SAMSO, Denmark, May 17 (Reuters) – Over a beer or two, Danes
like to tell a story that goes like this: One night the energy
ministers of the countries around the North Sea got together to
divide up its oil and gas wealth. The Danish minister got very
drunk, but the Norwegian managed to stay sober. As a result,
Norway carved out a jagged shape that included Ekofisk, which
has proved to be a major field, and Denmark was left with the
dregs.

Regarded as a model of how to spend oil and gas wealth
wisely, Norway has stashed away surplus revenues from exports
while hydropower caters for the bulk of its domestic electricity
needs.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission is in close contact with the United States and the International Energy Agency (IEA) but sees no immediate need for any release of oil stocks, the EU’s energy chief said on Wednesday.

Oil markets have been on alert for a possible release from strategic reserves after news in March the United States had held talks with the British and French on the issue.

BRUSSELS/LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) – EU nations should pledge
that funds from paying for airline emissions will help poor
countries deal with global warming, the bloc’s climate chief
said on Tuesday, after finance ministers stopped short of a firm
commitment.

Crisis in Greece and the euro-zone topped the agenda at the
ministers’ talks in Brussels, but they also agreed to text on
climate funding, which only promised hard cash until the end of
the year.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – Carbon emissions in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) fell by more than 2 percent in 2011 but an oversupply of permits key to driving greener energy use worsened, European Commission data showed on Tuesday.

The glut in pollution permits has grown to 900 million, data showed, which could put further pressure on low carbon prices.

BRUSSELS, May 15 (Reuters) – A total of 10 Chinese and
Indian commercial airlines have broken EU law requiring them to
offset their carbon emissions, while all other international
carriers flying to or from Europe have complied, the European
Union’s climate chief said on Tuesday.

The EU law demanding all airlines participate in the EU’s
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has prompted outcry and threats
of a trade war.

BRUSSELS/LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) – Carbon emissions in the
European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) fell by more
than 2 percent in 2011 but an oversupply of permits key to
driving greener energy use worsened, data showed on Tuesday.

The glut in pollution permits has grown to 900 million, the
European Commission data showed.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A total of 10 Chinese and Indian commercial airlines have broken EU law requiring them to offset their carbon emissions, while all other international carriers flying to or from Europe have complied, the European Union’s climate chief said on Tuesday.

The EU law demanding all airlines participate in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has prompted outcry and threats of a trade war.

LONDON (Reuters) – Europe should focus on cutting carbon emissions, rather than just repeating an existing range of EU green policy targets that expire at the end of the decade, Britain’s energy and climate chief said on Monday.

Business, which needs investment certainty, has been heaping pressure on the European Commission to come up with policy to replace goals that expire in 2020.

BRUSSELS, May 11 (Reuters) – Anti-corruption law on how EU
oil, gas, mining firms and the logging industry report payments
to governments could be nearing agreement, following a
compromise proposal that tackles industry objections to
disclosing individual projects.

Talks are ongoing between the Commission, member states and
the European Parliament, but a Danish presidential spokesman
said he believed a deal was possible before the end of the
Danish EU presidency in June.

BRUSSELS/OTTAWA (Reuters) – There’s a science to using science.

On May 9, the government of Alberta released a study into the extra carbon emitted by crude produced using oil sands instead of more conventional sources. The study, by a unit of California-based Jacobs Engineering Group, found that emissions from oil-sand crude are just 12 percent higher than from regular crude.

But the report was not just about the science. It also sent a political signal to Europe: Canada’s fight over oil sands is not done yet.