"Climate change is an issue of critical importance and urgent action is needed both at home and internationally to tackle it," Environment Minister David Miliband said.

"By putting in legislation a long term goal and setting out a framework for achieving this, we are providing business with certainty over this government and future government's intentions and re-affirming the UK's commitment to taking action to meet our climate change goals."

But Tony Juniper, head of Friends of the Earth environmental group which launched the campaign for a climate law, said pressure was mounting on the government to set annual targets.

"This bill will need to be considerably strengthened. Ministers would do well to remember that two-thirds of the House of Commons (lower house of parliament) have signed up to the proposal for annual targets," he told Reuters.

His words were echoed by fellow environmentalists, although the industrialists' umbrella group -- the Confederation of British Industry -- said annual targets would not be feasible.

The Climate Change Bill is part of a legislative programme which also opens the way for charging to use roads to tackle urban traffic congestion and plans to speed up decisions on building new roads, airports and nuclear power plants.

One option open to the Labour government to underscore its environmental credentials is green taxes. Measures such as a hefty road duty on gas-guzzling cars, higher petrol duty and levies on air travel are being considered.

Some new green taxes may be included in a mini budget due in the next few weeks but they are not universally welcome.

GREEN ISSUES TO THE FORE

Surging public awareness about the potentially dire consequences of global warming from burning fossil fuels for power and transport has pushed green issues to the heart of political debate in Britain.

A report last month by former World Bank economist Nicholas Stern said failure to act now could cut 20 percent off economic output in future and plunge the world into recession.

All mainstream political parties in Britain advocate action against climate change and are flaunting their green credentials to try to woo voters.

Miliband has said the Climate Change Bill will consider appropriate interim targets and create an independent body to oversee them -- the Carbon Committee.

But he has rejected calls for annual cut targets, noting that the Kyoto Protocol on cutting global greenhouse gas emissions sets only five-year rolling targets.

An opinion poll this month showed deep distrust of green taxes among voters.