AMBITIOUS is probably the best word to describe this week's proposals from the Government's Committee on Climate Change.

At a time when many businesses are still trying to come to terms with the prevailing economic conditions, energy generation and related emissions have been placed firmly back on the agenda.

That's thanks to Monday's very weighty report from this Committee.

Its members are what amounts to the UK Government's official advisory body on climate change, which presumably means somebody must be listening to what they are saying.

Among the recommendations – or demands – contained in their report is for Britain to slash greenhouse gasses by a fifth of current levels by 2020.

Think about that. In a little over a decade, we're to reduce our CO² emissions by a whopping 20%.

To help us all achieve this, the committee proposes "firm" carbon budgets for each of the next three and five-year periods.

The report says that, in order to achieve these targets, fuel will inevitably become more expensive. But, instead of trying to keep prices down, the boffins behind the report are urging the Government to consider compensating poorer households.

And that's surely going to be a major test of the political will that may – or may not – exist to support the recommendations.