PARIS: Weakening growth, huge investment needs and a highly contentious policy framework are just a few of the reasons why European Union member states may not get close to their goals for reducing carbon emissions in the next decade or so.

BEIJING: Chinese greenhouse gas pollution could more than double within two decades, a Chinese state research institute said in a study that casts stark light on the industrial giant's role in stoking global warming.

After five years of stagnation, the United States has managed to cut its infant mortality a bit. That is no great cause for celebration, especially since this country's rates remain far too high and so many other countries are doing so much better on this important measure of a nation's health and the quality of its medical system.

PANGKALPINANG, Indonesia: Tin mining on these sleepy islands east of Sumatra has brought wealth, but at a price; it is literally eating away at the land.

HOUSTON: For all the support that the U.S. presidential candidates are expressing for renewable energy, alternative energies like wind and solar are facing big new challenges because of the credit freeze and the plunge in oil and natural gas prices.

The number of infant deaths in the United States declined 2 percent in 2006, government researchers reported Wednesday, but the rate still remains well above that of most other industrialized countries.

BEIJING: Chinese leaders have yet to announce the details of a rural reform policy they said they adopted Sunday, contributing to speculation that Communist Party officials are in disagreement on major aspects of the plan.

SAN FRANCISCO: Green is no longer just for hippies. Over the past couple of years, mainstream companies have started to realize that they need to fundamentally rethink their environmental policies, and while some still see the issues in terms of compliance, risk management or marketing, others see business opportunity.

JERUSALEM: With its perennial lack of water and an overabundance of sun, Israel has long been a global leader in water and solar technologies. An Israeli kibbutz company, Netafim, invented the first drip irrigation systems, while Luz Industries Israel developed the first commercial solar-thermal power plants.

BARCELONA: Few people call it eco-friendly when a company like Royal Dutch Shell, to pump natural gas and make petroleum products, disturbs coral reefs and damages the habitats of rare desert truffles and vulnerable birds. But the energy giant may have found a way to turn local environmental losses into a plus for biodiversity - and its business.