Free Republic

State officials have threatened legal action against nonprofit climate alliances and banks’ participation, highlighting the contentious relationship between environmental initiatives and economic interests.

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said on 21 June that he had never seen a credible scenario for reducing emissions that did not include nuclear energy. He was speaking at the launch of the World Energy Council's (WEC's) Energy and Climate Change study. The recent German G8 meeting had "significantly pushed forward" the climate change debate, according to de Boer, and had emphasised the need to reach a new agreement under the UNFCCC by 2009. Gerald Doucet, general secretary of WEC, said that the "keep all options open" debate had...

Europe slips on greenhouse targets By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent Emissions of greenhouse gases from the European Union increased in 2001 for the second year running. Cold weather boosted fuel consumption The European Environment Agency (EEA) estimates they were 1% greater than in 2000. The EU as a whole is committed to reducing emissions by 8% on their 1990 levels by between 2008 and 2012. On present trends, it appears to stand almost no chance of keeping its promise. The 8% cut is the commitment made by the EU under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol, the...