LONDON, Mar 20, 2008 -- Xinhua

Britain is likely to miss targets proposed by the European Union (EU) for renewable energy use "by a wide margin," according to a Cambridge University study.

The study by Cambridge Econometrics, a leading economics and industrial forecasting group with Cambridge University, said Britain would not meet the goal put forward by the European Commission for the country to source 15 percent of its total energy needs from renewables such as wind power and biofuels by 2020.

The study reiterated earlier warnings that the government will also miss its targets for cutting carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2010 and for renewables to make up 10 percent of electricity consumption by then.

The latest concerns come as environmentalists accused the Chancellor Alistair Darling of "tinkering in the margins" and failing to take decisive action in the budget to tackle climate change.

The UK Energy and the Environment report forecasts that renewables will account for just 6 percent of electricity consumption in 2010, up from just under 5 percent in 2006.

With fossil fuel prices remaining high and electricity demand expected to grow by 0.5 percent a year between 2010 and 2020, the share of renewables in electricity use should reach 21.75 percent by 2020, above the government's aim of 20 percent.

But the outlook for Britain to meet the EU targets for the renewables share of total energy use by 2020 - which includes transport and heating as well as electricity - looks much bleaker, the group said.

In January, the Commission unveiled proposals for how different countries would contribute to an EU-wide target of generating 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources - setting Britain's share at 15 percent - up from less than 1 percent now.

The British government vowed to play its part in meeting the ambitious targets, although there will more wrangling before a final figure is agreed on.

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