The EU should cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2020 without waiting for other rich countries to adopt more ambitious policies, three of Europe's most influential environment ministers said in a joint article published in the Financial Times, Le Monde and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on July 15th.

Ministers Chris Huhne (UK Climate Change Secretary), Norbert Röttgen (German Federal Environment Minister) and Jean-Louis Borloo (French Environment Minister) said in the article, "A reduction of 30 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020 would represent a real incentive for innovation and action in the international context."

Following quickly on their heels, heavy hitters in the EU business world came out in support of the letter, also calling for increased emissions reductions ambition.

CAN member WWF today lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission concerning a new regulation passed by the Spanish government to provide state aid to power stations that burn domestically produced coal. The organisation says that the scheme, if approved, would be additional to existing subsidies already given to Spanish coal mines for the same coal.

Earlier this year, the Spanish government adopted a Royal Decree to fix prices and prioritise dispatch at ten Spanish coal-fired power stations using domestic coal[1]. The plan, which would cost an estimated €800M over three years according to the Spanish energy regulator, aims to help clear a backlog of stockpiled coal caused by the combination of lower electricity demand due to the economic downturn and an increase in the share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Implementation of the plan has been delayed pending its clearance by the Spanish EU competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia.

The G8/G20 meetings ended on Sunday with world leaders largely ignoring mounting international outrage about the impacts of fossil fuels and global climate change.

Despite BP's ongoing colossal oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, the G20 remains unwilling to break the world's addiction to dirty energy. Rather than strengthen their commitments to reducing fossil fuel subsidies, they slid backwards. While this action is sure to delight the fossil fuel lobbyists working hard to maintain their free ride, it does not change the reality of climate change. The planet is continuing to warm dangerously, communities continue to be ravaged by its effects and yet world leaders still shirk their responsibility to safeguard the climate for current and future generations.

Leaders committed to ending fossil fuel subsidies at last year's G20 meeting in Pittsburgh. In Toronto last week, those prior commitments were watered down, the fossil subsidy phase-out made "voluntary," and Europe said it needs a dozen more years to even consider phasing down coal subsidies.

Washington  D.C. , 16 June 2010

Dear Business Europe,

I want to express my heartfelt thanks for supporting my resolution S.J. 26 as presented to  the U.S. Senate on June 10th. As you know, this resolution would have ensured that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would not be able to legislate and control greenhouse gas emissions from large point sources. Stopping the EPA from regulating these emissions is very important because it would take away the US administration's leverage to enact a cap and trade bill such as the American Power Act. Unfortunately, the hard work of your members fell short of generating a majority in the Senate.

But rest assured there will be other opportunities to jointly fight climate action and I will call upon your support again.