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2026 outlook

Carbon management: predictions for 2026

Climate policy leadership shifts. Compliance carbon pricing advances. CCUS projects scale. Our carbon policy, carbon markets and CCUS experts share their view of the key themes that will shape the year ahead.

In this series of complimentary reports:

  • CCUS: 5 things to look for in 2026
  • Carbon markets: 5 things to look for in 2026
  • Carbon policy: 5 things to look for in 2026

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Stephanie Chiang

Senior Research Analyst, CCUS

Stephanie provides insight and analysis on CCUS to project developers, technology providers, investors and governments.

View Stephanie Chiang 's full profile

Peter Albin

Senior Research Analyst, Carbon Markets

Peter is part of the Carbon Research team which delivers intelligence, data and thought leadership pieces.

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Stephen Vogado

Senior Research Analyst, Carbon Policy

Stephen focuses on carbon policy, taking a data-driven approach to help clients navigate the energy transition.

View Stephen Vogado's full profile

After a volatile 2025, we are set for another interesting year for carbon management. We’ll be closely tracking developments on a number of fronts across 2026. 

While global carbon policy suffered some big hits in 2025, the year ended with close to 200 countries reaffirming their commitment to collective action at COP30. This bodes well for the year ahead, with 2026 set to be a year of shifting dynamics in global climate leadership. 

Carbon markets showed resilience in 2025 against a backdrop of political and economic uncertainty. The question for 2026 is whether that resilience can be transformed into momentum, or whether persistent external pressures will result in regime delays and stalled progress.

Policy has also been a key influence in the carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) space last year. 2026 will be pivotal for CCUS as major hubs advance to final investment decision (FID), but success hinges on policy support.

Our experts have explored these themes and more in a series of new reports that set out their view of the year ahead. 

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