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.

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.

Green10 letter to EU Council President van Rompuy - June 2010

This letter from Green10 Directors ahead of the EU Summit this week urges EU leaders to move toward greater climate ambition as a way of addressing Europe's financial woes.