Europe can fight climate change without harming its economy, the European Commission president said on Monday, amid signs that intensive lobbying by heavy industry for special treatment was paying off.

José Manuel Barroso told an audience in London to seize the business opportunity, saying the market, rather than government, had the answers on climate change. Commission officials in Brussels said they were willing to give an explicit assurance to sectors such as steel and cement that their competitiveness would be preserved in the face of a commitment to cut carbon emissions.