<p>While Canada's greenhouse gas emissions remained largely unchanged from 2009 to 2010, the nation will have difficulty meeting its 2020 target, according to government figures. The Conservative government said that its environmental plan "is working," hailing the fact that emissions remained stable at a 0.25% increase while the economy grew 3.2%. Canada's emission peaked in 2007, at 751 megatons, and fell to 692 in 2010.

<p>France's highest court may annul the verdict against oil company Total for a 1999 spill. The case involves the sinking of the tanker Erika, which broke apart in a storm and spilled some 20,000 tons of oil into the Bay of Biscay, damaging coastline and wildlife. The top appeals court will rule May 24 on whether to annul the guilty verdict on the grounds that the tanker did not sink in French waters. The chartered tanker was Italian-owned, flying a Maltese flag, and sitting in an Exclusive Economic Zone when it sank, which limits France's jurisdiction.

<p>A judge in Brazil denied an injunction to stop Chevron and Transocean from operating after two offshore oil leaks, a federal court said last Wednesday. Prosecutor Eduardo Santos de Oliveira sought the injunction against the companies as part of an $11 billion lawsuit for damage at the Frade field last month, in the climate of increasing scrutiny of oil production. However, judge <span>Guilherme Diefenthaeler</span> ruled that the injunction would interfere with the authority of ANP, Brazil's oil regulator, to manage the oil industry.