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Some members of the European Parliament are suggesting the European Commission has overstepped its powers by proposing that car-makers in the future be fined for exceeding EU-set limits for vehicle carbon dioxide emissions.

A preliminary expert opinion prepared for the legal affairs committee in the parliament, obtained by German daily Financial Times Deutschland, says that such fines give the appearance "of a tax for the benefit of the community which the community has absolutely no competence to charge."

The 2008 International Conference on Climate Change, scheduled for March 2-4 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, has been sold out.

Joseph Bast, president of The Heartland Institute, said: "We have literally been overwhelmed with the response and interest of people from all parts of the world wanting to attend this one-of-a-kind conference."

Next week the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will be trying to figure out how to square climate-change policies and economic competitiveness, a road the Senate’s already been down. On the Hill, a lot of people look to Europe for lessons on how to do battle with climate change. It’s certainly instructive.

It ain’t easy being green

Today, the 27 nations of the European Union took their first whack at Europe’s more ambitious climate and energy proposals. The new rules call for a big increase in the amount of renewable energy and would sell—not give away—pollution rights to big industry. Surprise: No country seems very satisfied with the tougher talk.

Europe's metal and paper industries may be given free emission allowances during the post-2013 phase of the EU carbon market, the Commission indicated in two communications announced this week. Brussels is hoping to prevent energy-intensive sectors from fleeing the EU as the bloc's carbon market becomes tighter.

"It is not in the interest of the European Union that in the future production moves to countries with less strict emissions limits," the Commission notes in its communication in support of the metals sector, announced on 25 February.

To big rounds of applause, three of the world’s richest men — Richard Branson, Ronald W. Burkle and Vinod Khosla — trooped onto a New York ballroom stage with former President Bill Clinton to pledge support for renewable energy projects to combat global warming and create jobs.

It was September 2006, and the Clinton Global Initiative, the annual star-studded networking event for philanthropists and investors, had generated commitments to spend billions on ethanol and other alternative fuels. Cast as good works, many were also investments by businessmen hoping for a profit.

Despite Veto Threat, Bill to Boost Renewable Energy Is Sent to Senate

The House of Representatives brushed aside threats of a White House veto yesterday and voted 236 to 182 in favor of an $18 billion tax package that would rescind a tax break for the five biggest oil companies and use the revenue to boost incentives for wind and solar energy and energy efficiency.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where Democrats face a challenge in getting enough support to bring the bill to a vote. This is the fourth time in the past year that Democrats have tried to get the package adopted.

Minnesota's Republican governor, Tim Pawlenty, carefully prepared his plan for controlling greenhouse gas emissions to present it at the annual winter meeting of governors in Washington. That effort coincided with Pawlenty's fast-rising prospects to become Sen. John McCain's choice for vice president. But behind closed doors, governors from energy-producing states complained so vigorously that Pawlenty's proposal was buried.

Pawlenty's position as chairman of the National Governors Association may prove to be his undoing. While party insiders sing his praises as ideal to be McCain's running mate, leading conservative Republican governors have been less than pleased with him. Pawlenty has collaborated with the association's Democratic vice chairman, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, on a fat economic stimulus package as well as the energy proposal.

A drop in wind generation late on Tuesday, coupled with colder weather, triggered an electric emergency that caused the Texas grid operator to cut service to some large customers, the grid agency said on Wednesday.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said a decline in wind energy production in west Texas occurred at the same time evening electric demand was building as colder temperatures moved into the state.

The grid operator went directly to the second stage of an emergency plan at 6:41 PM CST (0041 GMT), ERCOT said in a statement.

Sales probably will continue rising as traditional incandescent bulbs begin disappearing from stores because of Congress' mandate that light bulbs be at least 25% more efficient by 2012. Wal-Mart, Home Depot, IKEA and other major retailers now sell a range of CFLs, which typically use nearly 75% less energy than regular bulbs.