Imminent EU proposals to clamp down on fridge gas scam

European Commission proposals to clamp down on a trading scam linked to the controversial greenhouse gas HFC-23 are only days away, officials have indicated, amid fierce lobbying from businesses to water down the plans.

The gas, used in refrigeration and estimated to be 11,000 times more damaging than CO2, hit the headlines this summer when it emerged Chinese chemical companies were intentionally producing the pollutant purely to then collect valuable carbon permits under the UN's clea...