In a major step after intense infighting, the EU Parliament environment committee approved three reports on emissions trading, greenhouse gas reduction effort sharing, & CO2 capture and storage. In summary, the approvals include: power sector must obtain 100% of CO2 permits at auction after 2013; energy intensive industries must obtain 15% of emission permits at auction after 2013 and a 100% phase-in by 2020; 500 million allowances available for incentives/financing large-scale commercial carbon capture and storage demo plants; annual emission thresholds for plants within the EU emissions trading scheme raised from 10,000 to 25,000 CO2 emissions; all auction revenues should be set aside for climate-related purposes (50% reserved for developing countries); plants must achieve at least 40% of their targets by financing emission reductions in third countries under Kyoto but stricter rules on the validity of Clean Development Mechanisms projects must be respected; up to 5% reductions achievable through preserving forests in developing countries if an international climate deal is approved. ...The committee also agreed that identifying sectors for 100% free emissions allowances should occur only after the December 2009 Copenhagen climate talks. ...The committee also approved a report calling for automatically increasing the EU target for 2020 from 20% to 30% reduction if a deal is agreed in Copenhagen, possible financial penalties on countries failing to reach their targets, and limiting the amount of external credits members can earn through funding reduction projects in developing countries. ...Finally, the committee agreed that power plants' emissions after 2015 cannot exceed 500 kg of Co2 /kilowatt hour, a measure designed to force power companies to install CCS equipment on coal-fired power plants. ...Reactions ranged from dismay by the EU metals industry to approval by the EU chemical industry to disapproval by Greenpeace on the 'clean coal' approval, diverting funding from renewable energy and greater efficiencies. The EU Council, Parliament and Commission now will negotiate on the committee's approvals.

After many months of intense talks, EU ministers reached an agreement on energy markets. France and Germany previously led a coalition of countries against full unbundling of ownership and transmission of gas and electricity so that state monopolies could continue to own their gas and electricity grids, with outside supervision. But following pressure from countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and Poland, energy producers cannot buy up the transmission businesses of energy companies in European countries where full unbundling has been introduced. This means, for example, that EDF (France) can not buy the high-tension electricity lines in the Netherlands. Ministers also approved the so-called 'Gazprom clause' to limit energy companies outside the EU, including Russia's state-owned Gazprom, from buying up distribution networks. The EU Parliament now must approve.