Brussels Blog (Andrew Bounds): There has been much talk of the Franco-German motor that has traditionally propelled the European Union breaking down recently. So the cancellation of a meeting recently between the two countries to discuss proposals to cut pollution from cars led to plenty of puns.

Bush To Announce Intermediate Goal For CO2 Emissions US: April 16, 2008 WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush plans to announce on Wednesday an intermediate goal to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, but will not make specific proposals, the White House said on Tuesday. Bush will "articulate a realistic intermediate goal for reducing greenhouse gasses" and press for incentives for technology aimed at cutting emissions, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

White House Weighing New US CO2 Proposal - Sources US: April 15, 2008 WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is debating whether to embrace a mandatory system to control US greenhouse gas emissions and could make an announcement as early as this week, industry sources said on Monday. It was unclear what form the new plan could take, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the fluid nature of the deliberations.

if airlines from the us don't pay up for their carbon dioxide emissions, they have to face curbs in Europe. On March 14, the eu's transport commissioner Jacques Barrot issued an ultimatum to

A conference has been discussing the role of Irish local authorities in combating climate change. Environment minister John Gormely and experts from the Environment Protection Agency were present at the conference which addressed the implementation of national and regional climate change policy and the need for energy efficiency and emissions management. According to Kilkenny county manager Joe Crockett, the four main areas responsible for CO2 emissions in Ireland were industry, agriculture, energy and transport.

Environmental campaign group WWF has denounced the latest round of the EU's Emissions Trading System, saying its heart is in the right place but 'design faults' mean it rewards those burning the most coal. The scheme, designed to cut the continent's carbon emissions, will perversely provide a windfall for the biggest emitters, says the WWF. The conservation charity asked carbon market analysts Point Carbon to estimate the windfall profits in five European countries - the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland - over the current five year phase of the scheme.

Financing Crucial To Next Climate Change Pact - UN US: April 14, 2008 WASHINGTON - The global fight against climate change after the Kyoto pact expires will fail unless rich countries can come up with creative ways to finance clean development by poorer nations, a UN official said on Saturday. "We are not going to see that major developing country engagement unless significant financial resources and technology flows begin to be mobilized," Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said in a media briefing.

China, Australia Agree On Climate Cooperation AUSTRALIA: April 14, 2008 CANBERRA - Australia and China have agreed to hold annual ministerial talks on climate change and to work together to clean up carbon pollution from coal-fired power stations, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Friday. The Mandarin-speaking Rudd made the announcement in Beijing on Friday after talks a day earlier with China's Premier Wen Jiabao, saying both countries needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which are blamed for global warming.