• Britain's Bag 'Ban' Needs a Boost: Despite efforts to reduce use of plastic shopping bags in the United Kingdom, big retailers issued 333 million more of them in 2010 for a total of 6.4 billion, reports the Daily Mail, which launched a Banish the Bags campaign in 2008.

Marks & Spencer says making customers pay for plastic shopping bags is the only way to sharply cut use. M&S began charging 5 pence (about 8 cents U.S.) per bag three years ago and brought use down 80 percent. Retailers in Wales will add a 5p charge for bag use starting October 1, Northern Ireland is contemplating a similar plan and there's pressure in Westminster and Scotland to do the same.

• Smart Meters Smarter Than ComEd Thought: Smart meters can cut down energy theft and help utilities home in on users who don't pay their bills, according to a report for Illinois Utility ComEd compiled by the firm Black & Veatch. That's in addition to eliminating the need for manual meter reading and helping consumers manage energy use. As much as $3 billion could be saved over the 20-year-old life of the smart meters, if ComEd expanded its pilot smart meter program to full-scale operation, according to the report detailed by CNET News.

• Fallout from Germany's Planned Nuke Shutdown: Major companies could move their operations from Germany in search of cheaper electricity as a result of the government's Fukushima-inspired decision to close the country's nuclear plants by 2022. Bayer head Marijn Dekkers voiced the warning and with a not-so-veiled threat that the pharmaceuticals group could "have to consider relocating its production to countries with lower energy costs," the Guardian reported.

• U.S. Gets Heavy on Heavy-Duty Truck Emissions: The Obama Administration is expected today to finalize the country's first fuel efficiency and emissions standards for commercial trucks, vans and buses. The move is expected to save $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of the program. Luke Tonachel of the Natural Resources Defense Council details the new rules in a post available at GreenBiz.com.

• More Backwash on EU Emissions Rules: Emirates airline, the biggest carrier in the Middle East, claims the European Union's cap-and-trade plan could cost the company up to $1 billion over a decade. The story by the Associated Press says the airline, which does a quarter of its business in Europe, contends its emissions are 26 percent lower than the industry average. U.S. airlines through industry organization Air Transport Association brought their beef about the rules to court last month.

• Vodafone Dials Up GHG Reductions in India: Vodafone Essar, a telecom giant in India, says it's developing a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target specifically for the country as part of Vodafone's goal to reduce its global carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2015, according to The Economic Times.

Image CC licensed by Flickr user Robert Brook.