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Mr Clegg said a balance must be struck between "getting bills down" and "keeping the lights on"
The prime minister's announcement that he wanted to "roll back" green levies pushing up energy bills was unexpected, Nick Clegg has said.
"It's not something that I fully agree with," the deputy prime minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The Lib Dem leader confirmed that the government was to look into whether its environmental policies could be delivered more cost-effectively.
They may be funded in future from taxes rather than green levies, he suggested.
But he insisted that the coalition's environmental objectives "remain clear and stable".
And Downing Street later said work was under way to examine how green levies "can be rolled back from the bills" and paid for by alternative funding.
'Big argument'During his Today interview Mr Clegg said in the weeks ahead he and Mr Cameron "will stress-test all these different levies".
"Start Quote
End Quote Prime Minister David CameronWe need to help people pay their bills and we need to help to get bills down. We need to roll back some of the green regulations and charges that are putting up bills."
"If we can deliver those objectives of keeping the lights on, insulating people's homes helping the fuel-poor, supporting the green economy for less, of course I don't want to see an extra penny go on people's bills that is absolutely necessary."
But funding for "looking after the environment, securing thousands of jobs in the renewable green sector, and... giving deductions on people's fuel bills for two million of the poorest households in our country" should not end, he argued.
This was not the biggest factor driving up energy bills, Mr Clegg added: "In fact, 60% of the increase in energy bills since 2010 have come from wholesale prices."
There was, he said, a "big argument" on energy policy, especially since Labour's announcement that it plans to freeze energy bills for 20 months if it wins the next general election.
"You've got an argument from Ed Miliband, and it is a con, by the way: his freeze would see prices go up, jobs go down, investment go down.
"And then you appear to have a new kind of theory emerging from the right of British politics, which says it is all the fault of us caring about the environment.
"I don't accept either of those propositions."
Mr Clegg also stressed that he was confident he and the prime minister could "resolve" their differences on the policy.
'Panicky U-turn'On Wednesday at his weekly Commons question session, Mr Cameron told MPs: "We need to help people pay their bills and we need to help to get bills down.
"We need to roll back some of the green regulations and charges that are putting up bills."
What is an average energy bill made up of?
- UK household dual fuel - i.e. electricity and gas - bills in 2013 are estimated to be about £1,267, based on average levels of energy consumption
- Green energy measures make up 9% of that cost, or £112
- Source: Department of Energy and Climate Change
The Liberal Democrats subsequently accused the PM of making a "panicky U-turn".
A senior Lib Dem source said Mr Cameron had got "cold feet" on environmental policy promises.
In the Commons, Mr Miliband said 60% of green taxes had been introduced by the current government and reminded the prime minister of his stated ambition to lead the "greenest government" ever.
The Labour leader said that Mr Cameron "was changing his policy every day of the week".
"His energy secretary says it is nothing to do with green taxes. And who is the man who said 'Vote blue to go green'? It was him," he added.
In a speech later, Mr Miliband is expected to argue that the PM has "lost control" of his government amid differences between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on energy policy.
Mr Miliband will accuse the PM of "weakness" and offering no solution to rising household costs, according to pre-released extracts of the speech.
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