He also announced that up to four clean technology plants will be funded by a new incentive mechanism. The new plants include a post-combustion demonstrator and up to three further projects with pre-combustion technology.

"CCS is the only technology with the potential to reduce emissions from fossil fuels by up to 90%. But there must be a global effort to develop this technology and the UK is in a strong position to lead this charge," says Miliband.

Coal currently accounts for 37%, or 29 gigawatts