Miliband toughens UK emission targets

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In his first Commons statement since being appointed to the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, Mr Miliband said legislation going through Parliament would be amended to include the new target. Until today, Britain was committed only to cutting its 1990 levels of emissions by 60 per cent. The new target is one of the toughest anti-pollution commitments in the world.

Mr Miliband also warned he would stop energy firms overcharging customers on pre-payment meters.

He unveiled plans to help people get higher tariffs for selling renewable energy back to the national grid.

In a move long-demanded by green groups, he said the Government would make the 80 per cent target binding by amending the Climate Change Bill.

"However, we all know that signing up to an 80 per cent cut by 2050 is the easy part. The hard part is meeting it," he said.

Ambitious EU climate change plans were in danger of collapse today in a searing row over the cost. Italy and Poland threatened to veto the policy for being too costly. Summit chairman Nicolas Sarkozy accused the pair of "hiding" behind the credit crunch.