The Australian government will boost excise levels on gasoline and diesel fuels in order to fund a grant scheme to speed up the use of low-sulphur gasoline and diesel, Treasurer Peter Costello announced in his May 13 budget speech for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

From 1 Jan 2006, the government will increase the excise duty on gasoline for two years so as to fund grant payments for the production or import of low-sulphur gasoline (gasoline that contains less than 50 ppm sulphur). Similar arrangements will come into force on 1 Jan 2007 to fund grants for importing or producing low-sulphur diesel (diesel with less tan 10 ppm sulphur).

The government has outlined 'indicative' increases of 0.7 cents per litre on all diesel and 0.06 cents per litre on all gasoline in order to fund grants of 1 cent a litre for 10 ppm diesel and 1.1 cents a litre for 50 ppm gasoline.

US Senate action on a plan to double ethanol production may be delayed, the Energy Committee Chairman said this week. Opponents to the plan have threatened to file dozens of amendments to water it down.

Backed by Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate, the current proposal would mandate the use of at least 5 billion gallons of renewable fuels such as ethanol by 2012.

Under the Senate's proposal, use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a rival to ethanol, would be phased out in 4 years. MTBE is banned in some states because it can pollute groundwater.

However, the House has passed its own energy bill. It sets a 5 billion-gallon mandate target for renewable fuels by 2015 and would allow MTBE to continue.

The proposed standards for reducing mercury pollution may be relaxed as new data indicates that the levels in the government plan are not feasible. As part of the Clear Skies plan, the Bush administration proposed a cap on the amount of emissions including nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and mercury, from coal-fired power plants. Under the proposal, current technology would reduce nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide and cause a corresponding reduction in mercury with reductions from 48 tonnes / year to 26 tonnes/ year by 2010. The proposal hopes to achieve a reduction in mercury emissions to 34 - 36 tons / year.

Industry has commented that as there is no tested technology to control mercury emissions, it would be difficult to comply with the proposal. There is also concern from consumer groups that the unrealistic target proposed by the Bush administration would encourage power companies to switch to natural gas burning. As the levels of natural gas are declining in the US, this would result in increased energy costs for the public.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is helping countries use atomic physics to squeeze every last bit of water hidden in the earth's crust to avert a crisis of the world's most precious commodity.

The IAEA is showing countries how to tap the world's many underground springs by using isotope technology. The idea is simple. Water contains natural isotopes, which are atoms of the same element but with different atomic weights. By tracking these isotopes - which give the water source its 'fingerprint' - water engineers can quickly obtain information that would require half a century of measuring rain, river and water body levels. There is no need to inject anything into the ground because these are naturally occurring tracers.

Dr Addison Bain, whose groundbreaking research proved that hydrogen did not initiate the Hindenburg fire in 1937, has begun a new project to demonstrate use of hydrogen-compressed natural gas blends for fueling today's automobile engines. The use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines offers one potential bridge towards the development of hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles.

Dr Bain has designed a simple hydrogen/natural gas fueling system that allows him to fuel a modified passenger car with an easy-to-operate fuel gas production and blending system. The system allows him to safely blend hydrogen (H2) and compressed natural gas (CNG) inside the tank of his internal combustion engine Crown Victoria.

The filling process is simple and quiet. The hydrogen connection is first opened on the isolation panel. The tank is first filled to 5-10% H2, pressure levels from 150-200 psig. The hydrogen connection is then closed and the CNG connection opened. The filling is completed by the CNG to 3000 psig. The whole process takes 7-8 hours.

European Union power producers can achieve a 50% cut in their emissions of carbon dioxide by 2020 through a policy promoting effective programmes for reducing energy demand and increased reliance on renewable energies, according to a blueprint report by the environmental group WWF International.

Europe's power sector accounts for 37% of Europe's CO2 emissions. Thus in order to reverse the EU's contribution to global warming, reform in the sector is crucial over the next 2 decades.

WWF said the estimated potential for renewable electricity production in the EU is 587 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2010 to 1158 TWh in 2020. This translates to an overall share of 25% for renewables by 2010 and approximately 60% renewables by 2020. A terawatt-hour is equal to a trillion watt-hours.

Although switching to renewables is expected to lead to higher energy production costs, the end cost to consumers can be offset through strong efforts by government to improve energy efficiency.

Accounting for 20% of the global population, industrialised nations account for 60 percent of annual emissions of carbon dioxide. The UN reported that Western Europe, North America and Japan would increase their greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2010. Furthermore, emissions in central and eastern Europe are also likely to increase. This is despite of international efforts to cutback such emissions and is a setback after near stabilisation in the 1990s.

The UN climate change convention executive secretary stated that the findings indicate that stronger, more creative policies will be required and that countries should increase climate-friendly technology development and promote the need for cuts in green house gas emission.

The US has refused to ratify the 1997 UN Kyoto Protocol which has sought to cut such emissions in the developed world by 2012 to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels. For it to become binding, the Protocol must be approved by nations accounting for at least 55 percent of the industrialised world's 1990 green house gas emissions. With the anticipation of ratification by Russia this year, this will increase to 60%.

Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will measure the vertical profile of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a means of providing policy makers, governments and citizens accurate climate information. A specially modified plane will be measuring a variety of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and sulphur hexafluoride.

The vertical profiles will then be fed into a climate model to better gauge future temperature changes and allow nations to make informed decisions on how best to deal with global warming. The study will enable scientists to make detailed observations in the atmosphere in terms of vertical transportation of the gases and enable large-scale determination of gas sources and sinks.

The gases will be measured in the air space between the plane and combined with simultaneous measurements at ground level.

The German Food Industry Association has withdrawn from a nationwide project to provide a network of recycling machines for drink cans. The scheme was targeted for full implementation by Oct 2002 and would complement a new drink can and bottle deposit scheme.

Under the new scheme, which took effect Jan 03, Germans are required to pay a deposit of Euro 0.29 (US$0.29) on cans and plastic bottles. The recyclables can be returned to the store of purchase to reclaim the deposit.

The Association has argued that the scheme would push drink sales down and could cost jobs. Furthermore, it claimed the scheme constituted a trade barrier within Europe.

The European Environment's Agency's latest assessment of Europe's environment notes progress over the past decade, but cautions that environmental harm from economic activity could reverse the improvements.

For the first time, the report includes the entire Russian Federation and the 11 other Eastern European, Caucasus, and Central Asian (EECCA) states among the 52 countries examined.

Most improvement to the environment continues to come from efforts to limit pollution or as a result of economic recession and restructuring occurring in many parts of Europe. Without proactive pollution prevention efforts, Europe faces the risk of undoing the good already done.

Governments need to mandate more sustainable, eco-efficient practices in order to continue economic growth without ruining the environment. EU accession countries and the EECCA are at particular risk as manufacturing moves from Western Europe and other parts.

About 10 US and European banks are preparing to adopt new environmental principles governing how they finance projects, especially in emerging markets.

The banks involved include Citigroup Inc, Holland's ABN Amro Holding NV, Britain's Barclay's and Germany's WestLB. A news conference is scheduled later to announce the banks' adoption of the so-called 'Equator Principles' drafted by the International Finance Corp, the private sector arm of the World Bank.

The Equator Principles classify projects according to their affect on the environment - including wetlands, forests and other natural habitats - or various ethnic minorities or culturally significant sites. They then set procedures or communications that prospective borrowers must follow.

According to the agreement, the banks agree not to provide loans to projects where the borrower will not or is unable to comply with the environmental and social policies and processes as stated in the principle.