Climate Tech Newsletter: January 26, 2026

Welcome to last week’s edition of the CBKNY’s Weekly News Highlights. Explore the latest policies, innovations, and market trends driving the future of climate tech.

Climate Tech Insights

A decisive inflection emerges this week: EU wind and solar officially surpass fossil fuels in power generation, even as AI-driven data centers expose severe grid stress in the US and Europe. In response, corporates accelerate nuclear partnerships, long-term clean PPAs, grid batteries, and high-integrity carbon removal—while oil and industrial groups push back against tightening emissions accounting frameworks

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1. Exxon-Backed Coalition Challenges Corporate Emissions Accounting
   January 23, 2026 – Wall Street Journal

2. Half of World’s Largest Cities in High Water Stress Areas
   January 22, 2026 – The Guardian

3. Why Lithium Markets Are Entering a New Phase in 2026
   January 22, 2026 – MIT Technology Review

4. Wind and Solar Overtake Fossil Fuels in EU Power Supply
   January 22, 2026 – Reuters

5. U.S. Electric Grid Shows Escalating Stress Amid Cold Blast
   January 25, 2026 – Reuters

6. U.S. Solar Manufacturing Momentum Hit by Shifting Tax Credits
   January 23, 2026 – ESG Dive

7. Google Signs Carbon-Free Power PPAs for Data Centers
   January 20, 2026 – ESG Dive

8. Frontier Signs $44.2M Biowaste Carbon Removal Offtake Deal
   January 19, 2026 – ESG Dive

9. Rolls-Royce Moves SMR Partnerships Forward in Europe
   January 22, 2026 – EnergyTech

10. Trump Energy Emergency Focuses on Tech Boom and National Defense
    January 21, 2026 – E&E News

11. Climate at Davos: Oil Execs Bemoan Burden of Bank Boycotts
    January 22, 2026 – Climate Home News

12. Q&A: What UK’s ‘Warm Homes Plan’ Means for Climate & Energy Bills
    January 23, 2026 – Carbon Brief

13. States Are Getting Serious About Energy Affordability
    January 23, 2026 – Canary Media

14. Startup Fervo Energy May Go Public
    January 22, 2026 – Canary Media

15. Trump’s Year Cratered Clean-Energy Factory Investment
    January 23, 2026 – Canary Media

16. Texas Data Center to Open Sooner Thanks to Grid Battery
    January 22, 2026 – Canary Media

17. Korea Expands Green Tech Exports & Domestic Energy Strategy
    January 21, 2026 – Business Korea

18. India Electrifying Faster Than China With Cheap Green Tech
    January 22, 2026 – Bloomberg

19. What Meta’s Big Nuclear Deals Say About Corporate Clean Energy Strategy
    January 20, 2026 – Trellis

20. Struggling Fusion Power Company to Go Public via $1B SPAC Merger
    January 22, 2026 – TechCrunch

21. Inside Clean Energy: Moss Landing Battery Storage Fire
    January 23, 2025 – Inside Climate News

22. Gravity Secures $13M Series A for Carbon Accounting Platform
    January 21, 2026 – ESG News

23. Gevo Issues 500,000 Permanent Carbon Removal Credits
    January 23, 2026 – ESG News

24. Convergent Energy & Power Closes $585M DOE Loan
    January 21, 2026 – ESG News

25. The 2026 Global 100 Puts Speed in the Spotlight
    January 21, 2026 – Corporate Knights

26. Carbon Credit Market Tilts Toward Quality as Prices Rise
    January 16, 2026 – Carbon Herald

27. Microsoft Buys 3.5 Million Carbon Credits to Offset AI Emissions
    January 23, 2026 – Carbon Credits

28. Canada’s Climate Momentum Slows Despite Emissions Drop
    January 21, 2026 – Carbon Credits

29. AI Demand to Drive $600B Data Center and GPU Boom
    January 23, 2026 – Carbon Credits