BRUSSELS/OTTAWA, May 10 (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.

BRUSSELS, May 7 (Reuters) – EU nations have yet to come up
with a plan on how to fill a multi-billion euro fund to help
tackle climate change, even as the region’s executive body hosts
talks with countries likely to bear the brunt of extreme
weather.

The European Union recommitted to providing 7.2 billion
euros ($9.4 billion) for the fund over 2010-12, according to
draft conclusions seen by Reuters ahead of a meeting of EU
finance ministers next week.

PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) – Free access to emerging renewable
energy markets such as Brazil, China and India will be a major
factor in helping the European Union maintain its lead in green
energy, according to draft documents seen by Reuters.

A draft European Commission communication on renewable
energy, expected to be published later this month, said EU
member states need to share renewables across borders with the
help of improved infrastructure and underlined the urgency of
agreeing on new laws to guide investment.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union could fail to hit its green goals unless it manages to drive carbon prices on its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to around three times current levels, Spain’s Acciona Energy said.

Acciona is among a group of businesses – including Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, Philips, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone – whose leaders on Thursday met European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and other senior officials from the EU executive.

BRUSSELS, May 2 (Reuters) – Energy security, power markets
and sustainable urban development top the agenda at talks on
Thursday between European Commission bosses and visiting Chinese
officials, led by Vice Premier Li Keqiang, as both sides
scramble for supplies and market share.

Beijing and the European Union, China’s leading trade
partner, launched regular dialogue on energy in 2005 on the
margins of one of a series of EU-China summits.

COGNAC, France (Reuters) – In the 18th century, one Richard Hennessy fled his native County Cork in Ireland to serve in the armies of Louis XV of France before settling in the southwestern town of Cognac.

Once the alarums of battle had faded, he shipped a few barrels of the local tipple home. The rest is history and the Cognac house still bearing the Hennessy name is a world leader.

BRUSSELS, April 27 (Reuters) – The European Commission,
which has begun talks with the EU’s biggest natural gas supplier
Russia on cementing energy ties until 2050, said both sides had
to work on burying carbon emissions or gas would have only a
short future as a fuel.

Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told an EU-Russia
conference in Brussels that, for the 27-member bloc to continue
using gas beyond around 2030-2035, it needed carbon capture and
storage (CCS) technology to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

COGNAC, France, April 27 (Reuters) – In the 18th century,
one Richard Hennessy fled his native County Cork in Ireland to
serve in the armies of Louis XV of France before settling in the
southwestern town of Cognac.

Once the alarums of battle had faded, he shipped a few
barrels of the local tipple home. The rest is history and the
Cognac house still bearing the Hennessy name is a world leader.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU policy-makers must focus on natural gas as the near-term solution to halting the rise of carbon-intensive coal and curbing emissions, Norwegian oil and gas producer Statoil (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday.

Rune Bjornson, senior vice president for natural gas at Statoil, also said action was needed to ensure a higher carbon price on the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), but he would not specify any level, saying it varied from country to country.

HORSENS, Denmark, April 20 (Reuters) – A deal to deliver a
20 percent energy savings target could be possible in June
following talks in Denmark, where no member state was “a
blockade”, Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on
Friday.

The Danish European Union presidency has said the Energy
Efficiency Directive is a priority for its six months at the
head of EU debate, which ends in June.