Latest greenhouse gas emissions Stories

Japanese households and businesses could end up paying more than $500 billion to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11 percent over the next decade, the trade and industry ministry said Wednesday.The report mapped out the changes that consumers and industry would have to make in order to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for global warming below 2005 levels by 2020.The forecast, by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, comes as Japan is struggling to meet obligations...

One of France's most renowned wine-growing regions is launching an initiative to determine how much greenhouse gas emissions the industry is generating.  The Bordeaux Wine Board (Conseil Interprofessionel des Vins de Bordeaux or CIVB) hopes this will bolster industry environmental standards.The project, called "Bilan Carbone" in French, will take place over the next six months with results announced in September of this year.  The French Environment Agency (ADEME) will also...

SYDNEY, Australia -- Parts of Australia could be 9 degrees Fahrenheit hotter and 80 percent drier by 2070 if global greenhouse gas emissions are not radically reduced, government data said Tuesday.The report by the Bureau of Meteorology and the government's main research body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, predicts lower rainfall, longer droughts and more searing hot days for Australia, known by locals as "the sunburned country."Penny Whetton, a...

SOCORRO, N.M. -- A New Mexico Tech scientist believes he has found a way to head off dangerous climate change. Oliver Wingenter said the idea is simple - fertilize the ocean so that more plankton can grow.Plankton growing in the ocean emits a gas known as dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, that once in the atmosphere, helps spur cloud formation. That, in turn, would cool the planet and offset some of the global warming caused by human emitted greenhouse gases, he said.World governments are looking for...

WASHINGTON -- If motorists used rechargeable "plug-in" hybrid-electric vehicles in large numbers, the U.S. could see a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century, says a study released Thursday.Researchers estimated that with a market share of about 60 percent or more plug-ins, the vehicles could help reduce approximately 450 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions a year by 2050. The reductions would be the equivalent of removing 82 million...

NEW YORK -- Bold new initiatives against global warming have come out of major cities around the world over the past few weeks - with the notable exception of Washington.Meeting in New York this month, dozens of big-city mayors from six continents competed to present the most ambitious plan for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that cause global warming.New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted his new 127-point plan to cut Gotham's emissions 30 percent by 2030. Los Angeles...

WASHINGTON -- The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the growth of greenhouse gases by less than 1 percent in 2005 shows the administration's program to address global warming "is delivering real results." The pronouncement by EPA Administrator Dave Johnson brought a quick response from some environmentalists."Things have come to a pretty sad state of affairs when the EPA tries to spin increased greenhouse gas emissions as a victory," said Frank...

UNITED NATIONS -- The world faces a global warming disaster if the United States and China do not take decisive action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a leading economist said at the U.N. Friday.Jeffrey Sachs, speaking at the U.N. with British economist Sir Nicholas Stern, said the commitment of the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases is "absolutely fundamental" to forging a comprehensive agreement on global warming."It's a mistake to let either China or the U.S. think...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Sweden, Britain and Denmark are doing the most to protect against climate change, but their efforts are not nearly enough, according to a report released Monday by environmental groups.The United States - the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases - ranked at 53, with only China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia doing worse."We don't have any winners, we only have countries that are better compared to others," said Matthias Duwe of the Climate Action Network-Europe,...

LONDON -- Unchecked global warming will devastate the world economy on the scale of the world wars and the Great Depression, a British government report said Monday, as the country launched a bid to convince doubters that environmentalism and economic growth can coincide.Prime Minister Tony Blair said unabated climate change would eventually cost the world the equivalent of between 5 percent and 20 percent of global gross domestic product each year. He called for "bold and decisive action" to...