A promise to consign the plastic bag to the waste bin was dismissed as mere tinkering by environmental campaigners, who accused the Chancellor of doing too little on climate change.

Alistair Darling said that he would introduce legislation to enable ministers to impose charges on plastic bags should retailers be slow in getting rid of them voluntarily.

The move was one of several designed to bolster the Government’s environmental record, but critics said that the Budget was a rather paler shade of green than they had hoped.

The Chancellor said that new laws would be brought in to introduce plastic bag charges early in 2009 “if we have not seen sufficient progress on a voluntary basis”.

Rose-tinted specs fail to offer hope

The obvious justification for Mr Darling’s relatively upbeat scenario is that the outlook is fraught with uncertainty

Background

• Darling's first Budget: the main points

• The Chancellor's speech in full

• Darlings first Budget: the reaction

• Chancellor hits the home budget as his debts soar

• Need to know: Budget 2008

The Chancellor delivers a modest Budget

As so often is the case, virtue, in terms of improving public finances, is not now, but at least a year away

Multimedia

• Video sketch: Matthew Parris and Ann Treneman

• Eco-worrier: should we be pleased?

• Green Central: round-up of the green Budget measures

Related Links

• Zero-carbon offices target ‘may be too late’

Multimedia

• Red Box: a list of Darling's new enemies

• The winners and losers

• Video: the 'fingers crossed' budget

Mr Darling’s announcement put flesh on Gordon Brown’s pledge last month to eradicate single-use bags amid concerns that they take years to degrade, pose a threat to wildlife and lead to unsightly litter. An estimated 13 billion plastic carrier bags are handed out at the tills of 21 retail groups, including the main supermar-kets, in Britain each year. Mr Darling said that his measures should reduce the quantity to 12 billion.

The group that gave the Chancellor his most whole-hearted support for moving against single-use plastic bags was the Campaign to Protect Rural England. Ben Stafford said: “With limited signs that a voluntary approach to tackling the blight of plastic bags will work, the Government is right to flag more robust measures through this Budget.”

Money raised by a plastic-bag levy would, Mr Darling promised, go to environmental charities. Climate change legislation would contain the powers to tax them.

However, Michael Laurier, of Symphony Environmental, which makes biodegradable plastics, said that no exemption had been offered to biodegradable bags, which can be made to degrade completely within a specified time.

David Symons, of the consultancy WSP Environmental, calculated that 5kg of carbon emissions would be saved for each person who stopped using plastic bags for a year.

Peter Cotgreave, of the Royal Society, said: “Those who had predicted a ‘green’ Budget unfortunately got it wrong. The Chancellor had much to say on green issues but actual action was thinner on the ground. There are some measures that could help tackle climate change but they may well only impact around the edges. They seem unlikely to result in the significant cuts to greenhouse gas emissions that are required.”

Mr Darling described tackling glo-bal warming as “our greatest obligation to future generations” as he announced targets to make all new nondomestic buildings zero-carbon by 2019. He expected that this would cut emissions by 75 million tonnes over 30 years. Smart meters will be offered to medium-sized and large companies over the next five years to encourage them to save energy, and for householders a £26 million package for the Green Homes Service would help to reduce bills and emissions.

New bands of vehicle excise duty from 2009 will reward the drivers of the cleanest cars, but campaigners were incensed at his decision to delay a 2p rise on fuel duty until October.

John Sauven, of Greenpeace, said: “Darling’s safe pair of hands have dropped the ball on climate change. His measures have failed to match the scale of the challenge we face.”

Tony Juniper, of Friends of the Earth, said: “The Chancellor promised to put sustainability at the heart of today’s announcement, but he has merely tinkered in the margins.”

Times Recommends

• Gazprom brands Ukraine 'a barbarian' in gas row
• Services sector raises fears over UK jobless
• Retailers surge as profits survive sales plunge