THE government has fallen behind even the "toxic Texan", President George Bush, in backing moves towards new technologies to combat climate change, according to the SNP leader.

Alex Salmond will today use a debate at Westminster to highlight his case for swift support from the government for a BP and Scottish and Southern Energy plan to build a hydrogen power plant in his constituency, with the carbon dioxide emissions from the Peterhead plant being piped into emptying oil wells.

The "carbon capture" technology is untested, but the oil and energy companies are in a consortium which has spent nearly GBP50m so far in designing an experimental plant using North Sea pipelines.