Archived press release

MPs call for rise in green taxes

5 March 2008

Today's call for a rise in green taxes by the Environmental Audit Committee [1] has been welcomed by Friends of the Earth. The Committee said that "the Treasury must respond to climate change on the scale and with the urgency recommended in the Stern review".

Friends of the Earth, which is calling on the Chancellor to deliver on his promise to put sustainability at the heart of his forthcoming Budget [2], has produced a blueprint for a green Budget. It outlines a variety of measures that Mr Darling must adopt to help the UK to develop a low-carbon economy [3], including a windfall tax on energy companies to finance a £5 billion Climate Change Super-Fund to kickstart a programme to help eliminate fuel poverty, and a £10 billion tax shift programme raising taxes on pollution and cutting taxes on income, jobs and people.

Friends of the Earth's Economics Co-ordinator Simon Bullock said:

"Carbon dioxide emissions have risen under Labour. We've had enough of half measures and green spin. The Chancellor must put climate change at the heart of next week's Budget and make it cheaper and easier for people to go green."

In its report, `The 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review: An environmental analysis', the Committee says there is little evidence so far that the Treasury has taken on board the recommendations made in the Stern Review. The EAC says that green taxes have declined and investment in vital technologies such as carbon capture and storage has fallen far short of the step-change in investment required.

In December 2007, Mr Darling pledged that "Sustainability will be at the heart of the next Budget. This is not an optional extra. It is essential for all our futures."

Comprehensive Friends of the Earth briefing - Budget 2008 and climate change (PDF† )

Friends of the Earth has drawn up five key measures for the Chancellor to adopt:

1. Make it easier and cheaper for people to go green. Measures should include:

   • A stamp duty rebate for people installing renewable technologies or energy efficiency measures in their homes

   • Funds for councils to give council tax rebates for people installing energy efficiency measures in their homes

   • A feed-in-tariff guaranteeing a premium price for small scale renewable electricity generated in people's homes and by businesses

   • A £1 billion fund for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, with a 50 per cent grant to help householders with the up-front capital costs of installing renewable technologies

   • Car purchase tax on new cars to accelerate the shift to buying low carbon vehicles

2. Create an immediate £5 billion Climate Change Super-Fund to kickstart a much more effective programme to eliminate fuel poverty by placing a windfall tax on energy companies.

3. Announce a £10 billion tax shift programme raising taxes on pollution and cutting taxes on income, jobs and people.

4. Set a new `green' Golden Rule for Government. Monitored at Budget time, the Government should ensure that the sum of all its policies will keep the UK within its carbon budget.

5. Toughen up the UK's involvement in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EUETS) to boost low-carbon innovation in the UK.

†To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust