Agence France-Presse: Leaders of key world nations — including its three biggest polluters — picked over a statement on climate change Saturday that urges action to curb global warming but makes no firm commitments. A draft statement agreed by senior officials after intense wrangling behind the scenes proposes "aspirational" goals to reduce energy intensity and boost efforts to curb carbon emissions blamed for warming the atmosphere. Australian Prime Minister John Howard, hosting the …

Associated Press: The U.S. Forest Service chief is proposing replacing 15 percent of the nation’s gasoline with ethanol made from wood, while doubling the amount of carbon dioxide emissions absorbed by public and private forests. ‘These are ambitious goals, and they would take a concerted national effort to reach,’ Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell said in remarks prepared for a speech before the Society of Environmental Journalists Friday night in San Francisco. They also appear …

Australian: ASIA Pacific countries have agreed a common statement on climate change after intense wrangling between rich and emerging nations, a source involved in the talks said today. The document, which is not binding, contains an "aspirational" target of reducing energy intensity but also stresses the primacy of the UN in the fight against climate change. Drafted by experts of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the six-page text now goes for approval to APEC leaders …

New York Times: Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will disappear by 2050, even under moderate projections for shrinking summer sea ice caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, government scientists reported on Friday. The finding is part of a yearlong review of the effects of climate and ice changes on polar bears to help determine whether they should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists estimate the current polar bear population at 22,000. The report, which the …

Independent (UK): High up inside the Arctic circle the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet has accelerated so dramatically that it is triggering earthquakes for the first time. Scientists monitoring the glaciers have revealed that movements of gigantic pieces of ice are creating shockwaves that register up to three on the Richter scale. The speed of the arctic ice melt has accelerated to such an extent that a UN report issued earlier this year is now thought to be out of date by its own …

Herald Sun: China’s President Hu Jintao has warned APEC leaders that developing nations must meet their Kyoto protocol targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mr Hu, who has cautiously backed Prime Minister John Howard’s plan for a Sydney declaration on aspirational targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, made the call in his speech to the APEC leaders’ retreat this afternoon. Mr Hu told the meeting of world leaders that the Asia-Pacific region was uniquely placed to tackle …

Money Times: U.S. researchers say acid rain’s impact on the world’s oceans is greatest along the coastlines. The report, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, said ocean acidification hampers the ability of marine organisms to harness calcium carbonate for making hard outer shells or exoskeletons, which provide essential food and habitat to other organisms. Ocean acidification occurs when chemical compounds such as carbon dioxide, sulfur or nitrogen mix …

BBC: Asia-Pacific leaders meeting in Sydney have agreed an "aspirational" goal to restrain the rise of greenhouse gas emissions to tackle climate change. China and the US - two of the world’s biggest polluters - are among the 21 nations that have signed the statement, which contains no firm commitments. Australian Prime Minister John Howard called it "a very important milestone" towards an international deal. Environmentalists said the declaration was …

Age: APEC was never going to be the forum in which the world’s biggest greenhouse gas polluters negotiated new limits on their emissions. What they were trying to negotiate was a communique, not a new world order. And it’s not a bad one at all. Like all communiques, it’s a lowest common denominator job, which tries to come up with the best position that all 21 countries can agree on. Don’t be misled by the "targets". No country has committed to anything. And no leader is …

Age: THE Howard Government’s refusal to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases is costing Australian businesses about $3.8 billion a year, a study has found. The report by respected environmental consultant Cambiar said the country was missing out on economic activity because local businesses could not fully participate in the $37.5 billion global carbon market, which last year alone tripled in value. "This is the first time this analysis has been done and …