Overwhelmed by all your end-of-the-workweek tasks? Not to worry: Greenbang is here to update you on recent cleantech news and developments you might have missed:

• Japan says it aims to increase its solar-cell production from 25 percent of the world’s market today to more than one-third by 2020;
• While visiting an electric-vehicle development centre in California yesterday, US President Barack Obama offered details on the $2.4 billion in federal funding planned for electric car programmes;
• Los Angeles officials yesterday announced that voters last month rejected a proposed city solar energy programme (PDF) by a narrow margin of 132,569 against to 129,925 for;
• US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said he’s willing to consider a carbon tariff on countries that haven’t yet established greenhouse gas reduction requirements;
• ATP, a Danish pension fund, plans to invest as much as $200 million in the US-based Hudson Clean Energy Partners;
• Ontario has created a new $250 million fund to promote green-technology and high-tech ventures;
• Recurrent Energy has bought a 350-megawatt project pipeline from UPC Solar;
• Canada’s Enerkem has announced plans to build a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Mississippi;
• A Guardian interview with US climate scientists James Hansen this week quotes the NASA scientist as saying that lobbyists fighting against climate change action have undermined the democratic process;
• A global standard for carbon prices might still be 10 to 15 years away, said industry analysts in Copenhagen this week.

Tags: cleantech