Guardian: Demonstrators converging on the G20 summit this evening began taking over squats on the border of London’s Square Mile to use as bases from which to launch a series of co-ordinated "direct action" protests. The occupation of four buildings prompted the first confrontations with police, and marked the start of two days in which officers are expected to play cat and mouse with protesters determined to bring the financial heart of the capital to a standstill. Protests are expected …

Greenpeace: G20 leaders are poised to waste a unique opportunity to tackle the economic and climate crises simultaneously through greening their economies. Wealthy G20 nations need to commit at least 1% of their GDP to green measures, and the rest should do all they can to leapfrog dirty carbon-based development and shift to a renewable energy future. "The G20 leaders represent 3/4 of global GDP, 3/4 of energy consumption and 3/4 of carbon emissions. So far, they appear not to have grasped …

Reuters: The U.S. government has filed a civil complaint against BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc alleging that the Alaska-based company violated U.S. clean air and water laws, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, accuses BPXA of illegally discharging more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil from its pipelines onto the North Slope of Alaska during two major oil spills in the spring and summer of 2006. The complaint also alleges …

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Today marks the end of Federal assistance for 11 exceptional circumstance declared regions across the country. While many regions have appealed the decision the Government is urging farmers to contact Centrelink’s drought assistance line to explore alternatives. Rural services officer with Centrelink, Russel Smith, says farmers who are no longer be able to access exceptional circumstances funding may be able to get other help. "We’ve got rural programs such as the …

Latin American Herald Tribune: The adoption of sugar-based ethanol as a substitute for gasoline can reduce up to 73 percent of carbon-dioxide and nitrous-oxide emissions, according to a study by the Brazilian government cited Tuesday in the business daily Valor. The document, drafted by the state-funded Embrapa research outfit, points out that emissions of those two greenhouse gases are thought to be a major factor in global warming. The study considers not only vehicle emissions but the entire process of …

Agence France-Presse: Two senior executives at French state energy giant Electricite de France (EDF) have been charged on suspicion of spying on Greenpeace, a judicial official said Tuesday. EDF security chiefs Pierre Francois and Pierre Durieux are charged with conspiring to hack into computer systems including at the environmental group, the official said, confirming a report on the Mediapart website. A computer expert is also charged in the case along with Thierry Lorho, the head of private …

Huffington Post: Unveiling his far-reaching auto plan, President Obama gave a nod to a little-noticed movement in Congress to clear the roads of gas-guzzling clunkers best destined for the crusher. It’s an attractive idea. Think of it as: "Get the Jalopies off the Road." The theory is simple enough: Reward owners for junking older-model fuel-slurping cars and light trucks and buying new "clean" vehicles that will use less fuel and release less carbon, the key culprit in global …

LA Times: As an author of the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), I was disappointed to read recreational fisherman Dick Giuliani’s March 25 opinion piece, in which he argued that the fishing reserves proposed under the act would be disastrous for the state. I’d like to clear up a number of misconceptions and share why I believe the process of selecting marine protection areas as outlined by the MLPA is critical to our future. The MLPA, which was adopted in 1999, calls for a coherent …

Canwest News Service: WASHINGTON - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled draft climate change legislation to slash America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, setting the stage for a protracted and intense political debate in Washington that has potentially major consequences for Canada’s energy industry. The 648-page draft bill would establish a carbon cap-and-trade system to help industry achieve the greenhouse gas reductions, but sidesteps the politically …

Reuters: A draft statement which would confirm G20 leaders’ commitment to sign a new climate pact in December and support low-carbon growth drew mixed reactions from green groups and policymakers Tuesday. Environment analysts say more was unlikely from an April 2 summit of leaders of developed and emerging countries focused on preventing global recession from becoming a depression. Think-tanks and UN agencies have urged world leaders to use the financial crisis to lay the building …