Appeal to cut UK greenhouse gases

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The committee said a more stringent target than the 60% cut currently in the Climate Change Bill was needed, because new information suggested the dangers of global warming were greater than previously thought.

In a letter to the new Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, the committee's chairman Adair Turner said the tougher target would be "challenging but feasible", and could be achieved at a cost of 1% to 2% of GDP in 2050.

He also said a cut of 80% on 1990 levels by 2050 should cover all emissions - not just carbon dioxide - and all sectors of the UK economy including shipping and aviation.

But because of practical problems in allocating emissions of international transport to the UK, they should not be included in the Climate Change Bill's five yearly carbon budgets, he said.

Instead the overall target should be "at least 80%", with greater reductions in sectors covered by the Bill if aviation and shipping do not make sufficient cuts by mid century, he said.

The committee made its initial report on whether the Climate Change Bill's long range target needed to be strengthened, following a request by Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Labour's party conference last month.

Lord Turner said: "Climate change poses a huge potential threat to human welfare. If we do not act soon in developed and developing countries, it will become too late to avoid serious and potentially catastrophic consequences.

"That is why it is so vital that a global deal is reached on climate change and that the UK contributes significantly towards this.

"But we have the potential to reduce our emissions by 80% or more by using energy far more efficiently, by investing in developing new energy sources and by making relatively minor lifestyle changes."