Gordon Brown today called for a "technological revolution" similar to the development of the steam engine to combat the effects of global warming.

The Prime Minister promised to cut Britain's carbon dioxide emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2050. He then went further, promising to consider reducing them by as much as 80 per cent, in his first speech on the environment since coming to power.

Doing so would require drastic changes to the UK's energy sector, he said, creating new business opportunities. The added value of the low carbon energy sector to the worldwide economy could potentially be as high as three trillion dollars per year, and it could create 25 million jobs, of which one million would be in Britain.

Environmental groups gave the speech a lukewarm reaction, however, saying that the Prime Minister would have to back up his words with action.

And the Conservatives accused Mr Brown of missing a series of environmental targets over the last few years, including presiding over cuts to environmental services worth £300 million.

The speech, hosted by the World Wildlife Fund, was regarded as a key chance to set out Britain's position two weeks before the UN's climate change conference in Bali, at which time world leaders will attempt to launch a long-term strategy to tackle climate change.

Mr Brown told his audience at the Foreign Press Association that Britain produces 654 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which would have to be cut to between 155 and 310 by 2050.

"This means a significant change in our energy economy. Indeed, I believe it will require no less than a fourth technological revolution," he said.

"In the past, the steam engine, the internal combustion engine and the microprocessor transformed not just technology but the way society was organised and the way people lived.

"Now we are about to embark on a comparable technological transformation, to low-carbon energy and energy efficiency."

The Prime Minister added that his Government's Climate Change Bill would place a statutory cap on Britain's emissions by at least 60 per cent, and possibly as high as 80 per cent by 2050, and between 26 per cent and 32 per cent by 2020.

He added that the Government would support the development of new car technologies such as commercial hybrid engines, plug-in hybrids, electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells.

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