Time’s up for petrol cars, says GM chief: The world’s biggest car maker, General Motors, believes global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable. In a stunning announcement at the opening of the Detroit motor show, Rick Wagoner, GM’s chairman and chief executive, also said ethanol was an “important interim solution” to the world’s demand for oil, until battery technology improved to give electric cars the same driving range as petrol-powered cars. GM is working on an electric car, called the Volt, which is due in showrooms in 2010, but delays in suitable battery technology have slowed the project. The Age

BA uses own jets to examine effect of air travel on climate: British Airways aircraft are to be used to gather data about the hidden impact of air travel on climate change in research that could result in much higher environmental surcharges on tickets than expected. The airline is supporting research by the University of Cambridge into the warming effects of condensation trails, nitrogen dioxide and other aircraft emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that the damage done to the climate by these emissions is between twice and four times greater than the impact of carbon dioxide alone. Times Online

Germany, Spain warn EU on renewables plan: Germany and Spain have warned the European Commission that an ambitious plan to boost the use of renewable energy sources, due to be unveiled next week, could be counter-productive and wreck existing successful schemes. In a letter obtained by Reuters, ministers from Berlin and Madrid objected to a draft proposal that would encourage companies to trade renewable energy produced from sources such as solar, wind and hydro-electric power as well as biomass. Whether such a system were mandatory or voluntary, it would endanger and undermine existing systems in Europe that guarantee prices and access to power grids for renewable energy enterprises such as wind farms, they said. Guardian

Scientists sound alarm over starfish threat in Indonesia: The predatory crown of thorns starfish is threatening Indonesia’s portion of the “coral triangle,” the richest area of coral reef biodiversity on the planet, scientists warned Tuesday. The starfish have been discovered in large numbers by researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Australian-based ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, who surveyed reefs around Halmahera in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands, a press release said. The triangle lies between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and contains more than half the world’s reefs, considered building blocks for marine life. AFP