Agri-tech startup Rize announced today that it has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round, with proceeds aimed at scaling its platform to reduce emissions from the cultivation of rice, the most-consumed and most carbon-intensive crop globally. Rice is the largest crop market in the world, with an annual market size of more than $300 billion, but it…

Venture capital investment in climate technology grew significantly in the first half of 2026, rising by more than 50% over the same period in the prior year to levels not seen in several years, driven largely by an increasing focus on technologies that can address the rapidly growing demand for energy by data centers, according to a new report by…

Global investment manager Nuveen announced a strategic partnership with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), under which CalSTRS will commit up to $2 billion to sustainable infrastructure investments, serving as a anchor investor for Nuveen’s Energy & Power Infrastructure Credit Fund II (EPIC II). In addition to the EPIC II fund, the new partnership also positions CalSTRS to anchor…

The European Commission announced that it has sent letters to all 27 EU member states, opening infringement procedures over the states’ failure to fully transpose new rules aimed at achieving a zero emissions building stock across the EU by 2050 into their national laws. Adopted by European lawmakers in 2024, the updated Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) introduced a series…

Supply chain decarbonization software company Green Project Technologies announced the acquisition of enterprise carbon accounting and reporting solutions provider Optera, with the transaction aimed at forming an end-to-end AI-powered climate management platform for companies. Founded in 2006 initially as a boutique corporate sustainability consulting firm, and later shifting focus to software, Boulder, Colorado-based Optera provides sustainability management solutions designed to…

BlackRock’s infrastructure investment unit Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) announced the acquisition of a majority and controlling interest in Summit Ridge Energy, one of the largest commercial solar power companies in the U.S. Launched in 2017, Summit Ridge develops, owns, and operates distributed energy and battery energy storage systems that deliver locally generated power to businesses and homes across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic,…

Google announced that a new partnership with renewables developer Cypress Creek Energy, with the tech giant signing on to become the anchor investor and offtaker for the Steel River Energy Center project in Arkansas – the largest-ever solar facility in the U.S. – including a power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy 100% of the energy from the project’s initial phases….

Guest post by: Tim Newell, Founder and CEO, GreenFi Forget Washington. The Most Powerful Force in Climate Is the American Consumer. As the Trump administration dismantles key pillars of the federal climate framework and major companies quietly abandon their sustainability commitments, something unexpected is happening in the American economy: consumers are filling the vacuum. Millions of Americans are doing something…

UK-based direct air capture (DAC) technology company Airhive announced that it has acquired Dutch DAC developer Carbyon, in an agreement aimed at creating a European DAC leader with enhanced technology capabilities and a stronger position to deploy low-cost carbon removal solutions at scale. The companies said that the agreement comes amidst favorable regulatory environment, with DAC recently certified under the…

Global professional services firm Deloitte announced the launch of Sustainability Fusion, a new framework and toolset aimed at enabling companies to measure and communicate the financial value of sustainability investments. According to Deloitte, the new solution comes as many organizations face a challenge in fully aligning their sustainability goals with financial performance, and often need a clearer way to translate environmental…