Edition #2 | What Matters Now in Climate & Carbon
Lost in climate headlines? We track the trends, cut through the noise, and decode all that matters in carbon: markets, policy, innovation, and more. For carbon news and more follow CarbonBetter on LinkedIn.
US Carbon News
1. Carbon Capture Coalition 2025 Blueprint: Scaling US Carbon Management
The Carbon Capture Coalition 's 2025 Federal Policy Blueprint is a strategic, consensus-driven framework developed by over 100 diverse organizations, including companies, labor unions, and environmental groups to advance carbon management technologies across the US economy.
It presents a series of legislative and administrative policy recommendations aimed at accelerating the deployment of carbon capture, removal, transport, reuse, and storage. Responding to both recent progress and ongoing challenges, addressing key barriers such as inflation, permitting delays, and limited market development, while advocating for investment in next-generation solutions.
The Coalition highlights the blueprint’s importance in maintaining US climate leadership, increasing energy reliability and industrial competitiveness, and generating economic growth and job creation on the path to net-zero emissions.
2.Boosting US Industry, Shifting Emissions: The Complex Math of Carbon Tariffs
The Foreign Pollution Fee Act of 2025 proposes tariffs on imports such as aluminum, cement, and steel from nations with higher carbon-intensive manufacturing than the US, aiming to promote cleaner production abroad and strengthen domestic industry. Modeling from Resources for the Future suggests the policy would boost US output of these materials (up to 9% for cement and 7–8% for aluminum and steel) while diverting imports from high-emission countries like China, Mexico, and India toward lower-emission suppliers in the EU and Japan.
The government stands to collect an estimated $2.8 billion in the first year and $33.3 billion over a decade from these tariffs. However, although the carbon content of imports would drop, the rise in US production would raise domestic emissions enough to largely negate global emissions reductions.
International News
1. EU’s 2040 Climate Plan: Balancing Emissions Cuts with Global Offsets
The European Commission has proposed a plan to cut the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels by 2040, allowing up to 3% of those reductions to come from purchasing high-quality carbon offsets from projects outside the EU.
This approach aims to introduce flexibility in achieving climate goals and offer relief for sectors that struggle to reduce emissions domestically. The proposal has faced mixed reactions: while some see offsets as a pragmatic, globally beneficial tool, critics argue they risk becoming loopholes that delay essential domestic action, referencing past failures of carbon credit schemes. The plan requires approval from EU member states and the European Parliament, and comes amid tight negotiations as the bloc prepares its next set of climate targets for submission to the United Nations.
2. UK Moves Toward Cleaner Energy: 2025 GHG Factors Show Notable Emissions Shift
The UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has released the 2025 edition of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions conversion factors, commonly known as the Defra GHG factors. These updated factors are essential tools for accurately calculating emissions from a variety of activities, including energy use, transport, water, and waste disposal. Key changes for 2025 include updated well-to-tank (WTT) factors for bioenergy sources and revised waste disposal emissions factors. Notably, the carbon intensity of the UK’s Scope 2 electricity generation has decreased by 14.5% compared to the previous year, mainly due to reduced natural gas usage and increased net electricity imports, reflecting the country's shift towards renewables and away from coal.
Understanding Carbon Offsets
What Are Carbon Offsets?
Carbon offsets are tradable credits or certificates that represent a reduction, avoidance, or removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO₂) or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases (measured as CO₂ equivalents, CO₂e) from the atmosphere. These offsets allow individuals, companies, or governments to compensate for their own carbon emissions by investing in projects that lower greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere.
How Carbon Offsets Work
By purchasing offsets, the buyer effectively balances out their carbon emissions, aiming to become "carbon neutral" for the amount of offsets purchased.
Key Concepts and Criteria
For carbon offsets to be credible and effective, the emission reductions they represent must be:
Summary
Carbon offsets provide a market-based mechanism to fund emission reductions or carbon removal outside the buyer's immediate activities, helping to mitigate climate change globally. However, ensuring the quality and integrity of offsets remains essential to their effectiveness.
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