EU launches new drive to cut greenhouse gases

The European Commission has launched a new EU climate change programme with the promise of new emission-cutting policy proposals in around a year. At the programme's opening conference in Brussels on Monday environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said early experiences from the EU's carbon emission trading scheme have "encouraged us to look at the potential of other market-based mechanisms".

Three new EU working groups will assess and recommend policy options to mitigate emissions: in the aviation sector, in the non-HGV road transport sector and through carbon capture and storage. A fourth group will examine the best ways to adapt to climate change.