A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

CLIMATE

China, US agree world climate efforts not enough to meet goals (via Bloomberg)

Northern Hemisphere experiences warmest June on record (via Mongabay)

Drought covers majority of US, might be a ‘$50 billion event for the economy’ (via Climate Progress)

Greenland glacier loses mass of ice twice the size of Manhattan (via Washington Post)

US geoengineers to spray sun-reflecting chemicals from balloon (via BusinessGreen)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Energy efficiency will continue to slow US consumption (via EarthTechling)

USDA loans could cut rural electric bills (via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

NREL helps cut building energy use 50% (via CleanTechnica)

OIL

Shell’s Arctic drilling plan could go down to the wire (via The Hill)

RENEWABLES

German ministers cast doubt on green energy targets (via Reuters)

China could end 2012 with 7GW new PV, research group says (via Recharge)

Denmark to generate 50% of electricity from wind power by 2020 (via Revmodo)

New wind capacity additions in India fell by half in Q1 2012 (via Panchabuta)

Europe needs targets to compete on advanced biofuels, says BP chief (via BusinessGreen)

The potential of plug-and-play solar (via Earth2Tech)

Clean-energy jobs add up in Ohio (via Columbus Dispatch)

Massachusetts renewable energy targets could get a boost (via Cape Cod Times)

Project SolarStrong expands to new military bases (via Forbes)

NATURAL GAS

Will US shale gas technology make the leap across the Pacific? (via EnergyWire)

Utility chiefs worry US gas rush will crowd out other fuels (via Bloomberg)

TRANSPORTATION

Merger creates largest US electric vehicle charging network (via Sustainable Business)

NUCLEAR

Global demand for nuclear power remains high (via Japan Times)

Study says Fukushima radiation may cause 1,300 cancer deaths (via Bloomberg)

Uprates can increase US nuclear capacity substantially without building new reactors (via US EIA)

COAL

New studies begin to answer questions about coal mining-health concerns (via Charleston Gazette)

Why US coal can’t ship from Canada (via Sightline)

GRID

FERC Order 679 responsible for $23 billion of transmission infrastructure investment in 2012-2016 (via Transmission Hub)

‘Liquid batteries’ could mean a better, cleaner grid (via Greenbang)

US Midwest power demand could break record (via Reuters)

Court says Maine PUC must revisit smart meter safety issue (via Greentech Media)

EMISSIONS

US leads the world in cutting CO2 emissions – so why aren’t we talking about it? (via Grist)

Documents show White House weakened EPA soot proposal (via Washington Post)

Federal appeals court upholds EPA’s revamped NO2 standard (via Greenwire)

TAR SANDS/KEYSTONE XL

Climate scientists want ‘serious’ State Dept. review of oil sands emissions (via The Hill)

Nebraska regulators say Keystone XL corridor avoids Sandhills (via WOWT)

Protests in more than a dozen cities planned for Michigan oil spill anniversary (via Kalamazoo News)

OPINION

How droughts will reshape the United States (via Washington Post)

Energy company money buys political support but not public policy (via Forbes)

The greening of professional sports (via New York Times)

OTHER NEWS

An additional roundup of energy and climate news is posted at Climate Progress