The trade and industry secretary has said that tackling climate change is a key issue for the Labour Party.
Speaking at the Labour Party's annual conference in Manchester, Alistair Darling said the UK "must do more" to meet its goal of 60 per cent reduction in CO2 by 2050.
Addressing delegates on Monday morning, he said the UK had proved it could compete in the global marketplace, but cautioned that with globalisation came a series of threats including global warming.
Criticising Tory leader David Cameron for raising awareness of climate change by "flying his jet to ice glaciers in Norway" and then pledging to scrap the climate change levy, Darling said: "If you want to tackle climate change, you have to have the courage to take the tough decisions and see them through."
"We need to reduce the demand for energy in business and at home and our proposals will do that," he added.
"We need to be more efficient in the way we use energy."
Meeting CO2 emission reduction targets would require more large scale wind farms and use of nuclear power, he insisted.
The government's renewables obligation, announced as part of the energy review, aims to generate five times more renewable energy than at present.
He said that action was already being taken, pointing to a project in the west of Scotland which will be "the largest wind farm anywhere in Europe".
More controversially, he insisted that nuclear power continues to have a role to play.
"We need a mix of electricity generation including nuclear power", he added.
The trade secretary also sought to outline the wider challenges of globalisation.
"The challenge before us is how we seize the huge opportunities that come with globalisation and at the same time making sure that everyone can benefit," Darling said.
He added that the UK could not compete with countries such as China, India and Brazil on low wages or low skills and "nor should we".
Britain should instead continue competing on quality and excellence.
Aerospace, science and research and financial and legal services were among the sectors experiencing strong growth, he said.
And there are over 600,000 more small businesses now than in 1997.
"Since we were elected to government, we have shown how we have been able to build and maintain a strong economy creating nearly two and a half million new jobs," Darling said.
"We now need to show how we are preparing this country to seize the opportunities before us."
