Rich countries will bring to about 4.0 billion US dollars the amount committed to fighting deforestation by 2012, 500 million more than committed to at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, Norway said Thursday. "We have reached around four billion dollars," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, which is hosting an international deforestation conference, told a press conference. The ...

Last December, an international conference on climate change approved global plans prevent deforestation. But those plans have not been implemented, and now a smaller meeting of nations in Oslo will try Thursday to find ways to start to put them in place — even if on a smaller scale. Deforestation, the burning ...

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Wednesday he would introduce a two-year moratorium on deforestation, a large source of income for his country which also contributes heavily to global warming. "We will ... conduct a moratorium for two years where we stop the conversion of peat land and of forest," Yudhoyono said at a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister ...

More wealthy nations are to join a fund to fight deforestation, a key factor in global warming, increasing the total pledged to four billion dollars (3.25 billion euros), Norway said Wednesday. During the Copenhagen climate conference last December, six countries -- the United States, Norway, Japan, Britain, France and Australia -- pledged 3.5 billion dollars to battle deforestation between 2010 ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan, Norway and Iceland could continue commercial whaling for another decade, despite a global ban, under a proposal released Thursday by the International Whaling Commission. Between 4,000 and 18,000 whales could be saved over the next 10 years under the compromise proposal, which sets lower catch limits for all three whaling nations than the self-imposed quotas ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is leading an effort that could result in an agreement in coming weeks to limit and ultimately end whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Citing people involved with the negotiations, the newspaper said the compromise deal -- which has sparked controversy within the 88-nation International Whaling Commission -- would ...

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Sporting goods maker Puma will launch eco-friendly packaging for its sneakers next year to reduce its carbon footprint, beating governments to the punch as it kisses old-fashion shoe boxes good-bye. Puma said it would roll out the new packaging in the second half of next year and that by putting its shoes in cardboard frames wrapped in reusable ...

A fragile plan to resolve the global feud on whaling is coming under attack from both sides, with Australia seeking more concessions from whalers and Japan vowing never to end its hunt completely. Key nations in the whaling debate submitted comments to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as it fleshes out a compromise to be submitted before the body's ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Talks to define a mechanism for global forest protection should not be rushed if it is to work efficiently and fairly, a panel of experts said on Tuesday. Talks began in Paris last month to define an interim and global architecture for a financial incentive scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation called REDD-plus. "We know any ...

Iconic New York City skyscrapers the Empire State and the Chrysler Building, along with landmarks from the Eiffel Tower to Sydney harbor went dark for an hour Saturday to raise awareness over the fight against climate change. The tallest building in North America also turned its exterior lights off along with more than 200 buildings in downtown Chicago for Earth ...