The Government should invest in solar panels for official buildings in order to cut carbon emissions linked to global warming, a Commons inquiry has warned.

MPs found that departments were failing to meet targets for reducing emissions – and may have to pay large sums to the private sector under a carbon trading scheme.

The scheme allows organisations to sell their allocation of emissions, effectively punishing those which fail to protect the environment and rewarding those which succeed.

An inquiry by the Commons Environmental Audit Committee praised the Government for succeeding in cutting pollution from its fleet of vehicles, where emissions have been cut by 10 per cent.

But it found that departments had been less successful in reducing emissions from its buildings, mainly because it had failed to improve energy efficiency sufficiently.

MP Tim Yeo, the committee's chairman, said: "Cutting Government energy bills with better insulation, solar panels and new heat and power boilers could save us lots of money in the long run—but Ministers have so far lacked the vision to invest for the future."

Carbon dioxide emissions from offices have fallen by just 6.3 per cent since 1999-2000.

The proportion of energy used which was from renewable sources actually fell from 28.3 per cent in 2006-2007 to 22 per cent in 2007-2008.

And recycling rates dropped from 38.5 per cent in 2006-2007 to 35 per cent in 2007-2008.

As a result, the Government will fail to meet its target of a 12.5 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide by 2010/11, the committee warned.

This could mean taxpayers have to pay for large amounts of carbon allowances under the Carbon Reduction Commitment - a carbon trading scheme which covers businesses, local authorities and public sector organisations above a certain size.

Mr Yeo said: "Unless the Government gets its house in order taxpayers could end up paying a heavy price to buy carbon credits from the private sector.

"In too many areas, like emissions of carbon dioxide from offices, it has made  little or no progress and in others it is backsliding."

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