LUXEMBOURG/BRUSSELS, Oct 6 (Reuters) – European rules
forcing all airlines to pay for carbon emissions are within the
law, an adviser to Europe’s highest court said on Thursday, in
the latest stage of a bitter battle between the European Union
and the aviation industry.

From January next year, all airlines will have to buy
permits under the European Union’s emissions trading scheme
(ETS) to help offset the carbon emissions of flights that land
or take off in Europe.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s highest court will issue an opinion on Thursday on the legality of including airlines in the EU’s carbon trading scheme to fight climate change.

Although not binding, this latest legal stage will be very closely watched by the U.S. airlines that brought the case in England’s High Court of Justice, as well as Chinese and Indian carriers.

BRUSSELS, Oct 4 (Reuters) – The European Commission has
approved including tar sands in a proposed green ranking of
fuels, designed to enable suppliers to identify the most
carbon-intensive options, an EU source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Environmental campaigners welcomed the decision, which they
saw as a victory for EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard,
who had faced pressure from the oil industry and Canada, home to
huge reserves of unconventional oil.

WROCLAW, Poland (Reuters) – Plans by Germany and other EU states to abandon nuclear power because of fears stirred by the disaster in Japan reinforce the need for joint action and magnify the bloc’s problems over security of energy supply, a discussion paper said.

The document, seen by Reuters, is the latest text from the European Commission to urge all 27 member nations to put collective energy needs above domestic agendas. It could rile countries such as Germany, which has unilaterally decided to phase out all its atomic plants by 2022.

WROCLAW, Poland, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Plans by Germany and
other EU states to abandon nuclear power because of fears
stirred by the disaster in Japan reinforce the need for joint
action and magnify the bloc’s problems over security of energy
supply, a discussion paper said.

The document, seen by Reuters, is the latest text from the
European Commission to urge all 27 member nations to put
collective energy needs above domestic agendas. It could rile
countries such as Germany, which has unilaterally decided to
phase out all its atomic plants by 2022.

LONDON (Reuters) – Half way into its EU presidency, Poland still has the opportunity to lead eastern Europe in bringing on efficient energy technology and to prove wrong those who see it only as an obstacle to a greener agenda.

Its often tense ties with leading gas producer Russia could also sharpen the debate on how to secure reliable energy supplies as tensions once again mount between Moscow and Kiev, which dominates Russia’s gas transit route to western Europe.

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent oil fell on Thursday, pushed lower as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet highlighted downside risks to the economy, further clouding the demand outlook.

Investors were waiting for hints on any U.S. action to shore up its economy following the ECB’s decision to keep interest rates steady, as expected.

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent oil eased on Thursday, falling from its highest in a month, ahead of news from the heads of the European and U.S. central banks, a jobs package from the U.S. president and weekly oil inventory data.

Analysts said the focus was firmly on macroeconomic news and its implications for fuel demand, with modest support provided by the possibility of further storm disruption to oil and gas infrastructure in the United States.

KHOBAR/LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Long before it understood
the value of oil, the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia knew the
worth of water.

But the leading oil exporter’s water challenges are growing
as energy-intensive desalination erodes oil revenues while peak
water looms more ominously than peak oil — the theory that
supplies are at or near their limit, with nowhere to go but
down.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil futures fell on Friday as the market nervously awaited U.S. jobs data for new evidence on whether the world’s largest crude consumer can avoid recession.

A storm blowing off the U.S. Gulf of Mexico provided modest price support after major oil and gas producers shut down platforms and evacuated workers to limit any damage.