A campaign to convince Europeans they can help stop climate change has been launched by the European Commission. The campaign is called "You Control Climate Change" and aims to show how everyday actions can lead to cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions.

The 50 practical tips included in the campaign range from turning off lights, recycling materials and not using cars.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the campaign highlighted individual responsibility. The campaign also targets pupils, who will be encouraged to sign a pledge to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.

EU member states will be launching the campaign at national level over the next few days. Households are responsible for around 15% of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. Private car use accounts for another 10%.

"For the Commission, action against climate change is a priority," said Mr Barroso at the launch on Monday.

"This campaign complements and reinforces our political and legislative efforts.

"It makes clear to which extent we all are responsible for climate change and what individuals can and need to do to limit this threat."

Statues President Barroso and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas unveiled a giant poster next to the Commission's main building in Brussels. Showing the Earth in the universe, with a thermostat attached to it measuring its rising temperature, it includes the message: "You control climate change. Turn down. Switch off. Recycle. Walk."

Statues in EU capitals will be adorned with T-shirts with the same message. They include Brussels' bronze fountain sculpture, Manneken Pis, statues of the composer Johann Strauss in Vienna and others. But the EU's record on climate change is mixed, says the BBC's EU reporter Alix Kroeger. In a recent review, its flagship policy to cut greenhouse gases from industry was found to have miscalculated - thus taking away the incentive for companies to cut pollution or invest in clean technology.

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