Australia’s proposed carbon trading regime looks set to be defeated in the Senate next week, likely triggering an early general election. However given the Rudd government is well ahead in opinion polls, the defeat could be a blessing in disguise.

The annual Asian monsoon, on which millions of farmers rely, is either late and little, or far too much so far this season, but whether this is as a result of climate change no-one can say for certain. This BBC report looks at the current and future problems of an unreliable weather pattern.

Commercial aviation biofuels could be in use by 2011, a senior exec at jet engine makers Pratt & Witney says, with industry efforts to develop and certify such fuels on track for that date.

India will make energy efficiency ratings a must for electric appliances from January, and all electric motors televisions and LPG stoves by June, as part of a drive to save 10,000 MW of power by efficient use of energy by 2012.

Pakistan is planting jatropha trees in desert areas and looking to work with South Korea to extract the oil for biodiesel. But though the yields are far higher than for corn for example, given jatropha uses five times as much water as sugarcane and corn to grow, the scheme seems a little half-baked.

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