Most of the world's big postal companies agreed yesterday to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.

The agreement, brokered by the International Post Corporation, an industry trade body, is one of the first among the prominent players in an industry to cut its contribution to global warming.

China will receive no significant funding from the US to combat climate change, the US delegation leader at the Copenhagen conference vowed yesterday.
The statement, which shocked many negotiators, was part of a broader US attack on China and other developing countries for not promising deeper concessions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The world

Copenhagen summit: There are 190-odd nations represented at the climate talks that started this week, but arguably only two that matter: the

ExxonMobil and its partners have agreed to press ahead with a $15bn liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea that would represent the largest foreign investment in the country to date.

The US group said that, once completed, the PNG LNG deal would treble Papua New Guinea

Enel, Italy's largest utility, is seeking more than

President Barack Obama has been armed with new ammunition for the Copenhagen summit on climate change with an announcement yesterday giving the US administration enhanced authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.

The European Union withdrew an offer to increase its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target on Monday because it said similar offers made by many nations in the past month were inadequate to prevent significant climate change.

As the biggest environmental meeting in history opens in Copenhagen, the scientific case for a global agreement to fight man-made climate change remains overwhelming.

Business leaders have called for agreement at Copenhagen, urging governments to provide the support for the vast investment in clean energy they say will be needed to sustain fuel supplies while curbing carbon dioxide emissions.