UK government plans bill on climate change

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) The British government will put curbing climate change in its new legislative programme but will stop short of setting itself annual carbon emission cut targets, government and environmental sources said today.

Britain is set to meet its Kyoto target of cutting carbon emissions by 12 million tonnes by 2012, but is already falling short of its own target of cutting emissions by 20 per cent by 2010.

''Targets can become shackles that actually prevent action rather than promote it,'' said one government source on condition of anonymity. ''People want actions not targets.'' Environmentalists and opposition parties have been campaigning for a climate change bill with clear annual targets to be included in the Queen's speech next month setting out the government's legislative agenda for the coming year.

Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper welcomed the news that the pressure appeared to have paid off, but said a bill shying clear of targets would be meaningless.

The BBC said yesterday the draft bill would include targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

But a spokesman for the Department of the Environment declined to speculate on the content of the legislative agenda.

''We can't comment on what is in the Queen's speech. But the secretary of state thinks on big issues such as climate change we need to look at all the options,'' he said.

''We are looking at whether legislation could help meet the global challenge of climate change.'' Environment Secretary David Miliband told parliament yesterday climate change was probably the sternest challenge facing mankind and needed prompt action.

''It is local, national and international. It will affect all of us as well as all our children,'' he said.

One environmental lobbyist, who declined to be identified, said he expected the government to produce draft climate change legislation covering a wide range of issues but not committing itself to early or even binding actions.

He said there was talk of an independent cross-disciplinary group to check on how people were doing on climate change.

The government source said any emission curbing legislation would be meaningless unless it took into account international sources of pollution such as aviation.

REUTERS SP ND2010