Currently reading: 'Fuel prices should stay high'
Government watchdog wants to see fuel prices kept high to force motorists into green cars

Fuel prices should be kept permanently high as a way of forcing drivers into smaller and more fuel efficient cars, according to the government’s climate change watchdog.

The Committee for Climate Change has advised the government that a minimum price for petrol and diesel should be introduced to make sure Britain meets its targets for emissions reductions.

“We know that people buy more efficient cars if the petrol price remains consistently high,” said the committee’s chief executive David Kennedy.

In its report to parliament, the Committee said that fuel duty needed to be increased to balance out reductions in oil prices and there should be a bigger gap between the cost of tax on the most and least polluting cars, with drivers of the most fuel efficient cars also qualifying for grants.

AA president Edmund King described the committee’s plans as “unrealistic”.

“People are already moving to more fuel efficient cars so there is no need to punish them by keeping the cost of fuel excessively high," he told The Times.

Tom Gregory

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mattsm 4 July 2010

Re: 'Fuel prices should stay high'

This is actually a bit of a problem. once the electric cars zip past other cars in mpg and other areas it would be really interesting to see the situation.

tannedbaldhead 3 July 2010

Re: 'Fuel prices should stay high'

Straight Six Man wrote:
"No comment" is as good as "Yes guv, it was me guv, I did it guv!"

Slander.

Gilesme 1 July 2010

Re: 'Fuel prices should stay high'

mantaray wrote:

ever heard of a bike rack? Thats what I used to do......on my saloon car, with a seperate boot (remember those?)

And tbh, how often do you carry kiddy bikes around?

At least once, maybe twice a week. I have two bike racks - but it's a lot easier to chuck 2 bikes in the S-Max than to attach the detachable towbar, then fit the rack and bikes. If I have the racks on, I cant get into the boot (even though they tilt) - so ferrying the dog around is a pain.

I had a saloon - seat toledo - as a second car. Part of the reason I got rid was due to the limited boot aperture (although the boot itself was huuuuge - Spanish airport run, anyone ?).