Climate Change Committee proposes strict new emissions cutting targets

The Committee on Climate Change today urged the Government to commit unilaterally to reducing emissions of all greenhouse gases in the UK by at least 34% in 2020 relative to 1990 levels (21% relative to 2005). This should be increased to 42% relative to 1990 (31% relative to 2005) once a global deal to reduce emissions is achieved. The CCC says meeting these targets is necessary to contain the threat of climate change.

"Building a low-carbon economy" - the CCC’s first report, sets out the analysis underpinning these recommendations. They propose firm carbon budgets for the next three, five-year periods. The budgets are a worldwide first, designed under the Climate Change Act, which also establishes the CCC as an independent advisory body to Government. The report sets out how the budgets can be met by using existing technologies, and by putting in place a range of policies to move to a low-carbon economy:

• Moving away from using fossil fuels towards using cleaner forms of generating electricity and heat including greater use of renewables (wind power, biomass heat and heat pumps), nuclear and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS);

• By using energy more efficiently in our homes and office buildings and in industry, through better insulation, use of more energy efficient appliances and through reducing waste by turning lights off, shutting down computers and using air conditioning less;

• By reducing transport emissions, developing electric cars, improving the carbon efficiency of engines, developing use of sustainable bio-fuels, better journey planning and more use of public transport.

• Through purchasing offset credits (e.g. Clean Development Mechanism) to meet the 42% target, but not the 34% target.

The independent committee recommends that by 2020 it should be made almost impossible to burn coal for electricity without technology to capture and store the carbon emissions, which will have major implications for the UK's energy policy.

The report says fuel will inevitably become more expensive to achieve the carbon targets. But it says the government will need to compensate poor households rather than trying to keep prices down.

To make the targets even harder for the government, the committee recommends the UK should not be able to buy its way out of its obligations by paying poor countries to cut carbon on our behalf. Until now, the government has been planning to buy up to half of our carbon credits.

The report will be widely welcomed by environmentalists, but they are angry that the committee has not set any specific targets for aviation - the fastest-growing source of emissions.

The committee has put aviation into the overall carbon budget but exempted it from specific targets until disputes over responsibility for international aviation emissions have been resolved.

Lord Turner, the committee chairman, said the cuts could be achieved without compromising our lifestyles or economy: "The reductions can be achieved at very low cost (an estimated 1% loss of GDP growth in 2020). The cost of not achieving the reductions at a national and global level will be far greater."

The climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: "We will give the report in-depth consideration but I am pleased to say that from 2009 carbon budgets will take their place alongside the financial budget."

So how far will ministers accept the committee's policies to achieve those reductions? The Climate Change Committee notes that the government has been good at making bold statements on climate - but bad at putting firm policies in place.

The CCC is an independent body established under the Climate Change Act to advise the Government on setting the first legally binding carbon budgets, and to report to Parliament on the progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The CCC also advises on what the UK’s long-term climate change target should be as a fair contribution towards a global deal.