Between the Broadsheets

As environmental concern grows across the world, the energy sector is experiencing what some predict will be a transformation of the scale of the Digital revolution of the early nineties. - France24

Oil prices surged past 105 dollars for the first time on Thursday as traders reacted to a surprisingly sharp fall in US crude reserves and the plunging US dollar, analysts said. - France24

The Government will today anger environmentalists by signalling its support for a controversial new generation of coal-fired power stations and warning that Britain needs to burn more fossil fuels to prevent power cuts. - The Independent

Alistair Darling will increase petrol duty and impose swingeing penalties on high-emission cars this week in what ministers will call “the green Budget”.
He will give tax incentives to companies that opt for greener vehicle fleets. And in a further move to show his green credentials Mr Darling will announce that Britain’s first five-year carbon budget, setting out the way independent experts believe that the country should meet the target of reducing emissions by 60 per cent by 2050, will be published next year alongside the main Budget. - The Times

Alistair Darling will this week announce plans to use legal powers to stop energy companies making an alleged £400m in excess profits from some of Britain’s poorest consumers.
In a highly unusual intervention in the market, the chancellor will announce in the Budget his plan to control the tariffs paid by 3.8m electricity customers and 2.8m gas customers who use pre-payment meters. - The Financial Times

Canada has warned the US government that a narrow interpretation of new energy legislation would prohibit its neighbour buying fuel from Alberta’s vast oil sands, with “unintended consequences for both countries”. - The Financial Times

Carbon emissions trading could become the world’s leading derivatives product as businesses in Asia and the US move to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and competition intensifies between exchanges, according to a senior US market regulator. - The Financial Times

A powerful new government climate change committee will meet today for the first time to decide how ministers will meet their commitment to cut carbon emissions by 60% by 2050, and whether the target needs to be strengthened in the face of worsening forecasts on climate change. - The Guardian