LUXEMBOURG, June 11 (Reuters) – The European Union has made
progress toward a deal to reduce energy use by improving
efficiency, Denmark’s Energy Minister Martin Lidegaard said on
Monday, as the debate enters what should be its final stage.

He added any agreement is not likely to include language on
setting aside carbon permits to prop up the EU’s Emissions
Trading Scheme (ETS).

BRUSSELS, June 7 (Reuters) – European steelmakers said the
European Union’s top court had thrown out their case seeking to
change the rules on free carbon allowances in the next phase of
the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Steel industry body Eurofer confirmed the case had been
declared inadmissible by the Luxembourg-based European Court of
Justice.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission is set to propose tighter carbon emissions standards for new EU cars, according to a draft proposal that is likely to divide the auto industry.

The proposal, expected to be made public next month, would make binding a 2020 goal to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to an average of 95 grams per kilometre (g/km).

BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) – The European Commission is set
to propose tighter carbon emissions standards for new EU cars,
according to a draft proposal that is likely to divide the auto
industry.

The proposal, expected to be made public next month, would
make binding a 2020 goal to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
to an average of 95 grams per kilometre (g/km).

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission is set to propose tighter carbon emissions standards for new EU cars, according to a draft proposal that is likely to divide the auto industry.

The proposal, expected to be made public next month, would make binding a 2020 goal to lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to an average of 95 grams per kilometer (g/km).

BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) – Europe must agree 2030
milestones as soon as possible to spur investment in renewable
energy, or green power growth will fizzle once firm policy runs
out in 2020, the European Commission said on Wednesday in its
latest strategy statement.

Many in the renewable energy sector agree there is a need
for strong guidance, but they want binding targets, rather than
vague aims. At the other extreme, some of the 27 member states
are strongly opposed to legal goals for renewables.

BRUSSELS, June 5 (Reuters) – Europe’s industry chief on
Wednesday is expected to announce plans to galvanise the
region’s struggling car industry, focused on innovation, low
carbon emissions and using trade negotiations to ward off
competition from emerging markets, EU sources said.

European Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani could please
environmentalists by emphasising smart regulation for a
sustainable industry, but is likely to disappoint those in the
car industry who have called for more relaxed rules to help them
cope with financial downturn.

BRUSSELS, June 4 (Reuters) – EU president Denmark is
pressing European lawmakers and senior politicians to compromise
over an ambitious energy saving law designed to help meet a 2020
EU target to cut consumption by a fifth, but which critics say
would stifle growth.

Denmark made energy efficiency a priority for its six-month
tenure at the head of the European Union and wants to nail down
an agreement before handing on to Cyprus at the end of June.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European environment ministers are expected to reopen a difficult debate later this month on deeper EU carbon emissions cuts, but a draft text ahead of the meeting stops short of any firm targets.

Previous discussion of bigger carbon cuts has been tense, with coal-reliant Poland objecting that they could damage its economy.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Greenhouse gases from the European Union rose more than 2 percent in 2010 when a cold winter and a rebound in many economies drove up energy use, breaking a multi-year pattern of emissions declines.

The year-on-year rise in the official EU data released on Wednesday was slowed by emissions declines in struggling Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain.