Nissan Motor announced Wednesday it will launch global production of an all-electric van, the e-NV200, as early as next year in the Spanish city of Barcelona, creating 700 jobs.

The Japanese carmaker said it would invest 100 million euros ($126 million) in Spain to start production in its 2013 financial year at its Barcelona plant, which already makes the fuel-powered NV200.

The central government has allocated 6 billion yuan ($949 million) to subsidise consumer purchases of fuel-saving cars, Xinhua News Agency reported late on Wednesday, putting a cumulative figure for the first time on the handouts as it moves to cut emissions in the world's biggest auto market.

Beijing started offering a 3,000 yuan rebate on consumer purchases of small, fuel-efficient cars in June 2010, but has not previously indicated the total cost of the subsidy.

Electric vehicles in general are a great step in reducing emissions that cause global warming. The emissions from a gasoline-powered car are always greater than the emissions created to charge an electric vehicle. However, a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) suggests that the "greenness" of electric vehicles is not uniform across the country. They break down the country into regions that are good, better, and best for electric vehicles. Note there is no "bad" region in the country because electric vehicles outperform gasoline vehicles everywhere.

Three weeks ago, President Barack Obama stood in front of a sea of gleaming solar panels in Boulder City, Nevada, to celebrate his administration's efforts to promote "green energy."

Stretching row upon row into the desert, the Copper Mountain Solar Project not far from Las Vegas provided an impressive backdrop for the president.

Built on public land, the facility is the largest of its kind in the United States. Its 1 million solar panels provide enough energy to power 17,000 homes.

And it employs just 10 people.

Dwindling supplies of metals, water and biomass could slow the deployment of clean energy technologies by 2035, a study by research organization the Stockholm Environment Institute and by business initiative 3C showed on Tuesday.

Governments and companies are increasingly developing low-carbon technologies to reduce their dependency on fossil fuel-based energy sources and to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Governments, carmakers and drivers must push for progress in green vehicle technology to help the environment, and global economic woes make it even more important to up the pressure, politician, actor and green car advocate Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

Carmakers are rushing to get electric cars and hybrids on the roads in a bid to meet toughening emissions regulations, whilst relying on government support in the form of charging infrastructure and consumer incentives to win over drivers.

One of the primary concerns with owning an electric vehicle is cost of the battery, the range it offers, and the time it takes to recharge. Those concerns will be significantly lessoned with the development of a new lithium-ion battery. Designed by scientists at Envia Systems, a US-based company, the new battery has roughly twice the energy density of existing rechargeable batteries. Such an innovation could greatly increase the range of electric cars as well as cut the price of the battery packs in half.

Vehicles criss-crossing Delhi to reach destinations in other States are adding to pollution as well as congestion in the capital, the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dixit, has said.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Air Pollution Control Strategies' on Tuesday, Ms Dixit said electronic display boards flashing information on air pollution should be placed at various locations in the city, including her own residence to spread awareness about its rising hazards.

California approved aggressive new rules on Friday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by requiring automakers to put many more electric and hybrid vehicles on the Golden State's roads by 2025.

The regulations were approved unanimously by nine members of the state's powerful air-quality regulator, the California Air Resources Board, at a meeting in Los Angeles.

They are expected to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent and smog and soot pollutants by 75 percent by 2025, in part by putting 1.4 million electric, plug-in and hydrogen vehicles on the state's roads.