Despite the economic downturn and rising prices, global energy demand continues to rise; so do carbon emissions.

Canada's opposition Liberal Party responded to criticism of its carbon tax plan on Wednesday, ahead of a looming election call, promising a total of C$900 million (US$849 million) in tax breaks and subsidies to farmers, loggers, fishermen and truckers.

The "green shift" carbon tax plan, the central election plank for the Liberals, will include tax breaks worth C$400 million for farmers and loggers who buy environmentally friendly machinery, said party leader Stephane Dion.

The food and energy crisis are two sides of the same coin, " said Sustainable Energy Authority Executive Director Asoka Abeygunawardena, when he launched the booklet titled

Fuelled only by used cooking fat, eight teams completed a 2,500-mile car rally from London to Athens on Wednesday in a bid to promote awareness of cheap and environmentally-friendly bio-fuels.

The "Grease to Greece" race, the brainchild of 34-year-old Londoner Andy Pag, took the teams on a 10-day mission across Europe in which they begged oil to fuel their cars from restaurants, motorway cafes and fast-food joints along the way.
"There is no reason why Joe Public cannot do this, save themselves a bit of money and help the environment because they are not using fossil fuels," Pag said.

Abolishing subsidies on fossil fuels could cut world greenhouse gas emissions by up to 6 percent and also nudge up world economic growth, a UN report showed on Tuesday.

Subsidies on oil, gas or coal are meant to help the poor by lowering the price of energy but the report, issued on the sidelines of a 160-nation UN climate meeting in Ghana, said they often backfired by mainly benefiting wealthier people.
The study estimated that energy subsidies, almost all for fossil fuels, totalled about US$300 billion a year or 0.7 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP).

Energy is the ultimate essence of life itself. Unfortunately, due to increased demand, it is slowly becoming very limited in supply, which is probably one of the evils of modern technology. This, combined with the impact of global warming has necessitated the need for energy conservation and use of renewable energy sources.