BRUSSELS, Sept 13: Environmentalists and some of Europe’s biggest companies have formed an unusual alliance to try to stop the European Union from extending anti-dumping duties on Chinese energy-saving light bulbs for one more year.

Environmental group WWF, Swedish retailer Ikea and Dutch electronics giant Philips are lobbying EU governments to reject the proposal when trade experts meet for what diplomats said was set to be a stormy meeting on Friday.

WWF wrote to the British government this week, criticising the plan to continue the duties as inconsistent with EU climate change policies, “narrowly protectionist” and discouraging for manufacturers of energy-saving goods in developing countries.

The duties were introduced for five years in 2001, adding up to 66 per cent to the price of Chinese bulbs entering the EU. —Reuters