NICOSIA, July 9 (Reuters) – It took months of political
argument to secure a compromise EU deal on energy saving in June
and months more campaigning are likely to follow as campaigners
work to ensure consumers reap the benefits and energy suppliers
change their ways.

The aims included curbing dependence on costly imports of
oil and gas and creating jobs through energy efficiency
measures, such as building renovation.

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus will focus on shoring up European Union water supplies and on preparation for U.N. climate talks in Doha as the green priorities for its six months at the EU helm, its environment minister said on Friday.

Just before beginning its first stint as holder of the rotating EU presidency on July 1, Cyprus asked for 10 billion euros ($12.4 billion) in emergency funding for its financial sector.

BRUSSELS, July 3 (Reuters) – The European Union needs to
work harder to reach its 2020 green energy objectives,
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday.

Denmark, which has just completed a six-month stint leading
EU policy debate, put the environment at the heart of its
presidency. And it set as a priority getting a deal on an Energy
Efficiency Directive to reduce EU energy use and dependency on
fossil fuel imports.

BRUSSELS/TURIN, Italy, July 2 (Reuters) – Proposals to
toughen EU standards on car emissions have put the giants of the
German auto industry on collision course with makers of lighter
vehicles, including Italy’s Fiat.

The plan from the European Commission, the EU’s executive
arm, is to enforce a 2020 goal to lower carbon dioxide emissions
to an average of 95 grams per kilometre (g/km).

LONDON/BRUSSELS, June 28 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz
II consortium led by BP and Statoil selected the
Nabucco West gas pipeline project to carry Caspian gas into
Europe under a proposed northern route, BP said on Thursday.

The decision is part of a long elimination process in which
rival schemes are vying to ship Caspian gas, which the European
Union hopes will break Russia’s market dominance.

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) – A bitterly disputed law that
requires flights in and out of the European Union to pay for
their carbon will not be changed unless a global deal to curb
airline emissions can be struck, European Commission letters
indicate.

Countries could also be exempted from the EU law if they
introduce their own national schemes to offset carbon emissions,
according to the documents seen by Reuters.

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) – Major companies including
Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and commodities
giant Bunge have written to top EU officials calling for
the urgent withdrawal of 1.4 billion carbon permits to support
the market and green investment.

A huge surplus of permits because of recession has depressed
their price, making it cheaper to pollute and cutting the
incentive to invest in low-carbon technology.

BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) – A global scheme to curb
airline emissions, under debate this week in Montreal, or
national schemes to make airlines pay for their carbon costs are
the only reasons for the European Commission to change a law
that has provoked international anger, a series of Commission
letters seen by Reuters shows.

The letters, also state the Commission sees no prospect of
deferring the law requiring all flights to and from EU airports
to buy allowances under the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme.

BRUSSELS, June 14 (Reuters) – European Commission draft
proposals to try to prop up the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme
(ETS) could delay the sale of 400 million to 1.2 billion carbon
allowances for years, EU sources said on Thursday.

The delay would cover the first three years of the next
phase of the carbon market, 2013-2015, and then the allowances
would be released over the following three years, 2016-2018, the
sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union negotiators agreed early on Thursday the text of a law designed to make governments and utilities improve energy efficiency and lower the bloc’s fuel bills.

The legislative proposal was agreed by representatives of the Commission, the European Parliament and the presidency shortly after midnight, EU sources said. It still needs the approval of diplomats from the 27 member states and would then have to be rubber-stamped by ministers.