Alistair Darling’s first budget today promises to be Labour’s most environmentally challenging to date. With rising carbon emissions causing concern around the world, Darling’s main aim is to push through biofuel use and decarbonise road transport, introducing extra charges to heavy petrol consuming car users.
Part of the plan is to add an extra £2,000 ‘showroom tax’ to the bigger petrol drinking 4 wheeler’s, whilst meetings with the bigger car companies to inform consumers which cars let off the biggest emissions are also on the agenda. A new coloured tax disc is also in the offing, with the more environmentally orientated cars possibly paying cheaper parking rates and road tax than the bigger, carbon emitting roadsters.
The government is looking to insist on only non rainforest damaging, sustainable bio fuel being used by companies, as well as doubling the amount of bio fuel used in petrol and diesel to 5% which is great news for enivornmental charities such as the WWF and Greenpeace. Another key feature of the budget looks to be postponing the expected 2p a litre fuel rise till the Autumn, which may please punters in the short term, but will also take nearly £500million out of the budget expenditure which could have been spread around other enivornmental problem areas, which from the look of things, there could be many.
