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Jul 27, 2016

GREENHOUSE EMISSION * Europe - Reduction targets

* European Commission unveils greenhouse gas targets

--- The European Commission on Wednesday unveiled binding greenhouse emission reduction targets for every European Union country from 2021-2030, including for the U.K., which could be out of the bloc by then... The commission on Wednesday also announced it will come up with legislation aimed at spurring car manufacturers to switch to low and zero-emitting vehicles. Europe’s land transport represents 34% of all energy consumption and 96% is oil-based... Currently, only 0.7% of Europe’s cars and lorries are low- or zero-emitting and if policies continue unchanged, that is expected to rise to only 7% by 2030 and 17% by 2050. As the bloc has expressed the ambition of moving toward mostly zero-emitting cars by 2050, a market share of up to 19% would be needed by 2030... The commission in the next few months plans to come forward with fuel efficiency standards for lorries and buses and a series of other proposals, including a revamp of electricity market rules to allow for buildings to be hooked to the system and function as fueling stations for electric cars... Advocacy group Climate Action Network expressed skepticism that the current proposals will allow for the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature below 2°C, as agreed at the Paris climate conference... Others said that while CO2 standards for cars, vans and trucks were important, trains, ships and planes should also be covered...
Brussels, Belgium - The WSJ, by VALENTINA POP - July 20, 2016

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May 6, 2016

ZERO EMISSIONS TRUCKS * USA: Calls for 100,000 near-zero emissions commercial vehicles

* California - State plan calls for massive overhaul of California’s trucking, freight systems

--- A massive transformation of the freight movement system involving everything from big-data connectivity to biofuels and electric trucks, is envisioned in a new California Sustainable Freight Action Plan released Tuesday... The draft plan, subject to a two-month comment period, calls for the deployment of more than 100,000 zero- and near-zero emissions trucks, locomotives, harbor craft, airport ground service vehicles and other freight-moving equipment throughout the state by 2030. Significant cuts in emissions from the freight segment by 2050 are another goal... The plan seeks to cut emissions by slashing use of petroleum-based fuels, improving safety and reducing the freight industry’s carbon footprint in California. It would rely on state powers to help improve industry efficiency and finance the large equipment and infrastructure costs adherence to the plan would impose on the industry... Heavy duty trucks, which contribute significantly to air quality issues in the state, would be a prime target for electrification and the use of natural gas engines and clean renewable fuels... The draft action plan is the fruit of a year of work involving multiple state agencies, private industry and groups representing environmental and labor interests... “The freight system in California is a system of systems, operating independently and not talking to each other,” said ARB spokesman Stanley Young. “This plan is an arena for improving communication” ... 
(Photo: Los Angeles County crews reopened stretches of five roads in mountain communities about 40 miles north of Los Angeles)   --   Sacramento, CAL, USA - Trucks.com, by JOHN O'DELL - May 3, 2016

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May 5, 2016

HITTING CLIMATE TARGETS * USA: CHALLENGING TRUCKING INDUSTRY

* California - Will Electric Trucks Deliver the Goods?



... The United States, has committed to cutting CO2 by 26-28% by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels)... This should be achievable, but there’s one sector in the U.S. that is increasing its CO2 emissions at a rapid pace—trucking. Currently, trucks move 72% of the tonnage and 70% of the goods’ value nationwide. By 2050, truck travel is expected to increase by 80% nationally and by 50% in California. Given current trends, the Energy Information Administration projects trucks will account for a large and growing share of freight transport energy use and CO2 emissions through 2040... Therefore, to go for deep CO2 reductions from trucks, we will very likely also need very low CO2 emission technologies—namely fuel cell and battery electric vehicles, both of which are “ZEVs” – zero emission vehicles. The only CO2 they will emit is from upstream processes to produce the fuel, and these are progressing towards very low CO2 emissions over time. ZEV trucks can also help tackle a related problem—air pollution. These vehicles do not emit any pollutants at the tailpipe, a huge co-benefit, particularly in polluted areas such as around Los Angeles... Overall the outlook is bright for moving to very low emissions trucking in the U.S. We have several ways to do it and we are getting some initial experience in some “pioneer” applications. But we have to take up the challenge to move this along faster, and create a sense of urgency that may be lacking today on many fronts. 2050 is just around the corner...
(Photo: Commercial Electric Trucks and Vehicles by Tesla YONGLITAI) -- Ñps Angeles, CAL, USA - Union of Concerned Scientists, Science Network, by Lewis Fulton and Marshall Miller - May 2, 2016

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Jan 29, 2016

GREEN FUTURE OF FREIGHT * Canada - The 2016 G7 Summit in Japan

* British Columbia - Freightera selected to provide thought leadership on green future of freight at G7 Summit


-- Freightera has been selected by Climate Change - The New Economy (CCTNE), the leading publication on Climate Change at the G7 and COP Summits, to write the lead statement on the green future of freight for the 2016 G7 Summit in Japan... Freightera's vision for a green future of freight involves immediately shifting all possible long-haul freight to rail (reducing CO2 emissions up to 66% for each load moved), filling empty trucks (30% of the freight trucks on the road are empty), and accelerating the transition to low and zero emission vehicles for "last mile" (local and regional) freight pickup and delivery... 
 (Photo:) -- Vancouver, BC, CAN - PRWEB/Virtual Strategy Magazine - January 28, 2016

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Dec 5, 2015

MILLIONS TRUCKS OFF ROADS * India: From April 1st.

* Delhi - 2.7 mn trucks to go off road from 1 April as govt proposes a ban

-- The order would be made public within 10 days and the ban on trucks that are older than 15 years will be enforced from 1 April... As many as 2.7 million trucks are expected to be taken off the road from 1 April when the government enforces a ban on trucks that are older than 15 years, according to vehicle registration data available with the roads ministry... The step will create an immediate spike in demand for commercial vehicles as sales start to look up after a prolonged slowdown. During the April-October period, sales of commercial vehicles grew 8% to 373,000 units, while overall automobile sales grew 2.46% to 12.05 million units... Environmentalists believe the move will also help reduce emission levels. As much as 30% of the total particulate pollution from the transport sector comes from trucks... A spokesperson for the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) declined to comment, requesting time until a government notification is made public... A number of studies in the past few months have labelled Delhi as the world’s most-polluted city. A dozen other Indian cities figure among the 20 most polluted cities across the world... Over the past few days, smog has covered the city-state as farmers in neighbouring Punjab and Haryana torch crop waste, flouting a ban... 
(Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint - The ban will create an immediate spike in demand for commercial vehicles as sales start to look up after a prolonged slowdown)  --  New Delhi, India - Live MINT, by Amrit Raj -

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Sep 30, 2015

REGULATIONS * USA: California's toughest-in-the-nation carbon emissions standards

* California - Regulators restore emissions-cutting fuel rule


-- California regulators on Friday restored ambitious rules to cut transportation fuel emissions 10 percent within 5 years... The rules further strengthen California's toughest-in-the-nation carbon emissions standards, but oil producers warn the changes could drive up costs for consumers at the gas pump... The board says the change would cost a typical commuter $20 to $24 extra in 2017, increasing to $52 to $56 annually in 2020... The rules require producers to cut the carbon content of fuels 10 percent by 2020 to help the state meet its emission-reductions goals... Environmentalists and some business groups say the plan will encourage greater use of cleaner biofuels and electric vehicles. Oil producers say it's unworkable and too costly... 
(Photo: Associated Press, by RICH PEDRONCELLI - California Air Resources Board member Daniel Sperling comments on a proposal. At right is CARB board member Judy Mitchell)   --   Sacramento, CAL, USA - The Associated Press/The Trucker, by JUDY LIN - 25 Sept 2015

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Apr 29, 2015

GREEN NEWS * USA: Greenhouse gas emissions limits on the grounds

* DC - Court Says: Trucking groups lack standing to challenge EPA heavy-duty truck standards

-- A federal appeals court dismissed challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks after finding the petitioners lacked standing to bring their lawsuits... The U.S.A. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found in an April 24 per curiam opinion that California trucking groups opposed to the EPA's greenhouse gas emissions limits on the grounds they could increase costs for vehicles failed to demonstrate how they were actually harmed by the rule and how vacating it would bring them relief. The EPA's greenhouse gas rule was issued jointly with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's corporate average fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Trucking groups, however, only challenged the EPA's portion of the standards... Vacating the EPA's rule would leave the NHTSA standards in place, the court said in its decision. “Therefore, even were we to vacate the EPA standards, the NHTSA standards would still increase the price of vehicles,” the court said... The rule was challenged by the California Construction Trucking Association Inc., Delta Construction Co. and other trucking groups that were represented at argument by Theodore Hadzi-Antich, a senior staff attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation. The groups had argued that the EPA's rule should have been vacated because the agency failed to send its rule to the Science Advisory Board for review before it was issued... 
Washington, DC, USA - Bloomberg BNA, by Andrew Childers - April 27, 2015

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Apr 25, 2015

GREEN NEWS * European Commission - Fewer trucks, better air

* Belgium - Transport and innovation logistics by local authorities with a zest for efficiency and realisation


-- Goods deliveries are essential to cities, but they can have adverse effects on quality of life. Trailblazer tests new ways to reduce energy used in freight deliveries... The “greenest city of Europe”, according to the BBC, Växjö in the south of Sweden intends to be fossil fuel-free by 2030. One step in that direction has been to streamline purchasing and to consolidate deliveries... In 2009, the Swedish municipality’s 450 council offices, schools and social care establishments clocked up 1 900 deliveries a week. Thanks to their new consolidation centre, deliveries have been reduced by 82% with a 53% saving in energy... Växjö was one of four trial cities -plus Eskilstuna, also in Sweden, Vercelli in Italy and Zagreb in Croatia - that took part in the three-year EU-funded project involving seven countries. The aim was to reduce energy used in urban freight transport by showcasing good practices and promoting Delivery and Servicing Plans (DSPs). DSPs are strategy documents outlining how an organisation can manage delivery and servicing efficiently, safely and in a sustainable way.. As a result, these cities have seen an improvement in air quality, and a reduction in noise, accidents, vibration and costs... The project ended in 2013, but a 'Delivery and Servicing Plan' toolkit on their fact-filled website can be downloaded by any town or city wishing to improve their urban energy-saving plans...
(Photo, by Ulrika Nord: Driver at consolidation centre in Växjö, Sweden, loading goods)  --  Brussels, Belgium - EASME (P.R.)- 21 April, 2015

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Oct 6, 2014

GREEN NEWS * USA: Port of Long Beach

* California - Diesel pollution down 82 percent at the Port of Long Beach 

Long Beach,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -3 Oct 2014: -- One of the busiest shipping ports in the world has seen a dramatic drop in diesel emissions since 2005... The Port of Long Beach, which combined with the neighboring Port of Los Angeles handles 40 percent of United States’ imported freight, announced a reduction in diesel emissions of 82 percent since 2005...  In a news release issued by the port, port leaders said diesel emissions from ships, trucks, trains and other machines dropped sharply between 2006 and 2013. Emissions of nitrogen oxides dropped by 54 percent, and sulfur oxide emissions were reduced by 90 percent compared with 2005 levels... According to the port’s emissions inventory, nearly 10 percent of port calls were made by heavy-duty trucks powered by alternative fuels. In 2013, more than 35 percent of trucks making port calls were 2009 model year engine trucks – the highest percentage of any model year. 2008 and 2007 were the second- and third-highest percentage of model year trucks used... Emissions dropped even as containerized cargo shipping increased by .3 percent since 2005, the news release said...

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Oct 31, 2013

TYRES MAKER NEWS * USA - Continental's: Recycling rubberised steel cord scrap

* UK - Continental develops new approach to recycling 

Puchow,Slovakia-HGV UK -October 28, 2013: -- The international tyre manufacturer and automotive supplier Continental has developed a new approach to recycling rubberised steel cord scrap, a by-product of its tyre production...  The device, called the Hurricane Machine makes it possible to separate uncured rubber compound and steel cord, a development which marks yet another step in Continental’s pursuit of making tyre production more sustainable... Since the material is uncured, the separation of rubber and steel cord is achieved by applying mechanical force. Once the rubber has been granulated, a series of high-powered magnets remove any remaining pieces of steel from the compound. The steel is sold for recycling outside the company and the rubber compound can be reused in Continental’s plants to produce Continental commercial tyres... The machine, which is located at Continental’s production site in Puchov (Slovakia), is already processing uncured rubber scrap from most of Continental’s European manufacturing sites...

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Dec 14, 2011

GREEN RULES * USA

* Greenhouse Gas Cutting Rules Extended to 2025

Washington,DC,USA -Courthouse News Service, by Travis Sandford -December 6, 2011:  --  Car and light truck makers will have to nearly double fuel efficiency by 2025 to meet stringent new emissions and fuel economy standards proposed by two agencies...  The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration plan to extend rules adopted in 2010 for model years 2012-2016, which would require a corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) of 35.5 mpg by 2016, and result in an average light vehicle tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2) level of 250 grams per mile. President Barack Obama had ordered the standards...  To meet that target, fuel efficiency would have to improve by 4.1 percent per year from 2017 to 2021 and then increase to 4.3 percent per year from 2021 to 2025, for passenger cars...

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Apr 28, 2011

GREEN NEWS * France - Considers city centre car bans

Paris,France --Fleet Europe, by Tim Harrup -6 April 2011: -- The French Ecology Minister is to put forward a proposal which would see certain high polluting vehicles banned from eight of the largest city centres in France. According to calculations made by ‘Le Parisien’, some 10 million vehicles currently on the roads could be affected. Both heavy goods vehicles and passenger cars will fall under any new legislation, along with certain motor-bikes. The cars in question are over 13 years old and are too old to be fitted with particulate filters. Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and five other cities have decided to create priority zones for air quality, known as ‘Zapa’... The minister points out that France risks a record fine for non-conformity with EU regulations in the domain of air quality. The testing of the scheme will begin by 2012 and last three years, before being potentially rolled out into other cities...

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Dec 27, 2010

GREEN NEWS * USA - House Approves Diesel Emissions Reduction Act

"This is the equivalent of taking 13 million of today's trucks off the roads"...

Washington,DC,USA -Work Truck On Line/Shared by Mike Willcockson in World of Trucks (Linkedin) -December 22, 2010:   ...  "When all of today's older diesels have been replaced by new models that meet current EPA standards, at least 110,000 tons of particulate matter (or soot) and 2.6 million tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides will be eliminated from the nation's air"...   The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) now just needs President Obama's signature for the bipartisan legislation to be reauthorized for five more years as the U.S. House of Representatives approved DERA this morning by a voice vote, according to the Diesel Technology Forum...   DERA is a five-year reauthorization of the highly-successful program created in 2005 to establish voluntary national and state-level grant and loan programs to reduce diesel emissions  upgrading and modernizing older diesel engines and equipment...  DERA is being supported by a unique and diverse coalition of more than 500 environmental, health, industry, labor and government organizations...  DERA funds are used to clean up the nation's older diesels, by retrofitting or replacing them with new technologies that significantly reduce the soot and emissions. EPA estimates there to be an estimated 11 million older diesel trucks, buses, and equipment in use today...

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Nov 17, 2010

GREEN NEWS * Europe - Manufacturers making CO2 progress

Brussels,Belgium -Fleet Europe (UK), by Tim Harrup -9 Nov 2010: -- A report published by Transport & Environment has indicated how successful various manufacturers are in achieving the CO2 emissions reductions targets imposed by the European Commission. This shows that the average of all manufacturers in Europe amounted to a reduction of just over 5% in 2009. The figure is sales-weighted and shows that average emissions during the year in question amounted to 145.7 grams per km. Incitements to purchase less-polluting vehicles (and therefore improve this sales-weighted average) played a part, along with technological advances. The legislation in force requires average emissions of 130 grams by 2015, although individual manufacturers have separate targets according to their model ranges. The figures produced show that in order, Toyota, PSA, Fiat, BMW, Hyundai and Renault are closest to their targets. Toyota and Suzuki recorded the largest drop in emissions in 2009 – 14 grams, or 9.1%, less than in 2008.

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Nov 5, 2010

GREEN NEWS * Australia - Research cuts NGER emissions for Rocky’s Own Transport

(Photo: Rocky's Own Transport: -from left- Founding Director Marcia Eaglesham, Dr Susan Kinnear, CEO Bryan Smith, Professor John Rolfe, CFO John Bryant and researcher Adam Rose)
Rockhampton,QLD,Australia -ATA Friday Facts -5 Nov 2010: -- A Central Queensland transport operator, Rocky's Own Transport, has reduced its reported emissions under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) system by about three per cent after working with university researchers...  Under NGER, businesses whose energy use and greenhouse gas emissions exceed a threshold must report their emissions to the Department of Climate Change. Trucking companies currently have to lodge reports if they use the equivalent of 2.59 million litres of diesel per year in any one state or territory or 9.01 million litres per year in total...  Researchers from the Central Queensland University's Centre for Environmental Management reviewed the Rocky's Own fleet of 117 trucks. They examined the technical characteristics of the fuel the company used, based on data from BP Australia...  The researchers used this information to build a new and more accurate reporting template for the company, which reduced its estimated emissions by about 3 per cent compared to the default option for calculating emissions under NGER...  The Chief Financial Operator of Rocky's Own, John Bryant, said the company would now lobby government and the industry for a more detailed study...

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Jun 19, 2010

GREEN REPORT * USA - Counting carbon bears careful watching

Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions

Arlington,VA,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -Jun 16, 2010: ... The problem, however, according to a new report, is that there’s still too much variability in both the methods and the data being used to calculate carbon emissions... A new report on this issue by ATRI – dubbed “The Synthesis of Carbon Accounting Tools” – involved the collection and analysis of carbon models and formulas, and interviews with environmental assessment and reporting organizations... For example, quantifying the carbon emissions generated by office space and terminals, through metrics such as electricity use, could be misleading... Other areas of carbon emission calculation concern include: mobile equipment used at company facilities, such as yard tractors and forklifts; stationary equipment used at company facilities, such as furnaces, generators and other on-site fuel-burning equipment; and air conditioning and/or refrigeration systems used in trucks and trailers as well as at company facilities... “Emission factors for the various types of fuels and refrigerants used in this equipment are generally available; however, subtle differences exist among the various accounting tools,” the ATRI report stated... (Photo from okland-const: C. R. England headquarters front)

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Apr 24, 2010

Greenhouse Gas Emissions * USA - DOT latest wish list targets ones

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -April 23, 2010: -- The U.S. DOT has unveiled a report detailing countless possible ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transportation. Among the possibilities are a national speed limit of 55 mph and incentives such as congestion pricing to take vehicles and freight off the roadways... The report, unveiled on Thursday, April 22, is titled Transportation’s Role in Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The report also looks at fuel taxes, idle reduction, and various other cost increases that would be paid by highway users – all in the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions... The DOT report, OOIDA Director of Legislative Affairs Mike Joyce said, stems from a mandate in a 2007 energy bill. Congressional committees will likely draw from the report when crafting future legislation. Stakeholder groups are also likely to single out parts of the report to advance their agendas, Joyce said... (Image from wikipedia: Mopitt first year carbon monoxide)

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Jan 20, 2010

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - Big Brown Gets Greener with CNG Trucks

UPS expands use of alternative-fuel package vans in Colorado, California

Atlanta,GA,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Jan 19, 2010: -- UPS is adding 245 new delivery trucks powered by compressed natural gas to its fleet in Colorado and California, expanding its use of CNG vehicles more than 20 percent... The trucks deployed this month in Denver and in four California cities joined more than 900 CNG delivery trucks already in use by UPS worldwide, the company said... The new CNG trucks will emit 15 percent less pollution than the cleanest diesel engines available today, UPS claims. The trucks look no different from the typical UPS brown delivery truck, except for decals marking them as CNG-powered vehicles... UPS now has more than 1,900 trucks in its "green fleet," powered by a variety of alternative fuels, including CNG, liquefied natural gas, propane, electric and hybrid electric vehicles. It's experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells for trucks as well...(Photo from todoenunclick: UPS' GNC trucks)

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Dec 14, 2009

"Climate Change" * Denmark - Global postal industry sets 20% carbon reduction target by 2020

International Post Corporation announces first global services industry target and release of the industry’s first sustainability report

Copenhagen,Denmark -IPC, Press Releases -11 Dec 2009: -- The postal industry today became the first services sector to set a global emissions target for the industry when the International Post Corporation (IPC), which represents the world’s leading post operators, today announced that 20 postal operators will work together to collectively reduce their carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020, based on 2008 levels... The commitment to an industry-wide carbon reduction target was announced at a panel discussion on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). During the discussion, Jean-Paul Bailly, Chairman of the International Post Corporation and CEO of Groupe La Poste, presented the industry’s first IPC Postal Sector Sustainability Report on the Environment... IPC members manage over 100,000 facilities and 600,000 transport vehicles. The 20 posts that contributed to the Sustainability Report collectively currently emit 8.36 million tonnes of CO2. The target set will reduce that total to 6.69 million tonnes by 2020... The 20 post operators who took part in the EMMS report and have together set the joint emissions reduction target are: An Post, Ireland; Australia Post; Canada Post; Correios de Portugal; Correos y Telégrafos, Spain; Deutsche Post DHL, Germany; Groupe La Poste, France; Hellenic Post, Greece; Itella, Finland; De Post/La Poste, Belgium; Magyar Posta, Hungary; New Zealand Post; Norway Post; Posten Norden, Denmark and Sweden; Postes et Télécommunications Luxembourg; Royal Mail, United Kingdom; Swiss Post; TNT, The Netherlands; and the United States Postal Service... (Picture from wikivisual: Post Office Box)

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Dec 7, 2009

"GREEN" NEWS * USA - EPA to Classify Carbon Dioxide a Dangerous Pollutant

The Environmental Protection Agency could rule Monday that carbon dioxide is a dangerous pollutant

Washington,DC,USA -The Wall Street Journal/Transport Topics -7 Dec 2009: -- An “endangerment” finding by the agency could mean businesses would be forced to make costly changes, the paper said Monday in a front-page story... Business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce raised concerns over the implications of such a finding... Details on the transportation sector were scarce, as EPA said it will only require CO2 permits for facilities that put out at least 25,000 tons per year... Environmental officials from many countries are set to meet this week in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss climate-change initiatives... The Obama administration in September issued proposed new fuel efficiency and first-ever national greenhouse gases reduction standards for passenger cars and light trucks...

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