Brown’s long-term climate and energy goals set out

The Climate Change Bill and Energy Bill were two of the core pieces of legislation included in the speech on Tuesday.

Under the proposals, the UK will have to cut its carbon emissions by at least 60% and provide greater incentives for renewable energy generation.

In the speech, the Queen said: “My Government is committed to protecting the environment and to tackling climate change, both at home and abroad.

“A bill will be brought forward to make the United Kingdom the first country in the world to introduce a legally binding framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“My Government will introduce legislation to provide clean, secure and affordable supplies of energy.”

Commenting on the speech, Mr Brown said: “On energy, housing, pensions, education, work-life balance, citizenship and anti-terrorism measures, the central purpose of this legislative programme is to make the right long-term changes to prepare and equip our country for the future and to meet the rising aspirations of the British people.”

However, the proposals on energy came under fire from Greenpeace, which said the Government was paving the way for more nuclear power stations.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: “This is the latest chapter in the Government’s shameful attempts to blight the UK with more nuclear power stations.

“They fully intend to use the Energy Bill to implement this farce without looking at cleaner alternatives, or dealing with any of the problems of waste and economics.

“Today we’ve seen Brown’s vision for the country, and it looks like a dark, dystopian disaster.”

The British Wind Energy Association called for the Climate Change Bill to introduce statutory targets for renewable energy generation and for renewable energy to be given more importance in the Energy Bill.

Kate Martin