The EU has announced tough cuts in carbon emissions targets for Phase II of the ETS (2008-2012), particularly for those countries which did not themselves propose sufficiently tough targets, according to this BBC Report.  Countries, such as the UK, who were tougher on their national industries in Phase I of the ETS, have this time escaped [...]

The liberal city of Boulder, Colorado, has become the first US city to impose a carbon levy — a tax on energy usage, designed to encourage use of low-carbon-emitting forms of energy.  The proceeds of the tax will fund the city’s climate action plan.  See this report in the New York Times.  Perhaps the US [...]

Atmospheric levels of methane, the second-most important greenhouse gas, appear to have stabilized, according to a report in the journal, Scientific American.  This halt to the rise of methane levels may provide us with some breathing space in which to reduce CO2 emissions.
It not yet known the reasons for the plateau in methane levels, or how [...]

Australian economist, John Quiggin, has undertaken a blog review of the UK Government’s Stern review on the economics of climate change.  The highlights of his review are:
“(i) Stern’s estimates of the cost of stabilising CO2 levels (1 per cent of GDP by 2050) are optimistic, but in the right ballpark
(ii) Stern’s treatment of discounting is [...]

In the Queen’s speech yesterday, the British Government announced plans for new legislation to create a binding and tough target for a reduction in carbon emissions  — aiming for a 60% fall from 1990 levels by 2050 — and a new independent body, the “Carbon Committee”, to ensure these levels are achieved.  Here is the [...]