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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

West Australian: Green groups have welcomed calls for more scrutiny of climate change effects on WA’s eastern jarrah forests. Conservation Commission chairman John Bailey raised the possibility of more logging curbs in releasing the forest watchdog’s audit of the 2004-13 forest management plan on Monday. The report called for renewed focus on the eastern jarrah forest around Dwellingup and Collie because of the commission’s fears that declining rainfall was slowing …

Reuters: U.S. plans to step up the fight against climate change and revive the economy will not mean a slide toward protectionism, Washington’s delegation told United Nations climate talks on Wednesday. Developing nations at the 175-nation U.N. meeting in Bonn say that exports, of everything from Chinese steel to African flowers, would suffer if rich states put up import barriers to penalize their emissions from burning fossil fuels. "We certainly do not see it that way," U.S. deputy …

Australian: AN Anglican Bishop has used a memorial service to victims of February’s Victorian bushfires to lavish praise on Kevin Rudd for acting on climate change. George Browning, the former Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, told more than 2000 people gathered in London’s Westminster Abbey that human activity was causing climate change and extreme weather conditions. In a sermon in the presence of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornnwall, as well as the Prime …

ClimateWire: Adaptation is at the center of a sweeping new climate and energy bill that marks a shift in focus from merely cutting greenhouse gas emissions to dealing with unavoidable consequences of global warming. The draft climate and energy bill (pdf) unveiled yesterday by House Democrats would establish a cap-and-trade program to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, set a national renewable electricity standard and create new energy efficiency programs. But for many environmental and …

Washington Post: House Democrats introduced an ambitious climate bill yesterday aimed at pleasing both environmental and business interests, even as Senate leaders acknowledged that the party faces serious challenges in trying to pass a carbon limit in the near future. The 648-page "discussion draft," crafted by House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman (Calif.) and Rep. Edward J. Markey (Mass.), chairman of the subcommittee on energy and the environment, would create the first federal …

Herald: Scottish Government ministers have delayed introducing a major assessment exercise intended to monitor the environmental impact of key transport policies and help cut emissions. The Herald has learned that the Carbon Balance Sheet, which will assess emissions caused by all major transport projects and programmes over the last five years and was due to be published by 2008, is now not expected to be ready until the end of 2010. The revelation has sparked an angry response from …