross-border business. Its latest report, drawn from research and consultation in the UK and China,…

Leaked EU draft reveals plans to soften methane emissions rules, potentially providing oil and gas producers with more leeway during market crises, amid mounting US influence and industry concerns over climate targets. The European Commission is preparing a significant softening of its methane enforcement regime, according to a leaked draft seen by Euronews, in a move that could give oil and gas producers breathing space during periods of acute market stress. The document suggests that fines linked to methane breaches should not be applied in ways that threaten gas or oil supplies during shortages, emergency storage conditions or major supply…

A recent study in Nature Reviews Clean Technology challenges optimistic assumptions about hydrogen’s role in decarbonisation, highlighting geopolitical risks and potential industrial upheaval as nations race to adapt to a fragmented and competitive future. Hydrogen strategies for heavy industry are still being built on assumptions that may prove too optimistic, according to a new study in Nature Reviews Clean Technology that argues policymakers are underplaying the geopolitical risks around a global shift to renewable hydrogen. The research suggests that many current plans for decarbonising steel, chemicals and other energy-intensive sectors assume a relatively stable world of dependable alliances, open trade…

A new analysis suggests Germany’s ambitious hydrogen strategy could burden taxpayers with up to €45 billion if demand forecasts for hydrogen consumption do not materialise as expected, raising concerns over infrastructure costs and policy shifts. Germany risks saddling taxpayers with a bill of up to €45bn if its hydrogen build-out proceeds on demand forecasts that prove too optimistic, according to new analysis from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The think tank says Berlin’s strategy assumes hydrogen consumption will rise sharply as the country pushes towards climate neutrality by 2045, but that expectation may be inflated by the…

China’s latest hydrogen initiatives mark a strategic shift towards integrating low-carbon hydrogen into heavy industry, with steel at the forefront, signalling a more structured approach to industrial decarbonisation amid economic and environmental pressures. China’s latest hydrogen push may not yet amount to a full-scale commercial break with coal, but it does mark a more serious attempt by Beijing to make low-carbon hydrogen a practical tool for heavy industry, especially steel. In March, three central government ministries launched a pilot scheme that will reward five city clusters for meeting hydrogen development targets. Unlike earlier support programmes that concentrated mainly on fuel-cell…

The UK chemicals sector warns that without urgent policy reforms, rising costs and regulatory uncertainties threaten to undermine the nation’s manufacturing and strategic capabilities, as the industry faces a difficult year ahead. The UK chemicals sector is entering another difficult year, with the Chemical Industries Association warning that a sharp reset in government policy is needed if domestic production is to remain viable. Its latest quarterly business survey paints a bleak picture. Most respondents said they were facing higher raw material, import, export and energy costs, with 88% reporting rising feedstock prices, 85% higher import costs, 80% higher export costs…

France has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap to phase out fossil fuels by 2050, linking climate commitments with practical sector-by-sector milestones amid calls for faster implementation. France has turned its fossil-fuel exit into a more coherent policy package, publishing a roadmap that gathers existing climate and energy measures under one umbrella and gives them a clearer sequence through to mid-century. The document does not add a wholly new set of pledges so much as tighten the framing around commitments already embedded in the country’s carbon-neutrality strategy and energy planning. At its core, the roadmap reinforces France’s long-standing objective of reaching net…