Chris Huhne today delivered a speech at the Liberal Democrat conference, arguing that climate change policies could not be dropped as a measure of cutting costs. He stated that "cutting carbon is not a luxury to be ditched when the going gets tough" and claimed that in fact carbon reduction could lead to an increase in available jobs.

Mr Huhne stated that the green deal would lead to a new "green industrial revolution", creating 250,000 jobs by 2030.

In his speech, Mr Huhne also spoke about making energy companies inform customers when cheaper deals are available. This will result in the cheapest available tarffis displayed on the bills sent out to customers, so they are aware when savings can be made. This would be regulated by the energy regulator Ofgem, who could order energyu providers to refund customers if rules are broken.

The speech is a further indication of how seriously the coalition government consider green issues, and the future and implications of the government's policies will be discussed at The Carbon Show 2011.