Tony Blair has said Britain needs to do more to reduce its carbon emissions, during a grilling by MPs.
The prime minister said: "We have done better than most countries, but we haven't done well enough."
He said it most important to get an international agreement, rather than just penalising Britons, who were only a small part of the overall problem.
He is being quizzed by 30 chairmen of Commons select committees on issues from public services to foreign policy.
The prime minister is expected to be grilled for nearly three hours on national and international affairs, in his 10th appearance before the Commons liaison committee.
'Fairer wind'
Mr Blair began by outlining his policy reviews and defending his record on climate change and carbon emissions.
Environmental Audit Committee chairman Tim Yeo asked him if he was happy that carbon emissions were higher in his last months in office, than they were when he became prime minister in 1997.
Mr Blair said if it hadn't been for measures like the Climate Change Levy, things would have been worse.
He said the government's Climate Change Bill would outline a more rigorous approach to reducing CO2 emissions.
Policies could include allowing people to measure their own "carbon footprint" to help them take steps to reduce it.
Mr Blair said there was now a "fairer wind" behind climate change policies than there had been when he first came to power.
Challenges
Britain had "been a leader in the climate change debate" and had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions "significantly".
Asked about green taxes on things like air flights and fuel, Mr Blair said "you've got to balance these things and get them right" adding that "however radical proposals are they have also got to be sensible".
He said that he knew that much of what he had to say might not be popular with green groups, but the fact was government could not impose massive additional fuel duties without risking a backlash like the fuel protests of 2000.
At the start of the session it was made clear that Mr Blair had agreed to face the committee chairmen again after he has announced he is stepping down - which he is due to do by September.
Mr Blair also gave the committee an outline of his on-going programme of policy reviews, reviews which, he said, were setting out the challenges facing the country over the next ten years, rather than writing any manifesto for his successor as prime minister.
First published on BBC Website |