International

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a meeting of business leaders in Copenhagen that "climate change is the defining challenge of our time."

The push for greener cars will likely bring a boom for companies that mine and refine lithium -- a key ingredient in batteries.

"OSLO -- A rise in concentrations of a powerful greenhouse gas over the Arctic after a decade of stability is stirring worries about a possible thaw of vast stores trapped in permafrost, experts said."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the climate bill approved Thursday by the House Energy Committee is 'not enough' to stem warming to the degree hoped for in the next climate treaty.

"Australia lifted protection levels on Friday for the world's largest surviving marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian devil, listing the animal as endangered due to a deadly facial tumour outbreak."

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a 'green new deal' on climate change on Thursday and urged for a final push in negotiations ahead of a key summit to be held in Copenhagen in December."

"The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Thursday approved a funding plan for a major transmission project expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and deliver about 1,200 megawatts of Quebec power to New England."

Two days of secret meetings in China during July 2008 may have laid the foundation for a new cooperation between the U.S. and China on climate change.

An MIT study published in a major science journal predicts that global warming will be twice as severe as previous estimates.