MPs vote through Climate Change Bill

The UK's Climate Change Bill now looks certain to be passed into law by December, after MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the legislation following the government's amendments last week to toughen the bill.

MPs voted by 463 votes to three to pass the bill, which will now go to the House of Lords for approval in about two weeks before finally being passed into law by December.

The bill was passed after a the government undertook a policy u-turn, not only raising the 2050 emissions reduction target from 60 per cent to 80 per cent, but also introducing an amendment that will see aviation and shipping included in the targets once a way of measuring international emissions has been developed.

Backbench MPs had threatened to derail legislation unless both aviation and shipping were included.

"This will make us the first country in the world to enshrine in law binding climate change targets and stretching ambitious targets, and they need to be so, to 80 per cent by 2050," said climate change minister Ed Miliband.

The bill makes it likely that mid-size businesses will be required to report on carbon emissions annually.

The government is now expected to develop a common standard for businesses to report their emissions with a view to mandating carbon emission reporting by 2012.

Any legislation would extend carbon reporting obligations beyond the heavy polluters and large firms already covered by the EU emissions trading scheme or the carbon reduction commitment to include small and medium sized businesses.