Green use urged for carbon funds

The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, is being urged to put £54m raised from auctioning carbon credits into a dedicated fund to promote green measures in Britain.

Allowances granting the right to produce some four million tonnes of carbon went under the hammer yesterday, with each tonne selling for around £13.60. The funds, which were raised in the world's first carbon auction, go to the Treasury.

Other European countries taking part in the EU's trading scheme have ensured that all funds they raise will be put into combating climate change.

Chris Stubbs, of the WSP Environment & Energy consultancy, said the Government had "missed a trick" by not ring-fencing the money for green technology. "These revenues could be used to part-fund new, cleaner bulk-generation technologies," he said.

The Department of Energy responded that central funding will reflect its ambitious plans to tackle climate change.