The recession will not deflect the Government's efforts to cut carbon emissions and move to a low carbon economy, Energy and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband said today. Speaking as the Government formally responded to the Committee on Climate Change's first annual report on carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act, Mr Miliband said Britain stood to gain not only from a green jobs revolution, but from measures to help people cut the amount of energy they use. The UK is on course to over-achieve on its carbon budgets - the emissions equivalent of fiscal budgets - with an estimated 36% cut on 1990 levels projected by 2020. Government will not rely on the reduction in emissions brought about by the economic downturn to meet its climate targets. To reinforce this, any over-achievement in the first carbon budget due to the recession will not be carried forward to allow for higher emissions in the future.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: "The recession will not deflect the Government's efforts to cut emissions and move to a low carbon economy. We will not let up on the fight against climate change, instead we must redouble our efforts at home and internationally so the UK emerges from the global downturn building on the opportunities and benefits a low carbon future will bring."

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has outlined Government's latest measures to help householders save money and energy as he welcomed 10:10 - a new campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Around 90,000 homes in some of the poorest areas in the UK should see an average saving of 20% per year in their emissions through a new community based energy saving scheme which starts today. This amounts to financial savings of around £300 per year off fuel bills. In the past year, more than 1.2 million homes have received some form of insulation under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target with enough professional loft insulation installed to stretch from London to Sydney and back. The number of households getting this help through energy companies has been increased, with Government recently increasing the target by 20%. Responding to the 10:10 campaign, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has confirmed that it is on course to cut its own emissions at its London headquarters by 10% by April 2010 and it will make further reductions through the rest of 2010 and beyond. DECC staff have been encouraged by Ed Miliband to join him in taking up the 10:10 pledge in their homes and lifestyles.

Three UK-based banks start work today with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on a programme to lend up to £1 billion to onshore wind farms over the next 3 years. The cash, part of the additional £4 billion of EIB lending to support UK energy projects announced in the Budget, will help get building started for onshore wind projects which have been hit by the credit crunch, particularly small and mid-sized wind farms. The banks - RBS, Lloyds and BNP Paribas Fortis - have been teamed up with the EIB by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and HM Treasury, following the announcement in April's Budget Statement that the Government wanted to get more EIB lending to UK renewables. Firms can also apply for DECC cash from today to develop offshore wind technology. There will be up to £10 million in grants, part of the £120 million announced in the renewable energy strategy last week to support offshore wind. This is the second round of cash for development of offshore wind technology. DECC is also confirming today that, subject to agreement on suitable grant offer conditions, it also intends to make an award under the first round of this programme for Vestas Technology UK Ltd's research and development centre on the Isle of Wight. This proposed award - more than £6 million - would include over £3m of funding from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). We expect to make other announcements on awards under this first round of funding shortly.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said: "Earlier this month we laid out a transition plan to a low carbon economy that included a massive expansion of green wind energy. The resources we are announcing back up our plans with clear actions to ensure we deliver. "The European Investment Bank funds will help the building start on consented wind farms that could provide 1 gigawatt of electricity, enough to power more than half a million homes. "The money for the development of offshore wind manufacturing will help us generate green jobs on top of our success as the leading country in the world for the generation of offshore wind. "Alongside these proposals, we are reforming planning laws, finding new ways of working with local communities and are determined to persuade people that we need a significant increase in onshore wind as part of the UK's future energy mix. "That is essential for the generation of renewable energy and for Britain to have an industrial future in the production of onshore wind."

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband committed the UK to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050 as a major contribution to a global deal on climate change. In a wide-ranging Commons statement, his first since being appointed to the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, Mr Miliband:

* backed the recommendations of Lord Turner's Climate Change Committee and said the Government would make the target binding in law by amending the Climate Change Bill currently going through Parliament.

* said that he plans to bring an amendment to the Energy Bill, also currently before the House, to introduce a 'feed in tariff' to support small scale renewables, and to make a further announcement soon on encouraging renewable heat.

* made clear that, unless energy companies demonstrate action to end overcharging for many customers on pre-payment meters, he was prepared to consult on legislation to end unfair pricing differentials.

Source: UK Government