A major shift in environmental policy seems to spreading around the world. The most high-profile indicator of the shift is Germany, where Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Green Party coalition partner were thrown out of office on Sunday… The only question left is how far the green wave has receded in Germany — and across Europe. The French government has been accused of watering down environmental regulations. Elsewhere in Europe, green parties have been “kicked out of government” in Austria, Belgium and Ireland. While the Canadian policy establishment resists declaring a trend, the carbon war has moved down the priority ladder, as evidenced Monday during the French-language Liberal leadership debate. A party that’s about to pick Mark Carney, the planet’s top climate-policy powerbroker, as leader, rolled through two hours of debate without coming up with anything coherent to offset its about-face removal of its own consumer carbon tax.
Polarization is gripping the country and the centre isn’t holding, Environment and Climate Change Canada found when setting the country’s latest emissions reduction target. The department solicited feedback… to determine what Canada’s internationally binding 2035 pollution reduction obligations should be. …The results found that overcoming polarization is a major hurdle to implementing aggressive emissions reductions that climate scientists say is required to avoid catastrophic warming. About two-thirds of Canadians who participated support stronger measures to address climate change. “There was little middle ground, and very few people were satisfied with the status quo,” according to the findings. …When asked if the federal government is doing enough to fight climate change, 47% believe Canada needs to do more, compared to 36% that feel existing measures go too far. …Polarization is gripping the country and the centre isn’t holding, Environment and Climate Change Canada found when setting the country’s latest emissions reduction target.
Carbon offsets are unreliable, fraud-ridden financial tokens that often fail to make any environmental impact at all. And if Mark Carney gets his way, they’re going to be Canada’s next big industry. In his carbon reduction pitch, Carney 
When U.S. President Donald Trump was elected, Canadian officials issued a weaker than expected 2035 emission reduction target to account for the new political reality. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in an interview that after the U.S. election, the government looked at the opportunities and weighed the risks. Competitiveness was top of mind, more so than tariff threat, he said. “Certainly the United States does factor into the competitiveness issue,” he said. “Clearly the United States is moving away from any kind of regulation relating to climate.” …Wilkinson’s comments are the clearest indication yet of American influence on Canada’s plan to navigate the unfolding energy transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. …Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, characterized Canada’s “weak” target as “obeying in advance” to U.S. interests.
OTTAWA, ON
British Columbia is set to require Canadian products to fulfil renewable fuel standards for gasoline and diesel, a move Energy Minister Adrian Dix said was aimed at building a “cleaner, stronger and more self-reliant” province. Dix said B.C. is too reliant on fuels from outside Canada, making the province vulnerable to market fluctuations and other external pressures. At the same time, he said the United States provides “dramatic subsidies” for its own biofuel industry to a degree that curtails the industry in B.C. and Canada. “For too long, B.C. biofuel producers have operated in a market where their American counterparts benefited from subsidies that gave them a considerable competitive advantage,” he told the news conference announcing the changes. …Ian Quartly, chief financial officer of Tidewater Renewables, joined Dix and said the changes are a positive step toward supporting an economically viable domestic renewable fuels industry.
The Government has announced a new support mechanism for sustainable biomass generation post-2027. From 2027, Drax and other eligible large-scale biomass generators will be supported via a lowcarbon dispatchable CfD (Contract for Difference). If approved, the plan will keep the power station running until 2031. Under this proposed agreement, Drax Power Station can step in to increase generation when there isn’t enough electricity, helping to avoid the need to use more gas or import power from Europe. When there’s too much electricity on the UK grid, Drax can reduce generation, helping to balance the system. Importantly, the mechanism will result in a net saving for consumers. …The agreement also prioritises biomass sustainability. Drax supports these developments and will continue to engage with the UK Government on the implementation of any future reporting requirements.
The UK government has agreed a new funding arrangement with the controversial wood-burning Drax power station that it says will cut subsidies in half. …The new agreement will run from 2027 to 2031 and will see the power station only used as a back-up to cheaper renewable sources of power. …The government says the company currently receives nearly a billion pounds a year in subsidies and and predicts that figure will more than halve to £470m under the new deal. …The new agreement also states that 100% of the wood pellets Drax burns must be “sustainably sourced” and that “material sourced from primary and old growth forests” will not be able to receive support payments. All the pellets Drax burns are imported, with most of them coming from the USA and Canada. BBC has previously reported that Drax held logging licences in British Columbia, and used wood, including whole trees, from primary forests for its pellets.
As institutional interest in real asset investing grows, forestry is gaining recognition beyond its core enthusiasts for its ability to produce income and capital growth, alongside added benefits like carbon sequestration and biodiversity protection. However, trust in sustainability-focused investments remains a challenge. In EY’s 2024 Institutional Investor Survey, 85% of respondents said misleading claims about sustainability are more of a problem today than five years ago, despite regulators’ efforts to quash exaggerated ESG statements. …A persistent narrative is that established timberlands are better, safer investments than new greenfield developments. The truth is more nuanced. Greenfield projects, which involve reforesting degraded or underused land, offer an opportunity to achieve ‘additionality’ – a crucial component of effective carbon sequestration. …For forestry investors, the upshot is clear: regulatory uncertainty is currently a barrier to restoring widespread trust in carbon markets, and resolving this will take time.
NEW YORK — Chestnut Carbon, a leading developer of nature-based carbon removal solutions, announced today that they have completed the first issuance and sale of Improved Forest Management (IFM) credits sourced from their conservation membership program branded as Forest Carbon Works. The issuance of more than 64,000 credits, or tons of carbon removal, were sold to multiple corporate buyers, including JPMorganChase. These transactions totaled $2.2 million. Chestnut’s U.S.-based IFM membership program, Forest Carbon Works, provides an opportunity for private forest owners to access income-generating carbon markets while preserving the integrity and legacy of their land. The program includes landowners in 36 states with more than 150,000 acres enrolled as of February 2025. These carbon removal credits are certified through Verra on the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and undergo rigorous third-party audits.
Can you fly airplanes with wood? The answer is: yes. It’s a very qualified “yes” — and it may not happen for many years — but the potential exists to manufacture sustainable aviation fuel from residual wood products and other non-petroleum-based sources that can reduce an airplane’s carbon footprint. “The technology to fly airplanes with wood exists but needs to be scaled up to show the true potential,” Rick Horton, executive vice president of Minnesota Forest Industries, told the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee at an informational hearing Monday. Horton was one of several testifiers who said using sustainable aviation fuel to power airplanes is in its infancy and needs large-scale development — and probably government subsidies — to make it economically viable… Sustainable aviation fuel currently costs two to five times more than conventional jet fuel.
Norwegian forestry companies are making history by revolutionizing how timber is transported. Beginning in 2027, Viken AT Market and AT Skog will be the first in the forestry industry to ship timber on zero-emission vessels—a game-changing move that signals a dramatic shift toward sustainable maritime logistics. This breakthrough is made possible through a partnership with Skarv Shipping, which will provide vessels powered by ammonia and electricity, significantly reducing emissions compared to conventional diesel-powered ships. Norway’s timber industry plays a crucial role in the country’s economy, exporting approximately 1 million tons of timber annually to European markets. However, most of this transport has relied on traditional diesel-powered vessels, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. In an effort to push the industry forward, Viken AT Market is committing to zero-emission transport, securing a long-term shipping agreement with Skarv Shipping and Arriva Shipping.
In December 2024, Drax and Pathway Energy announced a multiyear deal that could see Drax supplying upward of 1 million metric tons of wood pellets to Pathway’s currently proposed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast. In the months leading up to the announcement, Drax had hinted at such prospects, indicating plans to develop a pipeline of biomass sales opportunities in North America, including in the SAF market. Drax CEO Will Gardiner confirmed as much during a November quarterly earnings call. Currently, Drax has 17 operational wood pellet production plants across North America and a 450,000-metric-ton facility under construction in Longview, Washington. While Drax is well known in the industrial wood pellet industry, Pathway Energy is a new and unique market participant. Pellet Mill Magazine interviewed Pathway Energy CEO Steve Roberts to introduce the company, technology and plans.
Turkey is poor in oil and gas while its renewable energy sector is heavily reliant on a mix of hydro, wind and solar. But another element is heating up: biofuel – fuel derived directly from biomass, such as wood or plant matter – is gaining interest domestically and creating an export market not available to other renewables. Demand for and output of biomass pellets used in stoves, furnaces and heaters as an alternative to coal or wood to cope with Turkey’s often freezing winters have increased in recent years. Produced by crushing and compressing wood waste, the pellets have a higher per-kilo energy output than gas, coal or oil, and far lower emission levels, according to promoters. Studies estimate Turkey has the raw material to produce up to 1.8 million tonnes of pellets annually, although installed processing capacity has yet to reach this level.
LONDON – The UK government and Drax, opens new tab have agreed a deal that will halve the energy producer’s subsidies over 2027-2031, while ensuring the group uses more sustainable sources of woody biomass, the two sides said on Monday. Drax is Britain’s largest renewable power generator. With the help of government subsidies that run until 2027, it has converted four former coal plants to use biomass to provide around 6% of the country’s electricity. Following a consultation on extending the subsidies, the government said it “cannot allow Drax to operate in the way it has done before or with the level of subsidy it received in the past”. “Biomass currently plays an important role in our energy system, but we are conscious of concerns about sustainability and the level of subsidy biomass plants have received in the past,” Energy Minister Michael Shanks said in a statement, which did not disclose the exact figures of the subsidy.
Green campaigners fear ministers are poised to award billions of pounds in fresh subsidies to Drax power station, despite strong concerns that burning trees to produce electricity is bad for the environment. Drax burns wood to generate about 8% of the UK’s “green” power, and 4% of overall electricity. This is classed as “low-carbon” because the harvested trees are replaced by others that take up carbon from the atmosphere as they grow. But many studies have shown that wood burning harms the environment, by destroying forests, and because of the decades-long time lag between the immediate release of carbon dioxide CO2 from burning and the growth to maturity of replacement trees. Drax currently receives billions of pounds in subsidies from energy bill payers, at the rate of about £2m a day according to Greenpeace, but these are scheduled to run out in 2027. A government decision to continue the support payments beyond the cut-off could come on Monday.
Swedes and Finns have long monetized their forests. EU climate goals — seen as a threat to both family wealth and the two national economies — are fast becoming a lightning rod for anger. …In Sweden and neighboring Finland, forestry is, to all intents and purposes, a retail asset class. In Sweden, some 300,000 people own, in total, half of the country’s forests. In Finland, 60% of forests belong to 600,000 individuals. Owners like Velander have been able to work their land with relatively light regulations, generally free to harvest trees when and as they chose. The way these small forest owners traditionally manage their land is, they contend, also good for the climate. But this approach, along with their investments, is under threat from a growing number of European Union regulations aimed at protecting biodiversity and reducing the bloc’s carbon emissions. In Sweden and Finland these measures have been interpreted as a potential ban on logging. [to access the full story a Bloomberg subscription is required]