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THE TELEGRAPH – 13/05/2010
This blog entry, by Jeremy Warner, argues that a carbon tax would be politically more acceptable than a VAT hike. Warner points to surveys highlighting a reasonable level of public support for green taxes on the basis of their environmental credentials, and suggests they could raise significant revenue, even allowing for long-term behaviour change. He also suggests that a carbon tax could serve to remove ‘much of the awkwardness around the nuclear power debate’; as fossil fuels become more expensive with the introduction of green taxes, nuclear power may become more commercially viable. Read the blog entry…
THE TIMES – 10/05/2010
This article highlights opposition amongst consumer watchdogs and business groups against proposals to introduce a renewable heat incentive in April 2011. Concerns have been raised that such an incentive will lead to sharp rises in energy bills, only benefiting those who can afford to install renewable heating devices such as biomass boilers, solar-thermal water heaters or ground-source heat pumps. It has been suggested that this initiative will cost consumers twice as much as the existing mechanism for subsidising renewable energy, potentially raising domestic energy bills by 9-21%. Read the article…
THE BBC – 11/05/2010
A group of 14 academics from Europe, North America and Japan have produced a report, the Hartwell Paper, arguing that climate change can best be ameliorated by pursuing ‘politically attractive and relentlessly pragmatic options that also curb emissions’. They highlight that the failure of the UN process and the ‘ClimateGate’ issue necessitate a significant reframing of the climate change issue. One of the authors, Mike Hulme, writes ‘climate change has been represented as a conventional environmental ‘problem’ that is capable of being ‘solved’. It is neither of these. Yet this framing has locked the world into the rigid agenda that brought us to the dead end of Kyoto, with no evidence of any discernable acceleration of decarbonisation whatsoever’. The group advocate an initial focus on short-term fixes for greenhouse gases or other warming agents, such as black carbon, followed by the implementation of a hypothecated carbon tax in developed economies to fund the research, development and roll-out of low carbon energy technologies. Meanwhile, rather than providing new climate adaptation funds to developing countries, all developed countries should be bound to meet the internationally agreed target of contributing 0.7% of their GDP to overseas aid.
Others, such as the German Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, however, argue that ‘the paper’s focus away from CO2 is misguided, short-sighted and probably wrong’.
Read the article…
THE STAR – 04/10/2010
This article comments on the delays in putting environmental pledges into action across America, Australia and Canada. It indicates increasing calls in both America and Australia for carbon levies/taxes rather than cap and trade schemes in light of the current economic situation, but highlights the difficulties faced by Stéphane Dion in Canada when he tried to win an election campaign whilst promising the introduction of a ‘Green Shift’. Having said that, British Columbia Premier, Gordon Campbell was re-elected last year following the implementation of such a tax. The article emphasises the simplicity of a carbon tax and calls for Canadian politicians to revisit the proposal; ‘rebrand it, rename it, recycle it. Call it an ‘interim carbon levy’ or a ‘pollution surtax’’. Read the article…
THE GLOBE AND MAIL – 12/01/2010
This article draws on the findings of an independent study into stimulus packages in various major countries, which show that the share of ‘green’ plans in Canada’s package is the second lowest of all countries studied. Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, prefers to treat the problem as an engineering, technological one, whereby subsidies and investments in projects will substantially bring down emissions. This article highlights that this approach contravenes the findings of many studies – including those by the Green Fiscal Commission – which show the most effective means for reducing emissions to be putting a price on carbon. Doing so in Canada, however, is not a popular option, as illustrated in the last national election. The article suggests that Canadians ‘like two cars, often large ones, and they like low gas prices. They like bigger and better television sets that use more electricity than smaller ones’. Read the article…
THE ECONOMIST – 03/01/09
This article draws on public opinion polls conducted in America to highlight that support for carbon mitigation policies is influenced by three key factors. The first is price sensitivity; in a poll in August, 58% respondents said they would support a cap-and-trade system that increased monthly electricity bills by $10, but this dropped to 39% for an increase of $25. Secondly, there seems to be a distinct lack of awareness and understanding about cap-and-trade policies and what these would entail; 55% of respondents in October’s Pew poll had never heard of cap-and-trade. Thirdly, scepticism seems to be on the rise, with the Pew poll showing a fall in the proportion of Americans that believe there is solid evidence of rising temperatures, from 71% in April 2008 to 57% in October 2009. The proportion of respondents blaming rising temperatures on human activity also fell by 11% over that period. Polls elsewhere – e.g. in the EU and Australia – have also shown shifts in attitudes, possibly as a result of recession. A poll published by the European Commission, for example, showed a fall in the number of EU citizens who saw climate change as the world’s gravest problem from 62% in spring 2008 to 50% in July 2009. Read the article…
THE TELEGRAPH – 04/11/09
This article highlights the Welsh Assembly Government’s announcement of plans to introduce a 15p charge on plastic bags from early 2011, with all revenues to be used on environmental projects. Shops will be responsible for collecting the cash and spending it on green campaigns. It is hoped this will encourage more shoppers to take reusable bags to supermarkets. Welsh Environment Minister, Jane Davidson, said ‘carrier bags represent a waste of resources and they are an iconic symbol of the throwaway society we now seem to live in’. The British Retail Consortium has argued that customers should be encouraged to change, and not ‘clobbered’ with new ‘taxes’. Read the article…
26/10/09
The Sunday Times highlights the findings of the Green Fiscal Commission’s final report, to be launched today at Portcullis House by Professor Paul Ekins and Robert Napier. The article describes the benefits of doubling the proportion of green taxes from the current 7% and the importance of offsetting these rises with cuts to income tax and National Insurance contributions. It describes the report’s findings as a raft of ‘eco-taxes’ aimed at curtailing activities, of both individuals and businesses, that use natural resources or create pollution. Read the article…
The Press Association reiterates that the report does not intend to offer a specific package of recommendations for action, but models a variety of options for an eco-tax system of the future. Read the article…
The Guardian highlights Greenpeace’s response to the report, which supports green taxes as ‘one of the critical planks in tackling climate change…although a key thing is to ensure that we safeguard social justice’. The article highlights that the report has cross-party support, including the shadow climate change secretary, Greg Barker’s, comment that the Conservatives would consider the report recommendations seriously…
The Daily Mail and Express focus more on the risk of placing additional burdens on motorists and the adverse implications for the car manufacturing industry. SKY News, however, highlights that these measures are needed to drive the transformation to a low carbon society and that other European countries are already leading the way in this regard.
N.B. Some newspaper reports have inaccurately reported that Lord Adair Turner (Chair of the Committee on Climate Change) is launching the report findings. Lord Turner will take part in a panel debate to take place tonight, in order to respond to the report’s findings, alongside other representatives, but Lord Turner has not contributed to the content of the report, either in his position as Chair of the Committee on Climate Change or as Chair of the Financial Services Authority.
THE BBC – 23/10/09
This article highlights a petition launched by a group of wealthy Germans calling for the government to make wealthy people pay higher taxes. The group believe they have more money than they need and that the extra revenue could fund much needed investment in ecology, education and social justice. Dieter Lehmkuhl initiated the petition and argued that those who had ‘made a fortune through inheritance, hard work, successful entrepreneurship, or investment’ should pay more to help alleviate the current financial crisis, suggesting that if they all paid tax for two years, Germany could raise €100bn. Signatory Peter Vollmer said his reason for signing the petition was that he had inherited ‘a lot of money I don’t need’ and that the tax would be a ‘viable and socially acceptable way out of a flagrant budget crisis’. Read the article…
THE BBC – 24/07/09
In this article, Roger Harrabin highlights evidence from a new report produced by the Commons Transport Committee that driving is getting cheaper compared with other forms of transport. MPs argue that if government is to hit its targets for reducing emissions, it has to prevent car use from becoming even cheaper than using the bus or train, and that ministers must be more open and honest about the purpose of road taxes. Harrabin suggests the growing disparity in car, bus and rail costs creates ‘a vicious spiral in which travellers reject buses because they’re expensive which, in turn, reduces passenger numbers and forces bus firms to put up prices and reduce services, thereby resulting in even more people using their cars’. On top of this, the government has plans to increase rail fares 1% above inflation year-on-year and has no policy on fares at all, preferring ‘to leave it to the market’. These policies (or lack of) directly contradict the plans laid out in the UK’s overall low carbon strategy. Read the article…
Reuters also highlights motorists’ complaints regarding ministers’ inconsistent attempts to justify fuel tax rises; fuel duty has been presented, at different times, as a tool to reduce carbon emissions, a source of general revenue, and a means to fund transport investment. This article also comments on the poor handling of the VED changes proposed in the 2008 budget.
The Guardian comments on the report’s recommendation for a voluntary ‘pay-as-you-drive’ scheme, which could be used as a substitute for excise duty or fuel duty payments. It highlights, however, that road pricing remains a politically toxic subject for the government after nearly two million people signed an online Downing Street petition condemning the concept two years ago. Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, emphasised that motorists would not back a revised road tax system with the ‘apparent sole intention of shoring up the nation’s ailing finances…for any radical policy to be successful, public trust in the politicians introducing it is essential. That trust is lacking’. Also highlighted are the results of an AA poll indicating that 86% of UK drivers do not believe the government would deliver a fair road-pricing programme.
Read the report – ‘Taxes and charges on road users’ – produced by the Commons Transport Committee.
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