Gordon Brown fears backbench revolt over climate change bill

By Urmee Khan and James Kirkup
Last Updated: 9:42PM BST 08/07/2008

Gordon Brown is facing another significant backbench revolt over his climate change policy, it has emerged.
More than 80 MPs are said to be backing an amendment to the Government's Climate Change Bill to make cuts to greenhouse gases far more drastic.
The Bill currently calls for a legally enforceable 60 per cent cut in UK carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
However, the rebel MPs say it should be raised to 80 per cent as the 60 per cent goal will not do enough to control global warming.

The Prime Minister has handed the issue to an independent Climate Change Committee, headed by former CBI chief Lord Adair Turner, who is not expected to report until December.
By then the Climate Change Bill is likely to have passed into law.
The rebels want the Government to either pre-empt Lord Turner's committee and put the 80 per cent goal in the bill now or persuade the peer to report earlier.
The Climate Change Bill completes its detailed committee stage on Tuesday.
The rebel amendment, backed by 85 Labour MPs, was debated a fortnight ago and defeated by the government-dominated committee.
However rebels say their amendment is a marker and are threatening to force a vote on the floor of the Commons at report stage in October or November, if the government does not act.
The amendment Bill is not likely to be debated until after the summer recess, and the Tories may abstain, sparing Mr Brown a defeat.
However there are fears within the government that the Tories could harden up their position and back the rebels target making a government defeat more likely.