Daily Digest for

UK Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds announced the government will negotiate an SPS trade deal with the EU starting this autumn, legislate by 2027, pursue selective regulatory alignment (avoiding ECJ), link carbon markets, and expand security and data‑sharing cooperation.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed CEQA reforms (AB 130 and SB 131) in the 2025-2026 budget to streamline housing and infrastructure approvals; a poll shows 74% overall support with majorities across parties and demographic groups.

The Government of Canada is investing $2.5 million via the Low Carbon Economy Challenge to support Metro Vancouver’s Waste-to-Energy District, which aims to heat up to 50,000 homes and cut up to 70,000 tonnes of GHGs per year.

The Government of Canada is investing $6,225,000 (via NRCan and delivered by CED) to support Northern Graphite’s Graphite Nordique Lac-des-Îles expansion, extending mine life by 7–10 years and maintaining ~20,000 tpa graphite production.

UK Export Finance backed SRT Marine Systems to secure two contracts worth ~€350m (largest tranche €157.9m) to deliver SRT-MDA maritime surveillance to Indonesia (€116m buyer credit + €41.5m direct lending with Banco Santander) and a Kuwait coastguard project (backed by a £24m UKEF guarantee enabling Barclays to issue bonds); projects include a 10-year NMSS programme and up to 50 new UK high-skilled jobs.

At the 14th SARA conference in Sandton, South Africa’s Minister of Transport announced that 11 private operators were allocated 41 freight routes (up to ten-year terms), TRIM expects TOCs to add 20 million tonnes p.a. from 2026/27 toward a 250 million-ton target by 2029, and PRASA has revived 35 of 40 corridors with 77 million passenger journeys reported.

NRCan and Germany’s BMWE signed a non-binding Joint Declaration of Intent to cooperate on critical minerals—focusing on midstream processing, refining and recycling and on priority minerals (Li, REEs, Cu, W, Ga, Ge, Ni)—and will establish a Task Force and explore blended financing using tools like KfW’s Raw Materials Fund and Canada’s Clean Growth and Strategic Innovation Funds.

Ember analysis: Africa’s solar panel imports hit 15,032 MW in the 12 months to June 2025 (up 60% year-on-year); Nigeria imported 1,721 MW and Algeria 1,199 MW, with 20 countries setting new import records.

South African Minister Dr Dion George signed Regulations for the Environmental Management of Offshore Ship-to-Ship Transfer under the NEM: ICM Act, banning STS in protected zones, setting weather and safety limits in Algoa Bay, requiring monitoring and spill-response measures, and imposing fines up to R2 million and up to 5 years imprisonment.

Japan’s METI launches a public call for proposals for ‘GX Strategic Regions’ across three types—industrial complex revitalization, data center clusters, and decarbonized power utilization—with registration open Aug 26 to Oct 27, 2025.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment held the 114th Environmental Technology Forum on 114-08-26, presenting FY113 R&D results including fluorinated-waste purification, a carbon market blueprint tied to Paris Agreement Article 6, green-life tools and environmental health risk-management systems.