Is the UK Set for a Green Election? (Business Green)

As Gordon Brown fires the starting pistol on what promises to be the closest election in decades, green business leaders ask whether the low carbon economy could prove a vote winner.

EIA Estimates 2.1% Growth in US Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions in 2010 (Green Car Congress)

CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which declined by 6.6% in 2009, will increase by 2.1% in 2010 and 1.1% in 2011 as economic growth fuels higher energy consumption, the EIA projects.

Field Poll: California Greenhouse Gas Law Has Majority Support (Sacramento Bee)

The poll shows 58% of registered voters support Assembly Bill 32, and 69% believe the state can reduce greenhouse gases "and expand jobs and economic prosperity at the same time."

Exelon Chief Bullish on Climate Bill (Chicago Public Radio)

Exelon CEO John Rowe is a big backer of a cap-and-trade or carbon tax plan. And he’s optimistic one will pas, even though he says prospects for such a bill have darkened in the past couple of years.

Uranium Cleanup Bill Passes Colorado House (Denver Post)

State lawmakers advanced legislation to require uranium-mill operators to clean up existing toxic waste before launching new projects — a bill that could kill a company’s planned refurbishment of a shuttered uranium mill in Colorado.

EU Satellite to Check Climate Change Impact on Ice (AP)

The European Space Agency is launching CryoSat2 on Thursday, a satellite that scientists hope will help them pin down the effects of global warming on the Earth’s ice packs more precisely.

EU’s ‘Dirty 30’ Carbon Dioxide Emitters in 2009 (Reuters)

With 12 out of the top 30, Germany was again home to most of Europe’s biggest emitters last year, preliminary European Commission data shows.

Peru Tribes File IFC Complaint over Oil Company Pollution (Reuters)

A Peruvian tribe filed a complaint with the ombudsman of the World Bank’s International Finance Corp against Maple Energy, accusing the oil company of polluting its ancestral land and rivers in the Amazon.

Pipeline Leaks Oil into Louisiana Wildlife Refuge (Reuters)

An oil pipeline operated by Chevron Pipe Line Co leaked at least 18,000 gallons (68,100 liters) of crude oil into the Delta National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Google Leads Coalition Urging Support for Universal Smart Meters (Business Green)

A group of over 45 energy, investment and IT firms joined forces this week to call on US president Barack Obama to explicitly support the roll out of advanced smart meter technologies for every household and business in the US.

First Private Low Carbon Fund Established In China (ChinaCSR)

What is reported to be China’s first private equity fund focused on the country’s low carbon economy, the ZheShang Nuohai Low Carbon Fund, has been formally established.

AWEA: Wind Energy Needs Uniform Laws (Des Moines Register)

Congress should make renewable energy standards uniform and give federal regulators the power to oversee the building of a multistate transmission line eastward from Iowa and the Upper Midwest, the head of the nation’s largest wind energy group says.

Swiss Make 1st Test of Round-the-World Solar Plane (AP)

Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard’s team took its solar plane prototype into the skies for the first time today, with four propellers lifting the massive craft off the ground at near bicycle speed.