EU targets worldwide emissions limits on ships, airlines

October 20th, 2009 BRUSSELS - The European Union should pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050 in a bid to forge a global deal on fighting climate change, the bloc's presidency said Tuesday ahead of a meeting of EU environment ministers. The call challenges EU member states to grab the initiative in international talks on fighting climate change by setting a long-term goal before most other economies have even agreed mid-term targets.

October 20th, 2009 8 South Asian nations resist binding emission cutsNEW DELHI — Eight South Asian countries have agreed they can't be part of any climate change deal that sets legally binding limits on their emissions, an Indian official said Tuesday. India, Pakistan and six other nations will present a coordinated stance at a key global meeting in Copenhagen in December to stick with the Kyoto Protocol, agreed in 1997, Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said after a two-day meeting of regional environment ministers.

October 6th, 2009 Obama: Government to set global warming exampleWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants the federal government to set the example when it comes to global warming. In an executive order signed Monday, Obama required all agencies to do what he wants companies operating power plants, running refineries and making automobiles to do: reduce heat-trapping gases.

October 5th, 2009 Obama puts government on greenhouse-gas dietWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is putting the federal government on a greenhouse-gas diet. In an executive order signed Monday, Obama directed all agencies to set the first-ever targets for reducing climate-altering pollution from government buildings, fleets and federal workers' commutes.

September 18th, 2009 LONDON - Indian plans to set numerical targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions were described Friday as a breakthrough that challenges the US and other rich nations over climate change action. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told The Times of London legislation was being drafted to limit India's carbon footprint ahead of a UN climate change summit in Copenhagen December.

September 16th, 2009 EPA limits pollution from medical incineratorsWASHINGTON — About 50 medical waste incinerators nationwide will have to reduce their air pollution under new regulations announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA said that the new rules, which require better monitoring and tighten emissions limits, will reduce toxic pollution from the burning of medical waste by 390,000 pounds annually and likely result in no new incinerators being built.

August 10th, 2009 New Zealand sets greenhouse gas emissions targetWELLINGTON, New Zealand —New Zealand announced on Monday that it will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 to 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, the country's climate change minister said. The target, confirmed by the Cabinet, will be presented later Monday at an international climate change meeting in Bonn, Germany, Nick Smith said.

July 15th, 2009 US urges China to set 2050 emissions targetsBEIJING — China and other developing countries should join the United States in setting mid-century targets to cut carbon emissions in the battle against global warming, the U.S. energy secretary said Wednesday.

July 9th, 2009 L'AQUILA - Russia has refused to back a target of an 80 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 proposed by the Group of Eight (G8) countries, a Kremlin aide said Wednesday after the first day of the G8 summit here. At a news conference earlier in the day, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the world's richest nations should cut their emissions by 80 percent by the middle of the century.

July 9th, 2009 L'AQUILA - Developed countries comprising the G8 are unwilling to commit themselves to reducing greenhouse gas emissions drastically by 2020, despite scientists across the world and developing countries urging them to do so. With the issue of climate change becoming significant during the G8-G5 summit here, especially in the run-up to the UN climate change summit to be held in Copenhagen this December, emerging economies of the G5 are exerting pressure on the G8 to commit to earlier targets on reducing emissions.

July 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that rising levels of smokestack emissions from oceangoing ships will cause an estimated 87,000 deaths worldwide each year by 2012, which is almost one-third higher than previously believed data. The study said that government action to reduce sulfur emissions from shipping fuel (the source of air pollution linked to an increased risk of illness and death) could reduce that toll.

July 9th, 2009 L'AQUILA - The G8 or the world's most wealthy and developed countries have remained non-committal on setting targets for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, a demand being stressed by the emerging economies (G5) and other developing countries. Though the G8 and G5 came out with a joint declaration on various issues at this quake-hit Italian town, 100 km from Rome, the document neither set targets for reducing emissions nor any dateline.

July 8th, 2009 Obama administration agrees on greenhouse gas cutsL'AQUILA, Italy — The Obama administration says it agrees that industrialized nations should sharply reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over the next four decades. White House officials said Wednesday that the administration supports a goal of an 80 percent greenhouse gas reduction from industrialized nations by 2050.

July 1st, 2009 Federal court upholds Calif. ship regulationsSACRAMENTO, Calif.

June 4th, 2009 BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) Wednesday hit a deadlock over the question of how to fund the fight against climate change in the developing world, EU diplomats said. The bloc is committed to supporting climate-change mitigation measures in poorer countries as part of a bid to win global acceptance for strict limits on emissions of greenhouse gases at a meeting in Copenhagen in December.