Business Green: The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is in urgent need of tighter caps on carbon emissions if it is to deliver even modest reductions in Europe’s long-term carbon footprint, NGOs warned the Environmental Audit Committee yesterday. The scheme — which puts a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide firms are allowed emit and requires them to purchase carbon allowances to cover emissions above that cap, in Europe — has been heavily criticised in recent months as falling levels of …

Politics.co.uk: The capital will be hit be several simultaneous protests today, as demonstrators make their anger felt at the leaders flying into the UK for the G20 summit. The main hot spot is expected to be around the Bank of England, where anarchists and anti-capitalists are gathering from around midday. Four separate marches will meet in the area, starting out from Liverpool Street, Moorgate, London Bridge and Cannon Street. At the same time, Climate Camp are planning to erect a …

Independent: Some will dress as clowns, others will wear masks, some will even be carrying their own environmentally friendly compost lavatories. But all are intent on bringing chaos to London. After days of speculation and intensive planning, central London is bracing itself for 48 hours of protests and chaos as thousands of demonstrators from a plethora of different causes descend upon the city for the start of the G20 meeting of world leaders. Anti-capitalists, social justice groups, …

Reuters: The European Union’s executive arm welcomed on Wednesday a new U.S. plan on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, saying the proposal would facilitate a global deal late this year on fighting climate change. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives launched a sweeping effort on Tuesday to control emissions of gases blamed for global warming and at the same time help industries that will struggle to meet the proposed environmental requirements. "We welcome this. It is really …

Business Green: There is a clear correlation between those buildings that boast a high Energy Star rating and those commanding rental premiums, according to a new study of US commercial properties that backs up anecdotal evidence suggesting firms are willing to pay more for energy efficient properties. The study, commissioned by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and carried out by researchers from Maastricht University and the University of California, Berkeley, is thought to be the …

San Francisco Chronicle: House Democrats opened the congressional debate on climate change Tuesday by unveiling an ambitious plan to boost renewable energy and simultaneously slash domestic greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent over the next decade. And California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is poised to lead the fight in the Senate. But the new focus on climate change in the nation’s capital has been accompanied by another kind of change: an explosion of lobbyists trying to influence the final shape of …

Time Magazine: The House produced a long-awaited bill to regulate 85% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, anteing up for what promises to be long, high-stakes negotiations with the Senate and business groups alarmed at the $1 trillion price tag that some estimate such an effort could entail. The effects of the already-intense lobbying around the issue were being felt across the Capitol, where the Senate the same afternoon passed by an overwhelming margin an amendment resolving that any energy legislation …

Agence France-Presse: A city in northern China notorious for its pollution and deadly mining accidents is having trouble finding willing candidates for mayor and Communist Party chief, state media reported Wednesday. The two top posts have been vacant since September in Linfen, regularly cited as one of China’s most polluted cities, when their former occupants were sacked over a mining disaster that killed 270 people, the China Daily said. The paper quoted political experts as saying the posts were …

Boston Globe: A groundbreaking climate change bill unveiled yesterday by leading House Democrats takes some inspiration from a pact among 10 Northeastern states that was the first in the United States to place a mandatory cap on carbon emissions and begin trading pollution allowances. The bill would set strict new limits on greenhouse gases, cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and by 85 percent by 2050. Pollution credits would be given or auctioned off to utilities and businesses, and would …

Guardian: Tesco is to encourage customers to discard unwanted and excessive packaging near the tills, in an experiment along the lines of a similar "take-back" scheme in Germany. The supermarket chain has already cut back on what it regards as "wasteful" packaging, such as bulky dog food bags and unnecessary plastic wrapping on food. A regional trial will now try to find out which kinds of packaging consumers are prepared to do without. Common customer gripes include the amount of plastic, …