UN: Poor Nations Need $600B a Year for Climate Change (AFP)
Developing nations need a $600 billion "Marshall Plan" annually to tackle climate change with support from rich nations on a scale not seen outside wartime recovery, the World Economic and Social Survey says.
China Calculates High Price for Cutting Emissions (Financial Times)
The cost of reducing China’s total greenhouse gas emissions is likely to reach $438 billion a year within 20 years, and developed economies will have to bear much of that cost, a group of Beijing’s leading climate economists says.
EU Lawmakers to Lobby US on Climate Action (EurActiv)
The EU assembly plans to send a delegation to Washington to clear concerns about emissions trading and pressure the Senate to agree to ambitious emissions reduction targets ahead of negotiations in Copenhagen.
Dangerous Selenium Levels Found in Water Near Ky. Coal Mines (Herald-Leader)
Kentucky state regulators have found dangerous levels of selenium in water and fish near coal mines, but they have not required mine operators to monitor for the mineral, environmental groups say.
Change Seen in Atlantic from Climate Change, Over-Fishing (AP)
A new report finds that the basic makeup of the ocean off the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic United States has fundamentally changed in the past four decades because of climate change, commercial fishing and growing populations.
PetroChina Moves Into the Tar Sands Business (Wall Street Journal)
Chinese energy companies are still on a shopping spree. The latest deal? A $1.7 billion stake in two undeveloped Canadian tar sands projects, which raises a few questions.
Brazil Claims Sharp Drop in Amazon Destruction (Reuters)
Brazil says the annual rate of destruction of its part of the Amazon rainforest has fallen 46 percent to its lowest level in over two decades due partly to increased police patrols. If confirmed, it would let Brazil claim it’s delivering on a pledge to slow deforestation.
French Carbon Tax Debate Turns Toxic for Sarkozy (AFP)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan for a carbon tax on fuel threatened to backfire as critics slammed it as unfair and his own camp fretted it will anger voters already hit by the economic crisis.
Khosla Raises $1B for Renewable Energy, Cleantech (Reuters)
Khosla Ventures says it raised more than $1 billion for renewable energy and cleantech funds, a sign that skittish investors are hot for climate-related projects.
Iberdrola Wins Big on Clean Energy Grants (New York Times)
Iberdrola, the Spanish energy giant, is an early winner in the U.S. government’s plan to aid the nation’s clean-energy sector as part of the stimulus package. About $295 million of the initial $502 million in grants went to five Iberdrola wind-power projects.
Japan Planning $21B Solar Power Station in Space (Business Green)
Japan is developing a giant solar power space generator that it expects to begin transmitting solar energy to earth from an orbit 36,000km above the earth’s within the next 30 years.
UK Academy: World Must Plan for Climate Emergency (Reuters)
Humans may have to reset the Earth’s natural thermostat and develop new technologies like reflecting sunlight back into space if climate talks fail, Britain’s top science academy says.
