British drivers will be hit by a massive increase in motoring taxes if the recommendations of an influential environmental think-tank are accepted by the government.
The Green Fiscal Commission, which is looking into ways to help the UK meet agreed targets for CO2 reductions, is recommending that taxes on 'high-carbon' activities should be dramatically increased, while at the same time other taxation is lowered.
Controversial options suggested by the Commission include a £300 tax on new cars, rising to £3300 by 2020, and the tripling of fuel duty over the same period.
The Commission was established in 2007 to consider ways to reduce CO2 emissions. Senior members of all three political parties serve on it.
"We've had it as a given that energy is cheap, so we have been wasteful. This has to change and the only way to do that is to make the polluters pay," said the report's author, Paul Elkins, a professor at University College London.
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Re: Government told to triple fuel tax
It's sad that certain posters are more interested in ranting about my attitude to a little bit of public protest that took place 20 to 30 odd years ago and my poor spelling rather than addressing my comments on the economic factors dictating fuel prices.
Re: Government told to triple fuel tax
We should all be aware that the most probable urgent danger from more Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere is not "Global Warming" or "Climate Change" but the possible physiological effect on us all through increased CO2 encouraging Virus activty, eg Swine Flu and Novovirus and the possible effect on Ocean life.
see www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/climatechange_grunhausproject.pdf
and
http://royalsociety.org/document.asp?id=3249
http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/features/story.aspx?id=265
re acidification
Re: Government told to triple fuel tax