BEIJING — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Beijing on Thursday to cooperate on climate change, calling a safe environment a basic human right.

via Pelosi’s New Tactic: Telling China Environment Is A Human Right.

HONG KONG — Worried about heavy reliance on imported oil, Chinese officials have drafted automotive fuel economy standards that are even more stringent than those outlined by President Obama last week, Chinese experts with a detailed knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday.

via China Is Said to Plan Strict Gas Mileage Rules – NYTimes.com.

‘OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander called Wednesday for doubling the number of nuclear reactors nationwide, a potentially $700 billion proposal that calls for building 100 more over 20 years.’

via Sen. Alexander Pushes For $700B For Nuclear Reactors.

It sounds like alchemy, an act of bureaucratic magic. Under the climate-change bill just approved by a House committee, the U.S. government would literally make a commodity — as tradable as a Pontiac or a pork belly — out of thin air.

via Caps, Trades and Offsets: Can Climate Plan Work? – washingtonpost.com.

‘SHANGHAI — Wealthy nations, as history’s biggest polluters, should cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, China says in a policy document on climate change.’

via China: Rich Nations Must Cut Emissions By 40 Percent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A measure requiring utilities to generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, overcame a legislative hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Thursday.

via Renewable power mandate overcomes hurdle in Senate | Green Business | Reuters.

If we’re going to get real action on climate change any time soon, it will be via some version of legislation proposed by Representatives Henry Waxman and Edward Markey. Their bill would limit greenhouse gases by requiring polluters to receive or buy emission permits, with the number of available permits — the “cap” in “cap and trade” — gradually falling over time.

via Op-Ed Columnist – The Perfect, the Good, the Planet – NYTimes.com.

WASHINGTON Reuters – President Barack Obama proposed on Tuesday the first U.S. regulation of auto emissions in a bid to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gasses and lower dependence on foreign oil.

via Obama proposes first regulation of auto emissions | Reuters.

WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu says he will provide $2.4 billion from the economic recovery package to speed up development of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and factories that burn coal.

Chu told a meeting of the National Coal Council on Friday that it's essential that ways are found to capture carbon dioxide from coal-burning power plants and industrial sources. Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is the leading greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

Chu said coal will remain an essential energy source. He said even if coal plants in the United States were shut down, as some environmentalists want, China and India will not turn their back on coal.

via US Makes $2.4 Billion Bet On Clean Coal In Stimulus Package.

WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Steven Chu says he will provide $2.4 billion from the economic recovery package to speed up development of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and factories that burn coal.

via US Makes $2.4 Billion Bet On Clean Coal In Stimulus Package.