UK warned against watering down carbon targets

UK warned against watering down carbon reduction targets 

An influential group of MPs has weighed into the simmering row over the UK's carbon budgets, warning that the carbon reduction targets for 2022 will be missed because of poor government policy on energy and the environment.

 Carbon budgets have become a key political battleground as George Osborne has promised that the UK will not lead on climate action because the UK should not price itself out of international energy markets by placing heavy environmental burden on suppliers.

 Joan Walley, chair of the environmental audit committee, said: "Emissions are currently not falling fast enough to prevent a dangerous destabilization of the global climate in the coming decades.

But most Tories want to ignore the committee and choose looser carbon targets. The row could take months to resolve, and is likely to prove unsettling for green investors and businesses who want a clear view on the policy.

 The key reasons the 2022 targets would not be met were the failure to insulate houses and reduce the amount of gaseous carbon which are caused by transport and heat production, the report found.