Green lobby urges climate-friendly Budget

6 Mar 08
Environmental campaigners have urged the government to put climate change at the heart of next week's Budget, as a report by MPs warned that the Treasury was failing to act quickly enough on green taxes.

07 March 2008

Environmental campaigners have urged the government to put climate change at the heart of next week's Budget, as a report by MPs warned that the Treasury was failing to act quickly enough on green taxes.

The Commons environmental audit select committee reported on March 5 that green taxes had declined as a proportion of all taxation from a peak of 9.7% in 1999 to 7.6% in 2006.

The report also criticised the new Public Service Agreement on climate change as 'too diffuse', with no clear departmental targets for reducing emissions, and less emphasis overall on cutting emissions from the UK.

Committee chair Tim Yeo said: 'The Stern review — published by the Treasury in late 2006 — helped change the debate on the economics of climate change. But the Treasury is itself not responding with the scale and urgency that Stern recommended.

'This is even more remiss, given that since [the review] was published, the science on climate change has continued to harden, with global emissions rising faster than projected.'

The MPs said spending on reducing carbon emissions was insufficient.

World Wildlife Fund head of transport policy Peter Lockley said: 'We urge the chancellor to stand firm and not back down on his planned increase in fuel duty. He is under huge pressure from the road lobby to renege on this.'

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