17 September 2007
The UK should be completely carbon neutral by 2050, the Liberal Democrats have urged.
At the Lib Dem's annual conference in Brighton today, the party's environmental spokesman, Chris Huhne, is expected to present a motion urging the government to ensure that 30% of the UK's electricity is produced in a carbon neutral way by 2020, with this figure rising to 100% by 2050.
The party is also expected to call for taxes on cars which produce the highest emissions, a toll on road freight, as well as climate change charge for domestic flights
Speaking on BBC 1's Breakfast programme, Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, described the urgency of climate change as "enormous".
"We should be working towards a carbon-neutral Britain by 2050. We should be working towards the elimination of petrol-driven motor cars," he said.
The comments coincide with reports that the government has given the go-ahead to the world's first large scale wave farm off the coast of Cornwall.
Approval for the £28 million project, which could generate enough energy for 7,500 homes, has been granted by the South West of England Regional Development Agency.