UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, said the combination of budget measures and membership of the European Union's emissions trading scheme would cut climate changing carbon emissions by more than 16 million tonnes a year.
Environmentalists welcomed the announcements but said they had not done anywhere near enough to get to grips with the climate crisis.
"It is going in the right direction, but it hasn't gone far enough," said Friends of the Earth head Tony Juniper. "
UK carbon dioxide emissions have risen under Labour, now is the time for bold leadership, not half measures in the face of this overwhelming threat," he said.
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