Britain will lead the world in combating climate change thanks to "revolutionary" legislation, said Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The draft Climate Change Bill will make the UK the first country to subject itself to legally-binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions - with a target of a 60% reduction by 2050. The Bill was welcomed by environmentalists, businesses and opposition parties as a step in the right direction towards tackling global warming, which is believed to be caused by emissions of gases including carbon dioxide.
But Conservatives and Liberal Democrats called for annual targets for CO2 cuts, rather than the five-yearly benchmarks proposed by the Government, while Friends of the Earth said the Bill must be strengthened if it is to set an example for the rest of the world. Unveiling the legislation to an audience of teenagers at 10 Downing Street, Mr Blair described climate change as "the biggest long-term threat facing our world".
"This is a revolutionary step in confronting the threat of climate change," he said. "It sets an example to the rest of the world but, as important as anything else, it listens and responds to the strong desire on the part of the British people to take the lead and to keep it." As well as the 60% target for 2050, the Bill sets an interim goal of a 26%-32% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020.
Legally-binding carbon "budgets" will be set every five years to ensure Britain remains on track to meet these figures, and progress will be reported to Parliament annually. Appearing alongside Mr Blair at the Downing Street launch, the PM's expected successor Gordon Brown said future chancellors would have to "count the carbon, just as they count the pennies, and they will have to account for the use of the resources of our country just as they account for the use of public money".
Environment Secretary David Miliband said the carbon budgets would force the UK to "live within our environmental means". An independent advisory Committee on Climate Change will advise future governments on setting the budget and report on progress, and administrations which fail to hit their targets will be subject to judicial review, he said.
Pressure groups such as Friends of the Earth or Greenpeace will be able to apply to the courts for a review if goals appear to be drifting. And judges would be able to "name and shame" the Government with a warning, or impose other penalties such as forcing it to buy credits allowing greater emissions under international carbon trading schemes
What? This is a smokescreen. A side issue. A distraction. Watch ... it is a stepping stone leading to something far more ominous! If 'the government' is to be fined because Joe Public is still emitting too much Cardon Dioxide you can guarantee the devious bastards will bring in a law to transplant that 'fine' onto Job Public. Ominous dark undertones here!
