Rivals jostle ahead of EU vote on f-gases

Manufacturers of fluorinated greenhouse gases and environmentalists are engaged in last minute battles to win MEPs' support ahead of a critical second reading vote in the European parliament next week.

In a report published on Friday, campaigning group Corporate Europe Observatory warned that MEPs will undermine the EU's Kyoto commitments if they do not endorse changes introduced by the parliament's environment committee on 11 October.

The group accused f-gas making and using industries of "plotting to subvert" the legislation, and published a recent strategy by refrigeration sector group Epee to try to win over MEPs. Next week's vote "is the last chance to save this crucial piece of EU climate policy," it claimed.