March 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said new policies to tackle climate change must be ``considered'' and ``costed,'' dismissing opposition Conservative plans for higher taxes on flights as an empty gesture.

Conservative Party leader David Cameron today pledged to impose higher taxes on frequent flyers to curb demand and cut emissions of carbon dioxide, blamed for global warming. Brown offered help and incentives to encourage households to cut energy use. The government will publish legislation tomorrow to tackle climate change that will set binding targets for cutting carbon emissions.

``Changes must be considered, costed, credible and consumer- friendly, not ill-conceived, short-termist, unworkable and unfair,'' Brown said in a speech in London to the Green Alliance, a group that lobbies the government on the environment.

Brown and Cameron, who are likely to lead their parties into the next election, are battling for dominance of the green agenda. Polls show voters believe there is little to choose between the Conservatives and ruling Labour Party on the question of which of the two has better policies for protecting the environment.

A poll by ICM for the Sunday Mirror newspaper published yesterday found 16 percent of respondents approved of the Conservatives' environmental policies, compared with 14 percent backing for Labour.

European Union leaders agreed on March 9 to increase targets for cutting greenhouse gases. Brown argued that Cameron's resistance to European integration makes it harder to achieve a global agreement on cutting carbon emissions.

`At Odds'

``Only a government fully committed to the U.K.'s role in Europe can show such leadership,'' Brown, who is likely to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair this year, said. ``Euro-skepticism and continent-wide environmental action are at odds with each other.''

Brown today said targets for cutting carbon emissions will be monitored by an independent panel and pledged assistance to insulate 8 million homes over the next decade that will reduce carbon emissions by 2 million tons each year.

He also said the U.K. will be the first country in Europe to phase out traditional light bulbs in homes in favor of more energy-efficient lighting.

Britain will press the EU to implement new energy-efficiency standards for electronic goods and to cut value-added tax rates on them, Brown said. The government will also back micro-generation of energy in homes and energy-rating certificates for households, he said.

Energy Efficiency

``Just as today no one wishes to purchase an inefficient fridge, so in the same way I believe people will be no longer wish to buy an energy inefficient home,'' Brown said.

The Conservatives said Brown's plans would cut carbon emissions by about 6 million tons a year, short of the 30 million tons pledged to the EU by Blair.

``The only thing that's green about him is the recycling of policies,'' George Osborne, Conservative spokesman on economic affairs, said in a statement.

In November, Brown doubled the tax on air passengers, though in general the government has argued that extending the EU system of carbon permits is a better way to tackle global warming.

Cameron proposed taxing domestic flights, a sliding scale of passenger duty to reflect the number of flights an individual has already taken in any given year, and taxing the number of flights rather than the number of passengers on planes.

Green Taxation

``We intend to lead the way on green taxation, as our policy work on a new carbon tax and a new approach to aviation taxation both demonstrate,'' Cameron told business leaders in London today. ``Air Passenger Duty is not directly linked to carbon emissions, and provides no incentives for airlines to use more fuel-efficient aircraft.''

Blair, reporting to Parliament on last week's climate change agreement, said the Conservative plans could harm the economy.

``The reason I am very dubious about the proposals he's put forward on air travel is that we might hit our own consumers and business very hard whereas overall the impact we make is very small worldwide,'' Blair said.

Cameron pledged to offset higher aviation taxes with tax cuts for families.

``Gordon Brown's increase in Air Passenger Duty was not matched with any alleviation of the tax burden elsewhere,'' Cameron told an audience that included Man Group Plc Chief Executive Officer Stanley Fink, Tesco Plc CEO Terry Leahy and British Sky Broadcasting Plc CEO James Murdoch.

Friends of the Earth, a London-based campaign group, urged Brown to put the environment at the heart of his budget on March 21, with incentives for consumers to switch to fuel-efficient vehicles.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net; Gonzalo Vina in London at gvina@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 12, 2007 14:45 EDT