China will provide financial subsidies of 26.5 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) to stimulate the consumption of energy-saving products, mainly automobiles and household appliances, said the State Council.

The green measure also aims to expand domestic demand in a bid to provide stable growth for the world's second-largest economy. The subsidy will be available for household appliances including air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines for one year.

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.

To move competition watchdog against Coal India’s ‘monopolistic’ rejection of liabilities for default
Frustrated by uncertainty over fuel supply despite a presidential decree, top power generation firms have adopted a confrontational approach towards Coal India and decided to complain to the competition regulator against the state-run giant’s “monopolistic” rejection of liabilities for default.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra's 13 power-generating plants, which supply power to the state and 30 other industrial units, are among the country's top 478 manufacturing establishments guzzling a major chunk of the country's fuel, mainly furnace oil. These set-ups have been asked by the union power ministry to reduce their current energy consumption, i.e. oil consumption of 166 million tonne, by 6.6 million tonne by the year 2015.

In a hurried move to implement the Presidential decree issued by the government to ensure adequate long-term coal supply to power firms, Coal India Limited (CIL) today approved the revised Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA) to be executed with at least 48 companies for generating 18,522 Megawatt of electricity.

Canada, heavily criticized for its environmental record, unveiled long-delayed regulations on Friday that aim to make big trucks and buses up to 23 percent less polluting by 2018.

The greenhouse-gas emissions rules - designed to fit with measures already set in the United States - will come into effect starting with the 2014 model year. They will apply to full-size pickups, heavy trucks and buses as well as to cement, garbage and dump trucks.

New Delhi: After more than four years of wrangling, the government has cleared fuel mileage standards and labeling for new cars. The norms will force automobile manufacturers to put government certified fuel efficiency labels on each car they sell and improve efficiency of the cars they sell every year.

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.