The European Commission has proposed a legal framework that will make it easier to set up European Research Infrastructures - such as observatories for environmental sciences, data banks in genomics or state-of-the-art large super computers.

The already slim chances of meaningful US climate change legislation being implemented before the end of President Bush's term in office receded further recently, when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) again delayed a landmark ruling on whether carbon emissions could be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

The Irish Times has reported that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley TD is to bring measures to Cabinet to deal with a defect in legislation - because of which, developers have been allowed to carry out environmental impact assessments after construction work has begun on projects.

Poland's President Lech Kaczynski will only sign the European Union's Lisbon Treaty if Ireland approves it in a new referendum, he said in an exclusive interview.

Mr. John Gormley TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, has acknowledged the ECJ ruling on Derrybrien Wind Farm and Retention Planning for developments that would normally require an Environment Impact Statement under the EIA Directive.

In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority's crackdown on misleading green ads has claimed another victim after easyJet was ordered to change an advert which claims that it emits 22 per cent less carbon dioxide than traditional rivals.

The European Commission has decided to refer nine Member States to the European Court of Justice for failing to transpose the EU directive on liability for damage to the environment into their domestic law.