Gordon Brown's new climate change targets

Yesterday, at the Labour Party conference Prime Minister Gordon Brown made clear that he wants the current target of a 60% cut in CO2 by 2050 raised to 80 per cent. He called for an end to the dictatorship of oil and a transformation in our use of energy and has also asked the Climate Change Committee - which is considering whether such a large cut is feasible - to report by next month instead of the end of the year. It will allow the Committee to make its recommendation while the Climate Change Bill is still before Parliament and in time for the target figure to be raised significantly.