And it has voluntarily decided to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, and is building an internal carbon-trading scheme.

ECONOMIST: Slippery slope

As I said on the Today programme this morning, if the bank, with all its internal misgivings about the scheme, messes up in the implementation it might not save the euro either.

BBC: The ECB puts a sting in the tail

To help it do so, it is just about to launch an internal carbon-emissions trading scheme.

ECONOMIST: Greenhouse gases