Climate Tech Newsletter: May 4, 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

In the wake of the Santa Marta fossil fuel transition summit, weakening EU carbon price forecasts, surging AI-driven data center electricity demand, and major investments in nuclear (X-energy), batteries (CATL, CMBlu), and carbon removal signal a global repricing of climate technologies, where energy security, industrial policy, and decarbonization goals increasingly collide

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1. Octopus Energy Gets Into the Carbon Credit Business
   April 30, 2026 – The Wall Street Journal

2. Fund-Raising for Forest Restoration Shows Climate Efforts Alive
   April 28, 2026 – The Wall Street Journal

3. A Year Into Trump's Second Term, Clean Energy Progress Has Stalled
   April 28, 2026 – The Guardian

4. The US Finally Has a Plan for Its Nuclear Waste Problem
   April 29, 2026 – MIT Technology Review

5. How Hydrogen Could Help China Cut Natural Gas Use and Carbon Emissions
   April 19, 2026 – South China Morning Post

6. Iran War Is Supercharging the Global Shift to Renewables
   May 1, 2026 – Reuters

7. Canada, Alberta Close in on Carbon Price Agreement, Sources Say
   April 28, 2026 – Reuters

8. Analysts Cut EU Carbon Price Forecasts Amid Policy Reforms
   April 30, 2026 – Reuters

9. First Solar's Quarterly Sales Rise on Higher Solar Panel Demand
   May 1, 2026 – Reuters

10. PepsiCo, Statkraft Ink 10-Year Renewable Energy Deal to Cut Emissions Across Europe
    May 1, 2026 – ESG Dive

11. The Clean Energy Economy Is Repricing Itself
    April 29, 2026 – ESG Dive

12. Non-Lithium Battery Maker CMBlu Energy Tops $1B Valuation With Latest Funding Round
    May 1, 2026 – EnergyTech

13. Untapped Lithium on East Coast Could Replace US Imports, USGS Finds
    April 29, 2026 – E&E News

14. An Insider's Look at China's Climate Capital Stack
    May 1, 2026 – CTVC

15. Kenya Seeks Regional Coordination to Build African Mineral Value Chains
    April 30, 2026 – Climate Home News

16. Santa Marta: Key Outcomes From First Summit on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels
    April 30, 2026 – Carbon Brief

17. China Briefing 30 April 2026: Fossil Fuel Strict Controls, El Niño Approaches, Why Cleantech Exports Have Surged
    April 30, 2026 – Carbon Brief

18. California Bill Would Let Home Batteries and EVs Replace Dirty Peaker Plants
    April 29, 2026 – Canary Media

19. A US Battery Startup Is Building Its Factory in China. Here's Why.
    April 29, 2026 – Canary Media

20. US Steel to Build $2B Clean Steel Plant in Arkansas
    April 30, 2026 – Canary Media

21. Local Clean Building Policies Are Winning in Court
    April 29, 2026 – Canary Media

22. Blackstone Infrastructure to Invest Up to €2 Billion in Leading Pan-European Renewables Developer Eurowind Energy
    April 29, 2026 – Blackstone

23. A Data Center Giant Just Struck the Largest Carbon Removal Deal in History
    April 30, 2026 – Axios

24. Science Based Targets Initiative Updates Standards, Raises Bar on 2030 Goals
    April 30, 2026 – Trellis

25. Inside Clean Energy: What Happened to the National EV Charging Program?
    April 30, 2026 – Inside Climate News

26. Amazon-Backed X-energy Raises $1.02B in IPO as AI Drives Nuclear Demand
    April 27, 2026 – ESG News

27. The Dawn of the Green Cold War
    April 23, 2026 – Corporate Knights

28. Switzerland Sets a Precedent by Including Industrial CDR in Its Greenhouse Gas Inventory
    April 22, 2026 – Carbon Herald

29. Mastercard Beats 2025 Emissions Targets as Revenue Rises 16% and Net Zero Plan Gains Momentum Toward 2040
    April 27, 2026 – Carbon Credits

30. CATL Secures $5 Billion Hong Kong Capital Raise for EV Battery Production Expansion
    April 30, 2026 – Carbon Credits

31. Solar Towers Are Replacing Diesel Generators Across Rural Africa
    May 2, 2026 – AP News