<blockquote><p>EU officials proposed last week to toughen environmental standards in its expensive farm subsidy policies as part of major changes to the 58 billion euro system.

<p>A team of visiting nuclear experts warned Japan against becoming "over-conservative" in the future as the country works to clean up as much as 2,400 square kilometers of land affected by the Fukushima disaster. A group of 12 experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency will present its final report on its nine-day mission to the Japanese government next month, but the team has already voiced its opinions on certain remediation methods.

<p>United Nations carbon credits hit an all-time low of 7.13 euros a ton on Friday as a result of the glut in emissions permits. The debt crisis and slowing economic growth, combined with the EU's continued issuance of new offsets at a record rate, has led to a "<span>crisis of confidence</span>," according to one trader. Producers of greenhouse gases buy certified emissions reductions (CERs) to meet Kyoto Protocol emissions caps, which help pay for projects in the developing world, but the weak economy has led to an over-supply of offsets.