AFP

Spain, among the nations in Europe most affected by desertification, will set up a climate change research institute in the northeastern city of Zaragoza, Environment Minister Elena Espinosa said Friday.

“Its main goal will be to promote the analysis and research of climate change in Spain,” she told a news conference, adding the institute would also recommend measures which Spain could adopt to fight the phenomena.

AFP

Most Europeans are very concerned about climate change, but a sizeable minority feel they don’t know enough to help counter it, a major EU opinion poll released Thursday suggested.

A majority of the 30,000-plus interviewed throughout the European Union and candidate countries thought that neither industry nor national governments nor the EU itself was doing enough to tackle the problem.

The Christian Science Monitor

Gasoline prices in Europe are even higher, roughly 1.5 euros per liter for regular in the French countryside last month or about $8.50 a gallon. But petrol, as it’s called, has always cost a lot more in Europe, in large part because of much higher taxes at the pump.

And even as protest strikes rippled across Spain and edged into France, Europeans had taken conservation measures that in the long haul leave them better-prepared than Americans to deal with the energy crunch ahead.

The Guardian

A group of British eco-enthusiasts have just pulled off the greenest and grubbiest car rally ever, driving from London to Athens in vehicles powered exclusively on waste vegetable oil.

The team motored with unexpected ease across Europe on the proceeds of the grease thrown away by restaurants and cafes along the way. Their hope is that the 2,500-mile feat will help a drive to create a commodity out of cooking oils that otherwise end up in landfills or the sea. Unlike ethanol and other controversial biofuels, recycled cooking fat does not impact on food production.

The Independent

A German geography professor has developed a controversial system of mountain “wind-catching” screens which he claims could slow or even halt the dramatic rate at which Europe’s glaciers are melting.

Glaciers across the globe are shrinking fast as a consequence of global warming. In Europe alone, some researchers have predicted that all its glaciers will have vanished by 2100.

The European Union is expected to approve climate change plans by December. However, some countries including Germany and France argue that more clarity is needed.

The New York Times

European officials proposed scaling back drastically on their goal of increasing Europe’s use of biofuels, a major about-face on a central environmental and energy issue.

Planet Ark

Berlin and Paris have agreed to support a European Commission proposed deal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars. The goal is to limit CO2 emissions from new cars to an average of 120 grams per kilometer from 2012.

As concerns over food shortages increase, UN’s Secretary General warns the United States and Europe to cut back on their production of biofuels. Leaders have previously pledged to increase production as a means to fight climate change.

Wall Street Journal Europe

Energy, its cost and the environmental implications of its sourcing and use have risen to the top of the world political agenda. With this in mind, EU leaders agreed last year on the outline of a new energy-climate policy. The member states and European Parliament are now considering specific legislation designed to increase Europe’s energy efficiency by 20%, cut its greenhouse-gas emissions by 20% and boost its use of renewable energies to 20% of total energy consumption – all by the year 2020.