UK Climate Change Bill Could Come With High Costs

November 25, 2008 7:23 a.m. EST

London, England (AHN) - The UK's climate change bill, which is set to become law this week, could cost the average household about $15,000 a year, according to a member of the British Parliament.

The government's cost for the bill up to 2050 may far outweigh its benefits, Peter Lilley wrote in a column for the BBC.

The British government estimates the bill could cost up to $441 billion by 2050, while its benefits are only calculated to be up to $73 billion by the same time, according to Lilley.

A spokesman for the British Department of Energy and Climate Change told the BBC that government estimates consider a range of costs and benefits, "and it's not possible to assume the upper end of both."

The bill aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 26 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and by 80 percent by 2050.