The Green Fiscal Commission (GFC) was launched in November 2007, with the aim of preparing the ground for a significant programme of green fiscal reform in the UK, in terms of both assembling the evidence base for such a reform, and raising stakeholder and public awareness of it.

The GFC assumes this reform should:

  1. Be clearly focused on achieving environmental benefits
  2. Be revenue neutral – that is any increase in environmental taxes should be balanced by equivalent reductions in other taxes
  3. Avoid any disproportionate impacts on already disadvantaged group
  4. Seek to mitigate any negative effects on business competitiveness and foster new sources of comparative advantage as the basis for new businesses.

The Commission is independent of government and is formed of Commissioners with wide experience drawn from a representative range of social, economic and political stakeholders. The role of the Commissioners is to review, develop and approve the outputs of the Commission and bring in expertise from their particular background to bear on the Commission’s work. Its Chairman is Robert Napier, Chairman of the Met Office and English Partnerships and its Director is Professor Paul Ekins, Professor of Energy and Environment Policy at Kings College London and formerly Head of environment Group at the Policy Studies Institute.

The Green Fiscal Commission Secretariat is provided by the Policy Studies Institute.

Further information on the Commission is available from:
Green Fiscal Commission
c/o Policy Studies Institute, 50 Hanson Street, London, W1W 6UP
tel: 020 7911 7534
email: general-enquiries@greenfiscalcommission.org.uk
website: www.greenfiscalcommission.org.uk

© Green Fiscal Commission 2008.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation as the major funder of the Green Fiscal Commission and also the Ashden Trust which has made a contribution allowing the Commission to engage in additional work beyond that originally proposed.