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At the time of BSj going to press, emissions from the shipping and aviation sectors looked set be included in the UK鈥檚 targets, for cutting greenhouse gases.

The government narrowly avoided a backbench rebellion following energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband鈥檚 pledge to cut the UK鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

In his first statement in charge of the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, Miliband said the government would make the target binding in law by amending the Climate Change Bill currently in Parliament.

However, the initial exclusion of the aviation and shipping sectors from the targets was criticised by environmental campaigners and backbenchers, with over 50 Labour MPs demanding that the sectors be included.

The government has now indicated that both sectors would be 鈥渢aken into account.鈥�

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: 鈥淭he government is determined that international aviation and shipping should be part of a comprehensive approach for tackling climate change.鈥�

In response, Friends of the Earth executive director, Andy Atkins said: "The final piece of the jigsaw is in place. The world's first climate change law will also be a world class climate change law.

鈥淭he climate change law is a victory in the fight against climate change and a victory for the hundreds of thousands of people who have campaigned to make this happen.鈥�

Miliband said he plans to amend the Energy Bill, also before Parliament, to introduce a 鈥渇eed-in tariff鈥� to support small scale renewables.

The new Department for Energy and Climate Change brings together much of the Climate Change Group previously housed within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Energy Group from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

Miliband was appointed to head the department in the Cabinet reshuffle of early October.