CLIMATE

Banks, pension funds and other investment groups representing more than $13 trillion in assets called for a strong global agreement on climate policy on Wednesday, saying it would lead to a flood of investment into the low-carbon economy.

The world will face a global health catastrophe if governments fail to agree deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions as part of a U.N. pact in Copenhagen in December, several leading doctors have declared.

An international goal to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius appears unreachable even if China embarks on a vast effort to tame its growing greenhouse gas emissions, a Beijing think-tank has said.

Nations aiming to agree on a new global climate deal should focus on achievable greenhouse gas emissions targets, to involve as many nations as possible, said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

China's President Hu Jintao will present China's new plans for tackling global warming at a United Nations summit on climate change later this month, the country's senior negotiator said on Tuesday.

Climate change could cost some countries up to 19 percent of their gross domestic product by 2030, a panel including major insurance, banking and consulting companies as well as the European Commission said on Monday.

U.S. lawmakers should not let climate change legislation delays hold up proposals to overhaul the nation's outdated electricity grid, a top energy regulator said Friday.

The European Union outlined a scaled-back offer to help poor nations combat global warming on Thursday as some nations expressed gloom about prospects of a new U.N. climate deal in Copenhagen in December.

A drive to agree a U.N. climate pact in Copenhagen in December risks failure unless world leaders revive bogged-down negotiations at a U.N. summit in New York on September 22, experts say.

A climate bill in the U.S. Senate would cost leading U.S. refinery Valero Energy Corp between $6 billion and $7 billion per year in its current form, the company's CEO said on Wednesday.

Prospects for a new U.N. climate pact in Copenhagen have brightened but negotiations must speed up to meet a December deadline, the head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat said on Tuesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Thursday for swifter work on a climate treaty, saying inaction could spell economic disaster and a rise in sea levels of up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) by 2100.

Five states have asked U.S. Senate leaders to let them impose stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions than what would be permitted under the climate legislation working its way though Congress, saying both levels of regulation are necessary to fight global warming.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders on Monday to take urgent action to combat climate change for the sake of the future of humanity.

Japan's Democratic Party, set to take power after a landslide election win on Sunday, has promised deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and more renewable energy use.

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senate Democrats on Monday said they will delay introducing a climate change bill for a few weeks and set a goal of unveiling legislation later in September.

Research into clean energy technology should get a leading role in new U.N. climate pact ahead of ever tougher curbs on greenhouse gas emissions, a study said on Friday.

Adapting to the effects of climate change such as floods and droughts is likely to cost two to three times more than the United Nations estimates, a report said on Thursday ahead of a major U.N. summit in December.

Industrialized nations can deepen planned cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to shore up a U.N. climate treaty due in December but analysts say there are risks they will promise more than they deliver.

The United States needs to have a climate change law in place before international talks on a climate pact begin in December, two top Obama administration officials said on Monday.

U.S. oil refiners could cut output by as much as 25 percent and the nation's reliance on imported refined products could double in the next two decades if the House version of a climate bill becomes law, the American Petroleum Institute said on Monday.