A BBC investigation has found that after more than two years the program has boosted electricity bills and given windfall profits to power companies without achieving its touted objective of slashing carbon emissions.

The prime minister, speaking on BBC TV, said climate-change awareness is gaining momentum with Americans and it’s possible the U.S. may be willing to support an agreement at the G8 summit in June on cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

With hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters predicted by climate scientists, authors of a report suggest action is needed to prevent the loss of some of the UK’s best-loved plants and wildlife.

Coal has long been seen as a dirty fuel due to high carbon emissions, a key cause of climate change.

But a new report says clean technologies already in hand can reduce the environmental damage. Moreover, unlike some renewable energy, coal can be stored and provided on demand.

Mainly due to a shift from gas to coal for electricity generation, UK’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.25 per cent last year. Environment Secretary David Miliband said the move demonstrates the need for increased action on climate change.

Birds are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the changing British climate, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has warned, with milder winters and cold snaps affecting feeding routines and disrupting migratory patterns.