The House of Commons Transport Select Committee yesterday published a report which called on the Government to introduce new rules aimed at encouraging UK motorists to purchase more eco-friendly cars.

The report also called for incentives to be developed for car manufacturers in order to facilitate the development of low emission fuel-cell cars, according to the Bloomberg news agency.

In the report calls were aired for the UK to support the use of regulation to encourage cleaner and safer vehicles on Britain's roads.

"Sophisticated new technologies have a cost penalty and are unlikely to appear on the market unless there is a regulatory requirement or consumer demand," it read.

The committee is hoping its suggestions will lead to the speedier development of new clean vehicular technology, such as petrol-electric hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell powered cars, which will help to reduce the impact of harmful emissions on the emergence of climate change.

The report went on to call on the Government to provide more grants to help people buy the cleanest cars available on the market and to increase taxes for motorists who purchase vehicles with high emissions.