BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Car makers recorded the deepest
ever cuts in emissions and biggest gains in fuel efficicency
last year, European climate chief Connie Hedegaard said on
Wednesday.

The EU, home to 500 million people, has set a target for
cutting average emissions from new cars to 130 grams of CO2 per
km by 2015.

BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Europe’s energy chief issued a
warning over gas and oil imports on Wednesday and unveiled a
strategy for investing 1 trillion euros ($1.39 trillion) over
the next decade to bolster networks and strengthen solidarity.

European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said
the narrow interests of national capitals had prevailed for too
long. He asked European leaders to back his plan for unity at
the first EU energy summit on Feb. 4.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union launched a competition on Tuesday for about 4 billion euros ($5.6 billion) of funding to help companies compete in the green technology race against China, Japan and the United States.

All eligible projects should be up and running by 2015. Big winners are likely to include power generators such as Germany’s E.ON and engineers like Alstom of France.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European plans to promote biofuels will drive farmers to convert 69,000 square km of wild land into fields and plantations, depriving the poor of food and accelerating climate change, a report warned on Monday.

The impact equates to an area the size of the Republic of Ireland.

As a result, the extra biofuels that Europe will use over the next decade will generate between 81 and 167 percent more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, says the report.

BEIJING/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union sees the United States “disappearing as a partner” in international climate talks after President Barack Obama suffered setbacks in midterm elections, the EU’s top climate official said on Friday.

Obama has conceded that big Republican gains in Tuesday’s elections undermined prospects for comprehensive legislation to tackle climate change.

BEIJING/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union will announce measures to tackle “gaming” of the U.N.’s system of carbon offsetting before the end of this month, the EU’s top climate official said on Friday.

An expected ban would apply to disputed offsets used by companies to comply with the EU’s emissions trading scheme, its main tool for capping planet warming emissions.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s executive Commission wants to ban from 2013 the most common types of carbon offsets used by factories and power plants, to boost the credibility of its emissions trading scheme, two EU sources said.

Some EU governments may oppose the plan, which requires majority approval by member states, environment ministries and industry sources told Reuters.

BRUSSELS, Nov 3 (Reuters) – The European Union’s executive
Commission wants to ban from 2013 the most common types of
carbon offsets used by factories and power plants, to boost the
credibility of its emissions trading scheme, two EU sources
said.

Some EU goverments may oppose the plan, which requires
majority approval by member states, environment ministries and
industry sources told Reuters.

BRUSSELS, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Europe’s energy chief proposed
binding rules forcing utilities to dispose of nuclear waste
chiefly by burying it deep underground to reduce the risks of
accidents or terrorist sabotage.

The 14 European Union member states using nuclear power
currently store the radioactive waste in bunkers or warehouses
for decades while it cools down, but that is no longer
acceptable, said EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European sanctions on Iran are not intended to restrict Iranian imports or exports of oil, officials say, but the impact of wide-ranging financial restrictions on its oil flows remains unclear.

The EU sanctions became become law on Wednesday, putting extra pressure on Tehran to return to negotiations over its uranium enrichment program.