The European Commission will propose tough new controls on chemicals to curb the effect of toxic substances on human and the environment in a bill that could influence lawmakers around the world.

The new law would require chemical firms to register and test for safety 30,000 chemicals at a cost of up to seven billion euros ($US7.86 billion) in the first 10 years.

The onus would be on any firm that makes, imports or uses chemicals to prove its products are safe or stop using them.

Due to industries' heavy reliance on HFCs and PFCs, the new tax also aims to increase the use of the "substitute principle" which calls on industries to substitute one substance for another, less harmful substance for health, safety, or environmental reasons. Gases that can be used to substitute industrial use of HFCs and PFCs include ammonia, propane and butane.

Portugal has set new regulation to regulate the release of GMOs into the environment and marketing products containing them. The law requires the following:

• The public must be consulted in decision-making regarding authorization of GMO release requests and must be informed both of commercialization decisions and the results of evaluations;
• Fixed timetable for authorizing GMO market placement and a monitoring plan to detect and identify any effects on human health and the environment; and
• Proper labeling of products containing GMOs

The French government has launched a study into the possibility of creating a government-sanctioned "sustainable development' logo for products aimed to better inform consumers on sustainable development issues and help them identify products that respect the environmental, ethical, and social standards that go with environmental sustainability.

In the first stage of the study, public and private sector executives teamed up with representatives of consumer groups to come up with an inventory of existing logos. The second phase will involve the development of the new logo, a set of rules for its attribution, and standards for ensuring compliance by firms using the logo to market their products.

The Canadian Fuel Cell Commercialization Roadmap outlines how the Canadian government, companies and institutions can plan fuel cell programmes together to accelerate the commercialization of fuel cell and hydrogen technology.

The plan is expected to stimulate market demand, improve product quality while lowing costs, gain increased access to capital, and create a support infrastructure to improve Canada's leadership position on fuel cell development. The plan will not only position Canada to take advantage of the predicted US$31 billion annual global market by 2011, but will also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollution, and develop long-term sustainable energy solutions.

Commercialization of these technologies is seen as a long-term solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help Canada meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.

General Motors Corp will supply and test a fuel cell system to power a Dow Chemical Co. plant in Texas, which could lead to Dow buying or leasing 500 fuel cell units this decade. The cells would supply Dow Chemical with 35 megawatts of power a year, enough for 25,000 homes, making it the largest fuel cell deal to date.

Fuel cells use an electrochemical process to create electricity by mixing hydrogen with oxygen, with water as the only byproduct, avoiding emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants that other power sources emit.

The agreement which is expected to be finalized this year, will help GM to cut the costs of fuel cells as it develops units to power cars, expected to be widely available within a decade.

The Mexican government's latest efforts to monitor water pollution at its famous seaside resorts like Acapulco and Zihuatanejo showed that some beaches have dangerous levels of bacterial contamination which did not meet minimum government standards for recreational water use. The latest programme launched in Apr 2003 monitored levels of faecal coliforms and enterococci and found high contamination levels at seven of the 140 beaches tested.

Hotel owners at the beach resorts have protested that these monitoring efforts by the government are damaging to Mexico's huge tourism industry, and have requested that the government refrain from publishing water quality information that could dissuade tourists from visiting the resorts.