Renewable energy will play a "crucial part" in Britain's energy future according to Chancellor George Osborne. In his annual Budget address he said he wants renewable energy at the lowest possible costs to energy bill payers. He stated: "I will always be alert to the costs we are asking families and businesses to bear. Environmentally sustainable has to be fiscally sustainable too." Announcing a new gas strategy, Osborne said: "Gas is cheap [and] has much less carbon than coal."