The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and American Rivers are hosting a briefing on policies and financing solutions to modernize U.S. water infrastructure on May 7, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

• Event details: Thursday, May 7, 2026, 3:30 - 5:00 pm, Rayburn Gold Room (2168), 45 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC; livecast available at www.eesi.org/livecast; the event is free and open to the public and attendees are asked to RSVP to expedite check-in. Speakers/Panelists: To be announced. Context noted: in January 2026 a sewer line collapse discharged 200 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.
• Agenda & focus: The briefing will convene practitioners and policy experts to discuss innovative policy and financing solutions (e.g., smart monitoring systems, credit trading) to address aging infrastructure, stormwater and sewage overflows, and extreme weather. The session will highlight existing programs such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, and provide links for subscription, privacy policy, and contact/RSVP forms.

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is hosting a panel discussion on a new report that provides over 100 actionable recommendations to limit the success of Chinese firms in national power industries.

• Event details: The panel is scheduled for Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 01:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT at Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, 700 K ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC; registration is available via the ITIF events page and the session includes a YouTube webcast and Slido for audience questions.
• Report and participants: The report presents over 100 actionable recommendations aimed at curbing PRC advances in national power industries including quantum computing and AI; speakers listed are Robert D. Atkinson (President, ITIF) as moderator, Michael Hochberg (President and Visiting Scholar, Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics) as panelist, and Isaac Stone Fish (CEO & Founder, Strategy Risks) as panelist.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and Climate Central are hosting a briefing titled “Tracking Down Data: Where to Find Climate and Environmental Information in 2026” on Thursday, April 23, 2026, 4:00-5:00 pm EDT at Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) with a live webcast at www.eesi.org/livecast.

• Event details and logistics:
  • Date/Time: Thursday, April 23, 2026 — 4:00 - 5:00 pm EDT
  • Location: Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) — in-person and Livecast at www.eesi.org/livecast
  • Registration/Check-in: RSVP requested to expedite check-in (event is free and open to the public). Speakers are listed as to be announced.
• Context and substance:
  • The briefing highlights that hundreds of federal scientific datasets and reports (examples: national climate assessments, climate.gov, EJScreen) “have been removed from public access, altered, or buried.” It notes that universities, nonprofits, and national associations are stepping up to maintain public access to weather and climate data.
  • The session will describe where to find these datasets and the implications for end users, from individuals using weather apps to corporations making business decisions.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the U.S. electric power sector retired 2.6 GW of coal-fired generating capacity in 2025, the least annual coal retirement total since 2010.

• Main announcement: The EIA reported 2.6 GW of coal-fired generating capacity retired in 2025 (four plants: Indian River Unit 4, Cholla Units 1 and 3, Intermountain Power Project Units 1 and 2, and Prairie Creek Unit 1). Planned retirements of 8.5 GW at the start of 2025 were reduced because 4.8 GW were delayed to a later year and operators of 1.1 GW cancelled planned retirements; Intermountain Power Project (1,800 MW) retired and was partly replaced by a new 1,017 MW natural gas combined-cycle unit at the same site in late 2025.
• Background and details: The U.S. Department of Energy issued Section 202(c) emergency orders keeping multiple coal units available (J.H. Campbell Units 1–3, Transalta Centralia Unit 2, R.M. Schahfer Units 17–18, F.B. Culley Unit 2, Craig Unit 1) while several other plants (Brandon Shores, South Oak, Comanche) delayed retirements; TransAlta now plans to convert Centralia Unit 2 to natural gas with conversion currently scheduled for 2028. The EIA currently lists 6.4 GW planned retirements for 2026, but those plans could change.

The Wuppertal Institute has published an internal AI policy that came into effect at the end of March 2026 and is available for download on its website.

• Main announcement: The Wuppertal Institute has developed and published an AI policy that came into effect at the end of March 2026, defining guidelines for considered, transparent and responsible use of AI across research, administration and communications; the policy is published on the Institute’s website and available as a downloadable PDF (65.2 KB).
• Background and details: The policy will be continuously updated and is aligned with other key AI guidelines for the scientific community such as the German Research Foundation; it addresses risks including data bias, the need for human review of outputs, transparency in communication, and AI’s energy/climate impacts.

The European Commission has launched a 12-week open public consultation and a 4-week call for evidence to evaluate the Radioactive Waste Directive and the Shipment Directive.

• Main action: The Commission launched a 12-week open public consultation (closes on 19 June 2026) and a 4-week call for evidence (closes on 24 April 2026) to gather input that will feed into the Commission’s and EU countries’ future action and possible policy initiative(s) to ensure the directives’ objectives are met. The exercises target assessment of the Radioactive Waste Directive (2011/70/Euratom) and the Shipment Directive (2006/117/Euratom) and aim to establish, on the basis of evidence, how the directives have performed relative to their stated objectives.

• Background and details: The Commission’s third report (COM(2024)197) identified four persisting implementation issues: (i) several EU countries have not defined national policies for long-term management of all radioactive waste; (ii) some national programmes’ targets are insufficiently ambitious; (iii) weaknesses in national programmes’ control and funding; (iv) some cost assessments are out of date or incomprehensive. The Commission’s nuclear illustrative programme (PINC) noted EU nuclear installed capacity is projected to grow by 2050, meaning new volumes of radioactive waste and spent fuel will be generated in addition to existing legacy waste.

The Environment Agency has published an environmental permit application advertisement for Foundry Yard, 1 Foundry Yard, Hexham, NE48 2TG submitted by Jake Higgins plus 4 others (reference EPR/YP3429MY/A001) on 13 April 2026.

• Main announcement: Published an environmental permit application advertisement (reference EPR/YP3429MY/A001) for Foundry Yard, 1 Foundry Yard, Hexham, NE48 2TG, submitted by Jake Higgins plus 4 others; the notice applies to England and was published 13 April 2026. The application covers waste and mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities, and medium combustion plant and specified generators.
• Process and next steps: The notice invites public consultation (see the linked application) and references the Environment Agency’s Public Participation Statement; the Environment Agency will decide whether to grant or refuse the permit and what conditions to include if granted. No specific comment deadline is provided on this page.

The Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan announced a joint investment of more than $25.9 million through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF) to develop or improve water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste infrastructure to support housing growth in Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw.

• Main announcement: The Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan are investing more than $25.9 million via CHIF to fund infrastructure projects that will enable the construction of up to 29,370 housing units across Regina, Saskatoon and Moose Jaw; federal funding is conditional on Indigenous consultation and environmental assessment requirements.
• Details and context: Funding breakdown includes $14,173,431 from the Government of Canada, $11,810,012 from the Government of Saskatchewan, and $9,450,135 from the three municipalities; specific projects named are Regina: Taylor Field Redevelopment (water, wastewater, stormwater upgrades), Saskatoon: Material Recovery Centre expansion (waste diversion equipment and acceptance expansion), and Moose Jaw: Spring Creek Stormwater Management Project (pipe replacements, road upgrades, rerouting to reduce flooding).

The Environment Agency has published an environmental permit application submitted by Helen Beville for Blossom Cottage, Hazelmoor Lane, Reading, RG4 9DJ.

• Main announcement: The Environment Agency published an environmental permit application (reference EPR/JP3125MV/A001) submitted by Helen Beville for Blossom Cottage, Hazelmoor Lane, Reading (RG4 9DJ); the publication invites public consultation on the application.
• Background/details: Page published 13 April 2026, applies to England, and links to the Agency’s Public Participation Statement; the notice covers consultation for activities including waste and mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities, and medium combustion plant and specified generators. No specific public comment deadline is stated on the page.

ISDA and EMTA presented proposed changes to the ISDA FX Definitions at the FXJSC meeting on 24 November 2025, including publication and implementation timelines and planned market outreach.

• Main announcement: ISDA and EMTA will publish updated ISDA FX Definitions early March 2026 with a go-live in November 2027 aligned with Swift release; a draft for feedback (“fatal flaw”) will be circulated 10 December 2025, a steering committee is in place and there is a 2-year market implementation window. The updates include digitised, versioned definitions, integration of ISDA and EMTA definitions, new deliverable disruption events and fallbacks (3 core + 1 optional + APAC-specific events), and a calculation agent standard update, with Swift message field options for calendar adjustment events.
• Background and other details: The presentation was given by Katherine Tew Darras, Ann Battle, Michelangelo de Marzio, Jonathan Martin (ISDA); implementation relies on collaboration with Swift, education materials will be published late 2026, and firms will need to tailor materials to counterparties. Related operational updates at the meeting included ISO20022 migration completed Nov 2025 (80–90% pre-migrated), CLS reporting average daily volumes up to USD8.5 trillion, and ongoing AI sandbox use cases at CLS.

The European Commission has announced new activities and a relaunch of the Coal Regions in Transition (CRiT) initiative to support coal+ regions in phasing out coal.

• Main announcement: CRiT will roll out a package of new activities including research to better understand the coal phase-out status, the relaunch of the exchangeEU programme, new Working Groups (call to join launched in mid-2026) and alignment with other EU local initiatives to accelerate the phase-out from coal. The initiative explicitly continues cooperation with TARGET technical assistance (implemented by the European Investment Bank) and will support regions to assess and improve competitiveness.
• Background and events/details: The announcement builds on nearly a decade of CRiT activity and sets out concrete events and engagement actions:
  • 12 May 2026 — online session at EU Sustainable Energy Days where CRiT will present its new activities and policy updates (online).
  • 29–30 September 2026 — practitioners’ gathering in Bochum, Germany organised with the Research Executive Agency’s Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS).

The European Commission adopted amendments to RED III to phase out soy biofuels from the EU renewable transport target by 2030.

• Adopted amendments (10 April 2026): On 10 April 2026 the European Commission officially adopted amendments to a delegated regulation under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) so that soy crop biofuels will no longer count toward the EU’s renewable energy target for transport by 2030; Member States may act sooner. Palm oil had previously been designated high ILUC-risk and excluded by 2030.
• Background and evidence: New data shows over 10% of global soy production expansion occurs on high-carbon stock land (forests and similar ecosystems), meeting the EU’s high ILUC-risk benchmark; the release cites land-use pressure in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and ongoing Amazon clearance risks. Media contact listed: Sophie Ehmsen, communications@theicct.org.

The Marine Management Organisation has published the Sole Recovery Zone rules and application forms for the 2026 to 2027 management year.

• Main announcement: Sole Recovery Zone (SRZ) rules and application forms published for the 2026-2027 Management Year (1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027); the SRZ Scheme applies to vessels of 10 meters and over and covers ICES Area 7e (Western Channel). Documents provided include the Sole Recovery Zone rules (HTML), the Days at Sea application form (PDF, 1.01 MB, 2 pages), and an online transfer form link.
• Background and updates: Guidance first published 26 June 2014 and most recently updated 13 April 2026 (links to the transfer form were added on 13 April 2026); the page lists a detailed update history with iterative rule and form updates for prior management years.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy updated the Electricity Supply Emergency Code on 13 April 2026.

• Updated guidance published (13 April 2026): The Electricity Supply Emergency Code (ESEC) was updated following a routine review launched in 2023 to set out rota disconnections procedures for fair nationwide electricity rationing; published resources include the ESEC guidance PDF (40 pages) and Annex 1 (Variable Rota Disconnection Plan) and Annex 2 (Rota Plans) spreadsheets.
• Operational timeline and purpose: The update is published to allow industry to make standard operational changes to processes; the document reflects prior legal separation of National Grid TO and ESO (noted from 1 April 2019) and provides an accessibility contact alt.formats@beis.gov.uk for alternative formats.

Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) has sent a letter to members of the European Parliament’s ENVI committee ahead of the European Commission’s proposals for the National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP) Regulation under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-34.

• Main request: HEAL calls on ENVI to establish a dedicated spending target for pollution prevention and control, including a dedicated budget line for clean air to support implementation; to strengthen environmental conditionalities for better health; and to provide funding support for preventative climate resilience measures to be considered within the NRPP framework for MFF 2028-34.
• Context and supporting details: This is an advocacy letter submitted ahead of the European Commission’s NRPP proposals; the full letter is available via the provided PDF. Contact details are supplied: Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), Avenue des Arts 7/8, 1210 Brussels, Belgium; Phone: +32 (0)2 329 00 80; Email: info@env-health.org; Press contact: Nea Pakarinen (nea@env-health.org).

Africa Data Centres has announced a partnership with Oni-Tel Fibre Networks to strengthen connectivity across its Gauteng facilities.

• Partnership details: Africa Data Centres will integrate Oni-Tel’s Infinity fibre interconnection platform to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity into its Midrand and Samrand campuses in Gauteng, providing customers with carrier-grade dark fibre, scalable bandwidth, and enhanced interconnection options.
• Background and scope: The agreement expands Africa Data Centres’ service portfolio across its continent-wide interconnected, vendor- and cloud-neutral platform; it targets enterprises, cloud service providers, financial institutions, mobile and fixed network operators, and emphasises ultra-low latency, secure carrier-grade infrastructure and expanded carrier-neutral options for customers in South Africa.

Homes England has published guidance to apply for SAHP 2026 to 2036 Strategic Partnership funding; applications through the Strategic Partnership route close at 5pm on Wednesday 15 April 2026.

• Main announcement: Applications open for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026 to 2036 under the Strategic Partnership route; applicants must use an Affordable Housing Grants Service account to apply online and applications close at 5pm on 15 April 2026.
• Background and process details: The guidance explains the route is for larger housing associations seeking long-term, multi-year funding (alternative CME route available for smaller projects); existing allocations continue to be managed via the Investment Management System (IMS), and support is available via phone 0300 123 4500 and email enquiries@homesengland.gov.uk (response aim: 5 working days).

The Global Carbon Council (GCC) has opened a public consultation on a new methodology to reduce methane from rice cultivation (GCCNMT007).

• Main announcement: GCC has published GCCNMT007: Methodology for Reduction of Methane Emission through Adjusted Water Management Practice in Rice Cultivation for public consultation, with a deadline to comment: 7th May 2026, and requests submissions to operations@globalcarboncouncil.com. The methodology targets irrigated rice fields with controlled irrigation and drainage infrastructure and explicitly excludes upland, rainfed, deep-water, or non-irrigated lowland systems.
• Details & requirements: The methodology requires a robust baseline based on at least three years of field-level data, allows a simplified approach for projects with aggregated emission reductions below 60 ktCO2e/year, mandates no material decreases in rice yield, addresses CH₄, N₂O and CO₂ where relevant, and includes safeguards such as conservative baselines, double-counting prevention, and mandatory farmer training. Submissions will be reviewed by GCC’s Regulatory Committees as part of finalization.

The Environment Agency has published an environmental permit application advertisement submitted by A and J Land Management Ltd for Whealdream Holidays and Leisure in Helston (reference EPR/SP3522LS/A001).

• Application published by the Environment Agency: A and J Land Management Ltd submitted an environmental permit application for Whealdream Holidays and Leisure (reference EPR/SP3522LS/A001); Published 13 April 2026; Applies to England; full notice and application documents are available on GOV.UK.
• Consultation scope and decision process: public consultation covers waste and mining waste operations, installations, water discharge and groundwater activities, and medium combustion plant and specified generators; the Environment Agency will decide whether to grant or refuse and what conditions to include if a permit is granted. The page references the agency’s Public Participation Statement for consultation arrangements.

The European Commission has launched the Raw Materials Mechanism platform to help buyers of critical raw materials aggregate demand and connect with suppliers, financial institutions, and storage providers.

• Main action: The platform (Raw Materials Mechanism) enables buyers to aggregate demand and connect with suppliers, financial institutions, and storage providers for critical raw materials; it is voluntary and market-based and complements existing commercial relationships without intervening in negotiations. Companies can register by the end of April 2026 to take part in the first round.
• Scope & context: The initiative builds on the EU Energy Platform and targets strategic sectors including rare earths, defence and battery materials to diversify supplies and reduce reliance on a limited number of third-country suppliers.