The Climate Change Bill introduced by Britain's ruling Labour Party is about to become law, British Secretary of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Hilary Benn said here Wednesday.
Paying tribute to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's "strong leadership" on the last day of the Labour Party Conference, Benn said Britain's carbon dioxide emissions fell by over 10 million tons last year and the country is considering raising its 2050 carbon emission reduction target to 80 percent from the current 60, before the bill becomes law.
"A low-carbon Britain will be the strong economy of the future," said Benn, predicting that the country will become less dependent on oil and gas, use resources more wisely, as well as build industries and create a million new "green jobs" to sustain its future.
Britain has started to build wind turbines that will produce clean electricity, and the country was the first to generate electricity from offshore wave power, he pointed out, expressing his belief that Britain will soon become a world leader in this respect.
He cited large-scale house insulation programs and cars run on batteries powered by renewables or hybrid engines as major moves to save energy and carbon emission. The government will help every pensioner this year with more winter fuel payment and social tariffs for those on lowest incomes so they receive lower bills, he added.
Benn also called on energy companies to help people save energy and money in a time of higher energy prices and major economic downturn.
The five-day Labour Party Conference is taking place against the backdrop of a financial crisis that hit the country in the last weeks with thousands of job losses predicted and lower voter support for Labour.
Source: Xinhua
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