Budget 09: World's first carbon budget

The Chancellor has revealed the worlds first carbon budget today which included investment in buildings, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.

Alistair Darling has said that he will invest up to £375m in energy efficient measures that will help public buildings, homes and businesses over the next two years.

He also announced £3.5bm support for offshore wind farms and renewable energy providers. The investment should see up to 3m homes powered via environmental means and will protect £9bn of investment.

The chancellor has allocated £405m to support the development of a green manufacturing sector in the UK to be delivered through the Strategic Investment Fund, to support sectors such as low carbon.

He announced in the Budget that up to £1bn of public money will be spent on climate change initiatives for the country and investment in low carbon technologies.

This also includes a £100m investment in new build homes that will comply with the latest energy efficiency ratings and insulations. The government will further provide investment of £2.5m in heat and power projects as well as carbon capture.

The chancellor has vowed to reduce carbon emissions by 34% by 2020 with more announcements to be made at the Climate Change Summit to be held later this year.