OIL-MEXICO: PEMEX Reform Debate Entrenched in Dogma

The debate in the Mexican Congress over the government’s proposals to reform the state oil company, PEMEX, has placed the oft- amended constitution of 1917 and the elusive concepts of nationalism and sovereignty squarely at the centre of the controversy.

EUROPE: Going Nuclear Despite Warnings

The EU seems to be backing nuclear energy as the response to global warming and gas dependency, but civic groups warn that safety and waste processing should be preconditions for the industry's growth.

ENVIRONMENT: Trapped Between Economy and Ecology

One of the most frequent arguments against environmental protection is an alleged economic imperative. Humankind must progress economically, and the environment is only an input in the overall economic process, this argument goes.

ENVIRONMENT-AUSTRALIA: Split Over Carbon Capture Technology

Australia’s plan to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology - whereby greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions from fossil-fuel fired power stations are trapped and stored rather than released into the atmosphere - is pitting green groups against one another.

CLIMATE CHANGE-EUROPE: There's Money in Emissions

'Cap and trade' has become one of the stock phrases that one is almost guaranteed to hear at any European conference on climate change these days.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Water "Undervalued and Not Treated With Respect"

A two-day conference on water issues in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which opened Wednesday in Maseru, Lesotho, has seen representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, donors and other groups discuss the likely effects of climate change on development in the region.

Q&A: Can Save the MDGs Yet

White banners were draped across public buildings in much of Europe during 2005 as an unlikely coalition of celebrities, church groups and trade unionists took part in the Make Poverty History campaign. The Group of Eight (G8) top industrialised countries and the European Union responded by promising to double their aid to Africa by 2010 at a summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

EGYPT: Giving With One Hand, Taking Back With the Other

In an effort to offset soaring inflation, President Hosni Mubarak last month announced generous salary increases for all public sector employees. The gesture lost its lustre days later, however, when the government drastically raised prices of subsidised fuel.

AUSTRALIA: Diffident on UN Grant of Larger Continental Shelf

While last month’s landmark ruling by a United Nations body granting Australia jurisdiction over an additional 2.5 million square kilometres of seabed has been hailed as a "potential bonanza", a leading expert on international law expects the government to proceed with caution.

Q&A: Portugal’s ‘Mayor of the Future’ in Green Energy

He is mayor of one of Portugal’s smallest and poorest municipalities. But his perseverance in using solar energy to drive development in his region has brought José Maria Prazeres Pós-de-Mina attention from the rest of the country and from other members of the European Union (EU).

DEVELOPMENT: Can Sorghum Solve the Biofuels Dilemma?

A new crop that provides food, animal feed and fuel at the same time promises to help developing countries redirect money spent on oil imports to benefit their own farmers. Is sweet sorghum biofuel's "holy grail"?

EUROPE: New Safety Concerns Raised Over Nuclear Plants

Some international organisations and governments in industrialised countries are pushing for further development of nuclear power, but amidst growing doubts over the safety of several nuclear installations.

ENVIRONMENT-ASIA: Mekong Commission Fends Off Credibility Charges

The head of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has defended the regional body against charges that it faces a crisis of credibility arising from inability to guide hydropower development on the Mekong mainstream.

Q&A: "Literally, This Is Energy From Dirt"

You've heard of solar power, and also wind power. Now, you might start hearing about soil power as well.

BRAZIL: Sugarcane Alcohol Tarnished by U.S. Maize Ethanol

Recent efforts by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to clearly mark the difference between Brazilian ethanol and the agrofuels produced by the United States are an admission that signing an agreement with Washington to promote a global bioethanol market was a serious political mistake, say analysts.

ENERGY-AFRICA: From Kerosene to the LED, O-HUB and O-BOX

In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity - about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank.

MEXICO: Pemex Oozes Corruption

Funds belonging to the Mexican state oil monopoly, Pemex, have paid in recent years for liposuction treatment for the wife of the company’s chief executive, a presidential candidate’s campaign, contracts with firms facing legal action, and the whims of trade union leaders who are not required to account for their expenses.

MIDEAST: Too Quiet in the Harbour

It's been strangely quiet for some time at the port in Gaza. No clanging of hooks, no sounds of creaking cranes or of thumping of nets upon decks. Boat engines, normally puttering and spewing exhaust, lie entombed under covers.

EUROPE: Warnings Against Biofuels Get Louder

European efforts to promote biofuels should be rethought because of the contribution they have made to rising food prices, according to Jeffrey Sachs, a top economic advisor to the United Nations.

ENERGY: World Bank, IFC Seek Investors in Off-Grid Africa

An international campaign to bring modern lighting to one-fourth of Africa's people enters a new phase this week with talks to draw investors to markets beyond the reach of the continent's outdated power grid.

INDIA/IRAN: Course Correction

Relations between India and Iran, which deteriorated over the past three years from traditional friendship and warmth into mutual suspicion and tension, have started looking up again.