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It does not happen often that I agree with the American Enterprise Institute but Steven Hayward’s analysis of the “real cost of tackling climate change” in the Wall Street Journal of 28 April is spot on: an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will have dramatic implications for our way of life. Hayward has at least the courage (which cannot be said for our politicians) to tell the public what this 80% cut will mean for citizens’ daily lives. In not one political document have I ever seen a serious impact assessment of the 80% target. The fear of being the bearer of bad news is one which characterises all policymakers (even the ones who know that the climate crisis will hit hard).

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law on December 19th, boosts the requirements for renewable fuel use to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The act requires "advanced biofuels"—defined as fuels that cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%—to provide 21 billion gallons of fuel by 2022, or about 60% of the total requirement. Such advanced biofuels could include ethanol derived from cellulosic biomass—such as wood waste, grasses, and agricultural wastes—as well as biodiesel, butanol, and other fuels. Previously, a national Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) set by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 required 4.7 billion gallons of renewable fuels in 2007, which would have increased to 5.4 billion gallons in 2008 and to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Trade in the world greenhouse gas credits market rose 80 percent last year as emissions rules became a concern for more companies, a carbon analysis group said on Friday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will outline legislation this week on its plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels, a German newspaper said on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose rules requiring biofuels used in the European Union to produce at least a 10 percent saving of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels, an EU official said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. citizens will not have to drive less or read in the dark to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, but they will have to buy more efficient cars and appliances, a report from two business groups said on Thursday.

According to the report authors, energy efficiency is key to sustainability. Johan Kuylenstierna of the Stockholm Environment Institute says that greenhouse gas emissions in rich nations could be halved by 2020 simply by using existing technologies for energy efficiency.

The implementation of new high-speed transport technologies re-shapes the demand balance between transport modes and rebound effects may occur. In this paper first a definition of environmental rebound effects of high-speed transport is presented and various cases are discussed. Second, a method is developed to determine and quantify the environmental rebound effects employing life cycle assessment. The method is illustrated in a case study by investigating the greenhouse gas emissions of a frequently discussed future underground maglev train system for Switzerland.

Companies that have switched to renewable energy are reporting a number of bottom line advantages, including reduced corporate greenhouse gas emissions, diversification of energy sources to hedge against fluctuating fossil fuel prices, as well as strengthening customer relationships and brand differentiation.

China will increase the portion of renewable resources to 15 percent in its total energy consumption in 2020 in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pursue sustained economic growth, according to a national plan published on Tuesday.

About half our electricity comes from coal, and that will change, at best, slowly as we move to renewables. But we need to keep in mind that when we're talking about cars, even coal-generated electricity results in lower greenhouse gas emissions compared with petroleum.

Most economic policy models now suggest a significantly negative impact on the economy if U.S. policymakers choose to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to any significant extent. There are a number of reasons for these inappropriate outcomes. Primarily, they are an artifact of the models and not the data. By turning to the historical record in the United States we can examine recent data to inform policymakers and business leaders what the economic policy models should be saying about energy and climate change policies. We can also use this historical record to perform a diagnostic review of recent modeling exercises to improve our understanding of their missed opportunities.