A bipartisan group of western US governors – the Western Governor’s Association - has finally acknowledged that greenhouse gases are on the rise. They are now arguing that action is needed to reduce global warming.

Lord Browne, BP's chief executive, went against the grain of recent energy hikes and said that within a few years crude oil prices would be $40 a barrel or even lower. “It is very likely that, in the medium term, prices will stand at about $40 on average. In the very long run, even $25 to $30 are possible,” he said in an interview with Der Spiegel.
Although, Browne argued that there was little likelihood of prices dropping back in the short term, new potential in West Africa and with Canada’s heavily polluting tar sands, would bring prices down.

One of the main tools of the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism, will reduce carbon emissions by a billion tonnes by the end of 2012, the end of the present Kyoto commitment period, the UN has claimed.

“We have crossed an important threshold with these reductions”, said Richard Kinley, the secretariat's acting head. “It is now evident that the Kyoto Protocol is making a significant contribution towards sustainable development in developing countries”. Pitty the same cannot be said of the Kyoto Protocol in the most importer developed country for emissions: the US.

The G8 Summit in St. Petersburg is now just weeks away but last weekend saw the city host a meeting of the G8’s Finance Ministers. Although there was said to be “plenty of smiles and warm words about friendship and collaboration”, the politicians failed to find unity over the sensitive issue of energy security.

Some smaller species of animals, such as squirrels and birds, are changing genetically in order to adapt to rapid climate change, scientists now believe. "Studies show that over the past several decades, rapid climate change has led to heritable, genetic changes in animal populations," argues Christina Holzapfel, from the University of Oregon in Eugene in a paper in Science published today.

I wonder how long it might take to change the genetic code of some politicians to wake up to the dangers of climate change. Too long, I fear.

The United Nations is coming under severe pressure from scientists and campaigners to acknowledge the devastating effect of climate change on the world's most fragile ecological sites. These include the barrier reefs of Belize and Australia and glacier parks in Nepal, Peru and the Rockies. Although they are supposed to be protected, they are showing signs of the effects of global warming.

A leaked email has revealed that BP faces criminal investigation into the huge 270,000 gallon oil spill the company caused in Alaska in March. Although  BP received the subpoena in April from a Grand Jury, it has only now become public, with the leaking of an email.
The news wiped three percent of BP's share price and threatens BP's carefully crafted image as a "green" oil company. If BP is found guilty, it could lead to senior managers being imprisoned. I wonder if BP CEO, Sir John Browne is having sleepless nights.

Europe’s Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimos claims that tackling climate change is now one of the “highest priorities” of the European Union.
Writing in the Financial Times, he says that “the centrepiece of our response has been the development of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the European carbon market.”

It could be seen as an act of greenwashing bravado or one of true corporate social responsibility. But one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, Shell, yesterday joined other British companies in urging Tony Blair to set stricter limits on greenhouse emissions.

This is a must see TV programme. As part of the BBC's Climate Chaos series, the investigative programme Panorama has examined the Bush administration’s assault on the science of climate change. It includes stories of threats, gagging, cover-ups, censorships, misleading intelligence, and report re-writing.