Climate finance and technology innovation drove this week’s ESG headlines.

China overhauled its green taxonomy to boost transition funding, Germany approved a bill to fast-track carbon storage, and the EU advanced plans to double circularity by 2030. UBS exited the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, while Fortescue and Enbridge announced multi-billion-dollar investments in decarbonization. On the technology front, Prometheus cut direct air capture costs by 80%, Meta and partners launched an AI-powered carbon removal dataset, and Carbon Compared debuted a free tool for assessing high-integrity credits.

GOVERNMENT, POLICY & REGULATION

• Germany Approves Ambitious Bill to Fast-Track Carbon Storage Infrastructure
• EU Targets Doubling Circularity Rate with New Circular Economy Act by 2030
• FCA Sets Out Findings from Climate Reporting Review of Financial Firms
• Italy Approves Vatican’s 430-Hectare Solar Farm Project to reach Carbon-Neutral Status
• China Overhauls Green Taxonomy to Increase Energy Transition Finance

CARBON

• Carbon Compared Launches Free Interactive Tool to Compare High‑Integrity Carbon Credits
• Standard Chartered and State of Acre Partner to Deliver High-Integrity Carbon Credits
• Frontier and Wild Assets Sign Agreement for 120,000 Tonnes of Verified Carbon Removal Credits
• M&S Partners with Black Bull Biochar to Launch Carbon Removal Pilot in Poultry Supply Chain
• Meta, Georgia Tech, and Cusp AI Launch AI-Powered Dataset Targeting Breakthroughs in Carbon Removal
• Lloyds Bank Launches Carbon and Nature Markets Practice to Support Corporate Decarbonization

CLIMATE & ENERGY TRANSITION

• New CDP Report Shows Companies Can Earn 7x Return from Climate Action
• Prometheus Lowers Direct Air Capture Costs by 80%, Enabling Low-Cost E-Fuels
• Amazon and Brimstone Advance Partnership on Lower-Carbon Cement with Successful Initial Testing
• Burger King Signs Long Term Agreement with Iberdrola for 1,900 GWh of Renewable Electricity
• Schneider Electric and E.ON Sign Long-Term Agreement for Switchgear Deployment
• Emerge, EDM Partner to Advance Solar Project Development and Financing in UAE
• IATA and Chooose Partner to Deliver Accurate Flight Emissions Data
• bp, JERA Establish JERA Nex bp to Drive 13GW Global Offshore Wind Portfolio
• Japan Airlines and Partners Complete Phase 1 of SAF Trading Pilot to Advance Aviation Decarbonization

SUSTAINABLE FINANCE

• UBS Exits Net-Zero Banking Alliance Amid Broader Retreat by Global Banks
• Standard Chartered and State of Acre Partner to Deliver High-Integrity Carbon Credits
• Energy Vault Secures $300M to Launch Asset Vault for 1.5GW Storage Projects
• Fortescue Secures $2 Billion Yuan Loan to Advance Decarbonization Push
• Enbridge Commits $2 Billion to Solar and Gas Projects to Power Data Centers and Industrial Growth

And More…

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS (M&A)

• Blackstone to Acquire Enverus, Energy Data and Analytics Leader, in Energy Transition-focused Deal
• ISS Sustainability Solutions Acquires Sust Global to Boost AI‑Powered Geospatial Climate Risk Analytics
• Sixth Street Takes 38% Stake in Sorgenia Through $4.6 Billion Renewable Energy Deal

ESG INVESTING & FUNDS

• J.P. Morgan Mansart Launches Global Equity Fund Tracking New Sustainability Index
• China Overhauls Green Taxonomy to Increase Energy Transition Finance
• New CDP Report Shows Companies Can Earn 7x Return from Climate Action
• Pandion Asset Management Appoints Horatio H. Sparkes as Senior Director of Business Development and Investor Relations

ENVIRONMENT, NATURE & BIODIVERSITY

• IBM, Nestlé Use Generative AI to Develop Next-Generation Sustainable Packaging
• Meta Replaces Steel, Concrete with Mass Timber for Sustainable Data Center Construction
• Mars Invests $5M to Protect Peanut Supply, Breed More Climate Resilient Crops

ESG & SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING

• FCA Sets Out Findings from Climate Reporting Review of Financial Firms
• EFRAG Proposes Streamlined European Sustainability Reporting Standards to Cut Reporting Burden

TOOLS & SERVICES, TECHNOLOGY

• Carbon Compared Launches Free Interactive Tool to Compare High‑Integrity Carbon Credits
• Speeki to Integrate Agentic AI into ESG Platform for Proactive Sustainability Management
• Lenovo Launches TruScale DaaS for Sustainability to Cut Carbon, Drive Circular IT

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