London pushes green energy future

LONDON, March 31 (UPI) -- The British government announced Wednesday it is the first in the world to outline how its departments will address regional climate change.

London released its Carbon Reduction Delivery and Adaptation Plans, which outlines how each department in the government will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Adaptation plans include reforms for the agricultural sector and a push for green infrastructure in urban areas. New targets for greenhouse gas emissions call for a reduction of 34 percent of the 1999 levels by 2020.

The announcement points to international studies that predict the average global temperature will rise during the next 30 years because of past emissions. In the United Kingdom, London said, coastal erosion and abnormal seasonal weather patterns are expected.

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was a co-chairman at a multilateral summit that his government described as the "most significant climate meeting since (December talks in) Copenhagen."

The plans on the agenda for the Wednesday meeting in London include funding for the wind energy sector, new international climate action plans and more than $7 million for renewable energy development.

"We've got to dust ourselves down and kick-start efforts to get a global deal, get the climate finance flowing and make sure the cuts promised by countries happen," said British Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband.