Downturn to slow CO2 rise; green shift harder. Economic slowdown will give a respite from surging greenhouse gas emissions but the world will struggle to shift in the long-term to new, greener lifestyles, delegates said at U.N. climate talks on Thursday. [News Source]

Bayer pushes energy efficiency. A national energy program quickly implemented could eliminate the need for most new power plants through the year 2030, the leader of the Natural Resources Defense Council said Thursday. [News Source]

HSBC to cut lending to questionable oil palm and logging companies. Following criticism by the Forest Peoples Program, HBSC's adviser on the environment stated that the bank would terminate relationships with companies having questionable environmental practices. [News Source]

Forest hotspots pinpointed for climate, animals. A U.N. atlas pinpointed on Friday parts of forests from the Amazon to Madagascar where better protection could give the twin benefits of slowing global warming and preserving rare wildlife. [News Source]

World Bank program may harm forest people, alleges report. A new report finds that the World Bank is not doing enough to protect indigenous rights under its mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. [News Source]

Gore group, industry butt heads over ‘clean coal.’ An organization headed by former Vice President Al Gore released a television ad Thursday that takes on so-called clean coal technology - claiming "clean coal" doesn't exist. [News Source]

Hoon delays Heathrow third runway decision. The government postponed the hugely controversial decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow yesterday, sparking speculation that cabinet divisions on the environmental impact of the third runway had persuaded Gordon Brown of the need for delay. [News Source]

Geoff Hoon puts off decision on third Heathrow runway. The first sign of a government retreat on airport expansion came yesterday with the announcement that a decision on whether to build a new runway at Heathrow would be delayed until the end of January. [News Source]

Bank cuts coal loans as Washington eases rules. Bank of America Corporation will sharply cut lending to coal mining companies that take the tops off mountains, following pressure from groups that call the practice an environmental hazard. [News Source]

Tax livestock for passing gas, burping?

For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if the federal government decides to charge fees for air-polluting animals.

[News Source]

Lawsuit aims to list walrus as endangered A conservation group is going to court to force the federal government to consider adding the Pacific walrus to the list of threatened species. [News Source]