London March12
In what the government had billed 'the greenest budget ever', Alastair Darling delivered a series of measures and commitments to consultation that left climate change campaigners and environmentalists saying unanimously that he was 'tinkering at the edges' and that the government had 'dropped the ball' on climate change.

Friends of the Earth chief Tony Juniper said "This was billed as the greenest budget ever. But we didn't get anything like what is necessary to tackle what is the greatest challenge the world faces." Russell Marsh of the influential Green Alliance lobby group stated that "Despite all the pre-budget spinning from Treasury this was not a green budget and fell painfully short of what was required. The chancellor says that our greatest obligation to future generations must be to tackle potentially catastrophic climate change, but there is nothing in this budget to indicate that he means it. This was just tinkering at the edges."

During his budget speech, the delivery of which opposition leader David Cameron described as having the soporific effect of 'someone reading a telephone directory', Mr Darling prefaced his green announcements by saying that tackling global warming was our greatest obligation to future generations. "We need to do more and we need to do it now. There will be catastrophic economic and social consequences if we fail to act." He then delivered a series of measures which, whilst welcome, did little to live up to their introduction.

He announced £26M to help make homes greener through further grants for insulation and energy-efficient appliances, and said that all new non-domestic buildings were to be zero-carbon by 2019.
A rise in road fuel duty was postponed until October this year, and airlines will be paying a further 10% on plane duty in the second year of the new per-flight tax scheme, which is replacing the Air Passenger Duty regime in November next year. Smart metering will be rolled out to medium and large companies over the next five years in a bid to encourage them to save energy.

On the transport front, new bands of vehicle tax will be introduced from 2009 with a new top band for vehicles emitting over 255gpk. Vehicles emitting less than 130gpk will pay no tax at all in their first year, but higher rates will be levied on all other bands.

The auctioning of carbon emissions permits for energy generators, currently set at 7%, will be increased to 100%. "If we want to encourage investment in low carbon technology in energy renewables and in nuclear, for example, and to make industry more carbon efficient we need to go further," Darling told parliament.

In a 'populist' move, he announced that unless retailers introduce charges for single-use carrier bags, legislation would be introduced to impose such a charge.

REACTION
The reaction to the budget was at best luke-warm, and at worst derisory. The Times called it 'uninteresting and unpopular', and the Guardian dubbed Darling 'the doyen of dull'. The FT said 'it could have been worse' and the BBC dubbed it a 'Saints and sinners budget'. Grant Thornton's Francesca Lagerberg said it was another 'slap in the face with wet kipper' budget, and referring to the pre-budget hints and announcements, Reuters described is as 'a pale shade of green'.

BUDGET SPEECH EXCERPT
This is the 'green section' of the budget speech, which can be downloaded here in its entirety (PDF).

And our greatest obligation to future generations must be to tackle climate change. Britain has been at the forefront of international action. We are one of the few countries meeting our Kyoto target. We are working with other countries following agreement in Bali last year to agree tougher global goals after 2012.

And the UK will use our £800 million environment fund to work with the United States, Japan and other countries as well as the World Bank to fund clean technologies in developing countries, and adaptation to climate change.

Britain is already the leading financial centre for carbon markets and we are also working with California and other American states to build these markets and strengthen international partnerships.

We need to do more and we need to do it now. Few doubt the science. The need to take action is urgent. There will be catastrophic economic and social consequences if we fail to act. Recognising this threat, we are the first Government anywhere in the world to introduce legal targets compelling us to take action to cut carbon emissions. We have an established target to reduce carbon emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050.
I believe that we should go further.
That is why we have asked the Climate Change Committee to advise us - whether as part of an international agreement - we should raise our target to 80 per cent. And if we are serious about reaching demanding targets then every department in Government, every public sector body, every business, every one of us needs to play its part. And to ensure carbon reduction is a central part of our economic objectives, I can tell the House that the first carbon budgets to 2022 will be announced alongside the Budget next year.

Long-term growth must be sustainable. There are huge opportunities here too for business, and there could be over a million jobs in our environmental industries within the next two decades. Meeting these long term challenges will require us to make substantial reductions in emissions across the economy - in energy supply, transport, in our business and in our homes.
But I believe that there are three key steps we can take now. the amount of carbon produced by generators and large industrial users. The scheme imposes a cap on the amount of carbon companies can generate. Companies get allocations for credits to help them adapt. If we want to encourage investment in low carbon technology in energy renewables and in nuclear, for example, and to make industry more carbon efficient we need to go further. So in the next phase, instead of auctioning 7 per cent, I want to see auctioning of 100 per cent of these allowances for energy generators.

Last year's Energy White paper committed us to increasing the supply of renewable energy and the Energy Bill will allow the tripling of renewable electricity by 2015. We will consult on how to meet our share of the European Union target in the summer. Secondly, we need to do more to reduce the amount of carbon generated at home and at work. Given the damage that single-use carrier bags inflict on the environment, we want to be able to take action. We will introduce legislation to impose a charge on them if we have not seen sufficient progress on a voluntary basis. Legislation would come into force in 2009 and based on other countries' experience, it could lead to a 90 percent reduction, with around 12 billion fewer plastic bags in circulation. The money raised should go to environmental charities.

And next month we will launch the most ambitious household emissions reduction programme. Energy companies are obliged through the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target to give their customers better deals for energy efficiency and therefore cut bills. Cavity wall insulation for nearly three million homes. Loft insulation, more energy efficient appliances and light bulbs. I can announce £26 million funding next year for a Green Homes Service to help people cut their carbon emissions and their fuel bills. We will roll out smart meters to medium and large companies over the next five years, providing greater incentives to reduce the amount of energy they consume. We already have a target to make new homes zero carbon from 2016.
I believe that we can go further.
And I can announce today that new non-domestic buildings will become zero-carbon from 2019. We will consult on achieving that targets with the potential to save 75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next thirty years.

The Climate Change levy, which is the main reason why we have met our Kyoto targets and which is still opposed by some, will increase in line with inflation from April. The third key area we need to take action now is in relation to transport. It accounts for nearly a third of our carbon emissions. We recognise the contribution of aviation to the UK economy. That is why we support the expansion of Stansted and Heathrow. I have always been clear that aviation must meet its environmental costs, and that is why we want aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. Because emissions from aircraft are forecast to continue to grow, I am also announcing that revenue from plane duty will be increased by 10 per cent in the second year of operation.

But Britain's 30 million cars, vans and lorries together account for 22 per cent of total carbon emissions. Over the last 20 years new cars have become 50 per cent more efficient. And new technology will bring further improvement. Today, I am publishing Professor Julia King's review of low carbon cars in which she examined new technologies which could help cut carbon emission. Professor King found that by simply switching to the cleanest cars on offer, motorists could save 25 per cent of their fuel costs. She also found that manufacturers needed to be encouraged to bring new technology to the market. And I am asking the European Commission today to set a tighter target which reduces the cap on emissions from cars from 130 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide to 100 grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide by 2020.

The road tax system should do more to support the use of more carbon-efficient, and therefore less costly cars. This will help reduce average carbon dioxide levels in new cars. Firstly, from April 2009, I am proposing a major reform to Vehicle Excise Duty to encourage manufacturers to produce cleaner cars and by introducing new bands, there will be an incentive to encourage drivers to choose the least polluting car. And as a second stage for new cars, from April 2010 there will be a new first-year rate based on carbon dioxide emissions of the car. Cars that emit less than the proposed 130 grams per kilometre European standard of carbon dioxide emissions will pay no car tax at all in the first year. But a higher first year rate will be introduced on the most polluting cars. Cutting taxes for those who cut carbon emissions. But it is right that if people choose to buy a more polluting car that they should pay more in the first year to reflect the environmental cost. The changes will provide a real incentive to manufacturers and motorists. We must encourage sustainable biofuels. Therefore the biofuel duty differential will be replaced by the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. I am also reforming capital allowances