|PIC1|Britain is set to become the first country in the world to implement legally binding carbon emissions targets, following proposals launched by Environment Secretary David Miliband, 13th March.

The Climate Change draft bill has called for an independent panel to be established to set carbon emission targets once every five years.

The proposals are being touted in efforts to cut emissions by up to 60 per cent by 2050. Under the draft, governments could be taken to court if they miss the targets set to them.

The draft was warmly greeted by both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, although they believed that carbon targets should be set on an annual basis, rather than the proposed five year gap.

However, Miliband said annual targets would be too rigid to make allowances for variations in the climate. He hailed the draft bill as "the first of its kind in any country", and said Britain was "leading by example", according to the BBC.

The proposals could become law as early as 2008, but climate campaigners are still not fully satisfied with the targets, saying that an 80 per cent reduction should be set by 2050.

A completed Climate Change Bill is expected to be unveiled in the autumn.