Guardian poll reveals Britons are ready for green taxes
22 February 2006
Green Party Principal Speaker Keith Taylor today called on the government to introduce a series of green taxes to help fight climate change, saying the taxes would not be as unpopular as it fears.
He said: "The Green Party recognises the positive role that taxation can play in changing behaviour. The problem of climate change is not just another factor that can be addressed as and when it's seen to be politically expedient; it is real and happening now and we have to do something about it.
"What this poll shows is that Britons want to see action now, not sometime never. While the government dithers on decisive action the opposition parties lack political courage and will to use their weight to bring about change. (1)
"The old chestnut that economic growth increases prosperity is challenged in the survey, where a clear majority of people identify quality of life improvements over economic expansion.
"As expert after expert, including the Prime Minister's own advisers, warn of the severity of climate change, it is simply unacceptable that gas-guzzling cars are taxed the same amount as more efficient cars, or that insulation and double glazing aren't installed as standard in new homes.
"The biggest outrage is the aviation industry, which actively increases its emissions while all other sectors are working towards reducing theirs - and all subsidised by the public. Blair prefers to wait for cleaner technology to emerge, rather than tax passengers. You have to wonder where the incentive to develop this technology will come from while the industry remains exempt from any tax, never mind pollution tax.
"It is big business the government is protecting by delaying implementing the 'polluter pays' principle Blair used to espouse, and not the consumer. Britain has shown it wants to do more to avert ecological catastrophe and it is high time the government took climate change as seriously as it pretends to."
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