Home > Press releases > Archived press releases > 2003 > Brown reduces incentives to go green
9 April 2003
This year's Budget is "deeply unambitious and disappointing" Friends of the Earth said today. Although the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has acknowledged the need for green tax reform, this year's Budget did little to help protect the environment. Furthermore, the Chancellor has weakened previous environmental measures, such as air passenger duty, the climate change levy and fuel duty, by freezing them at last year's levels.
The Government's lack of ambition is a big worry. This year's Budget is the first since the Energy White Paper aimed at shifting energy supply from fossil fuels and nuclear to renewable energy, the Cabinet Office review of waste policy called for the focus to be placed on waste minimisation and recycling and the Social Exclusion Unit identified poor transport as a barrier to accessing work, learning, health care and leisure activities. None of these pressing issues can be adequately tackled without action from the Chancellor. However, except for modest increases in the landfill tax and welcome reforms to the landfill tax credit scheme (a separate release will be available shortly), he delivered little of any significance.
Friends of the Earth's Executive Director, Tony Juniper said:
"This budget is deeply unambitious and disappointing. Worse still, the Chancellor has reduced incentives to go green by freezing air passenger duty, fuel duty and the climate change levy. Ministerial statements on the environment are very welcome, but money talks louder. In this budget the Chancellor could have done much more to harness the power of the economy for the protection of the planet. Once again lobbying from big business, with all their vested interest, appears to have been successful. This does not augur well for the coming consultations on green tax policies for aviation and agro-chemicals, which companies are already opposing."
For further information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.
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