Policy & Law

UN Lowers Copenhagen Expectations

Citing the lack of a comprehensive climate bill in the U.S. Congress and a lack of consensus from industrialized nations, the United Nations indicates it doesn't ...

Sweden Mandates Carbon Emissions Labels on Food

New labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods, from whole wheat pasta to fast food burgers, are appearing on some grocery ...

ARPA-E Deserves Support

In October 1957, at the height of Cold War passion, the U.S. scientific and military establishment watched as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit. ...

Penalized for Pollution, Major Bus Firm to Reduce Idling

As part of a settlement for clean air violations, under the Clean Air Act, school bus operator First Student Inc., a leading school bus transportation services company ...

EPA May Withdraw Bush-era Rule, Crack Down on Refinery Emissions

The EPA wants to withdraw a portion of air toxics regulations put in place during the Bush administration, a move that would lead to ...

GE Pushes for Multilateral Free Trade on Cleantech

General Electric Co. (GE) says a trade deal in environmental goods and services, separate from the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha round of talks to open ...

EPA Orders Review of Air Pollution at BP Refinery

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Indiana to re-examine several sources of air pollution at BP's Whiting refinery in northwest Indiana, one of the ...

Samsung Pays $205K for False Environmental Claims About Keyboard

Samsung, having advertised that its keyboards were antimicrobial and could inhibit germs and bacteria, found itself in the cross-hairs of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA fined ...

EU Takes Tough Emissions Stance for Planes, Ships

The European Union has adopted a proposal to curb airline's emissions 10 percent by 2020, and that of ships by 20 percent by 2020. The move comes ...

Feds Create Framework for Property Tax Financing of Renewables

More businesses should be able to take advantage of property tax financing to fund installation of renewable energy, as well as energy ...

Standard Bank Readies $230M Aussie Carbon Forest Fund

South Africa's Standard Bank is in position to launch a A$250 million ($230 million) forestry fund in Australia that will sell carbon offsets to companies that will ...

Another Republican May Break Ranks on Climate Bill

The Senate climate bill may have gotten another important ally in Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Senate energy committee. However, for her ...

Tesco, Sainsbury’s Partner with Battery Recyclers

Retailers are partnering with recyclers in preparation for Europe's Battery Directive, set to go into effect next year. As part of the new battery recycling ...

EPA Releases Bush Administration’s Endangerment Document

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a long-secret document on global warming that shows the George W. Bush administration had concluded in December 2007 ...

Cap-and-Trade Program Reduces NOx Emissions in Eastern U.S.

Summertime nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from power plants and large industrial sources were down by 62 percent compared to year 2000 levels and 75 percent lower ...

From Carbon Credits to Water Quality Trading

Similar to a carbon cap-and-trade scheme, a forthcoming water quality trading program will allow emitters to purchase pollution reduction credits from another source. The Electric Power ...

CBO Chief: Cap-and-Trade May Slightly Decrease GDP

Speaking before the Senate energy panel Oct. 14, the head of the Congressional Budget Office said that the cap-and-trade system included in the House ...

In Clean Water Act Violations, Chevron, SFO Fuel to Spend $1M at SF Airport

After Clean Water Act violations related to a jet fuel storage facility at the San Francisco International Airport, $1 million in improvements will be ...

California Passes Improved Feed-in Tariffs, while Germany and Spain Debate Changes

California's Governor Schwarzenegger has signed into law SB 32, one of several feed-in tariff (FIT) bills, which amends the existing FIT introduced by the California Public ...

EU Supports Green Builders with Energy Efficiency Plan

Fifteen million European buildings need to undergo energy-efficient renovations over the next decade to cut energy use, along with the creation of green building programs to re-educate builders and architects to do the job, according to a draft report from ...