Labour's 'landmark' climate change bill
Updated on 13 March 2007
The government says today's draft climate change bill is unprecedented in its proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The government is claiming to be the first in the world to propose legal limits on the quantity of greenhouse gases the country produces.
The draft bill is, according to the government, unprecedented anywhere in the world.
By 2050 it's promised to reduce carbon emissions by 60 per cent, and between then and now it proposes five-yearly carbon "budgets" to ensure it's on target.
But does the draft climate change bill, published this morning, really measure up to the demands of the times?
They rolled out the rhetoric this morning. According to the prime minister this is an historic day, with the publication of revolutionary legislation: a strategy to combat the greatest long-term treat to mankind.
The draft climate change bill is, according to the government, unprecedented anywhere in the world.
To many MPs and environmental campaigners, this draft bill does not go far enough.
Yet within minutes of its publication there were criticisms from all sides in this debate. Some say the bill isn't ambitious enough, others that it doesn't provide enough incentives, or sufficiently clear information, for business.
- The draft bill is a blueprint to meet a 60 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
- There will be five-year "carbon budgets", and the targets will be legally binding.
- A new committee on climate change will report to parliament each year. And the government can now set up domestic emissions trading schemes.
This will go beyond the current EU trading scheme. It means that airlines, small businesses, supermarkets, and even domestic households could be encouraged to buy and sell their quota for emissions.
