British climate bill nearing completion

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is likely to put forward legislation within three months to cut carbon emissions by at least 60 percent in the fight against global warming, environmentalists said on Wednesday.

The Climate Change Bill is expected to go to parliament in November and could become law by May after parliamentary scrutiny and public consultations on the preliminary draft of the legislation ended this month.

"We expect it after the Queen's Speech in November and to go into committee in December," said Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Mike Childs.

"Because it has already been through pre-legislative scrutiny it could go quite quickly through the parliamentary process and even become law in the spring," he told Reuters.

A spokeswoman for the Department of the Environment would only say the bill was scheduled for the autumn and, depending on the parliamentary timetable, could be law by mid-2008.

The draft bill says carbon dioxide emissions must be cut by at least 60 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 -- and half that by 2020 -- with five-year rolling carbon budgets on the way there and an independent committee to monitor progress.

Environmentalists want annual cut targets -- a goal the government says is impractical -- the inclusion of emissions from maritime transport and aviation, and the final ceiling to be raised to 80 percent from 60.

Three parliamentary committee reports have largely echoed the environmentalists' criticisms, and the government is now considering the reports and public responses to the draft before coming out with the final bill.