Christian Aid praised the likely future PM for setting up the Environmental Transformation Fund to help finance clean energy in poor countries, but believes the incumbent chancellor has left the tough decisions to his successor.

“This is hopefully the last budget in which piecemeal policies, which may be good in their own right, are set in an attempt to trigger ad hoc cuts in emissions,” said Paul Brannen, head of the charity’s climate change campaign. “We need government to set out a clear strategy for systematic cuts.”

Dr Derek Wall, of the Green Party was more pessimistic: “Brown’s failure to act now on tackling climate change means we will pay later - as the Stern Review has shown.”

Wall said Brown had “copped out” on air passenger duty by not slapping “an additional £100… on all flights to reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes.”

Dr Wall also criticised the 30% increase for high emitting vehicles, claiming the government’s own research suggested road tax for top band gas guzzlers should be nearer £1800 rather than £400 a year. The Chancellor should also have raised fuel duty by 19p to “cut carbon more than the rest of this budget put together - some 19 million tonnes over the next year,” said Wall.

Friends of the Earth economics campaigner, Dave Timms, was also not too pleased: “With the exception of 1999, Gordon Brown’s budgets have done little to tackle climate change,” he said while claiming green taxes had fallen rather than risen in real terms over the last eight years.

“Indeed, some of his decisions, such as abandoning the fuel price escalator, have actually led to significant increases in carbon dioxide emissions.”

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