<p>A fuel tax in Spain could end up costing the Spanish government billions of euros. In 2003, Spain implemented a “health cent” tax on the sale of hydrocarbons in order to generate revenue to help finance healthcare spending. Last Thursday, Advocate General Nils Wahl, an adviser to the European Court of Justice, said that this tax is illegal because it does not comply with the regulations the EU sets on the levy of additional indirect taxes.

<p>Sesa Sterlite, a mining company controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, may restart some of its iron ore mining operations in India as early as next month after a two year shutdown. Excavation had been banned in the southern state of Karnataka in 2011 due to environmental degradation, but, according to two officials who asked not to be named, Sesa has now met the requirements for a permit to mine in the state.

<p>Last Thursday, the Canadian Ministry of the Environment admitted in a report that Canada is likely to fall short of its target for greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, Canada signed the Copenhagen Accord and committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. A year ago, the government forecasted emissions of greenhouse gases to be at 720 megatons by 2020; now, however, Canada estimates that that number will be 734 megatons, a reduction of only 0.4 percent.