Greenpeace is urging Gordon Brown to use this year's budget to tackle climate change by supporting energy efficiency, ending fuel poverty and increasing taxes on petrol, inefficient vehicles such as SUVs and aviation.Ahead of the Chancellor's pre-budget statement this Thursday, Greenpeace announced the top action points he must implement to confront climate change. They are:
- End fuel poverty and encourage energy efficiency. Set high energy efficiency standards for social housing and provide financial incentives and grants to encourage energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings. Energy efficient buildings should be eligible for reductions in Council Tax and Stamp Duty. In addition, there should be zero VAT on energy efficient products.
- Make a clear commitment to increase the cost of petrol and diesel. The government needs to send a clear message to car manufacturers and the public that current levels of CO2 emissions and pollution from transport are unacceptable if we are to combat climate change. Revenue raised should be used to improve public transport.
- Make Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) progressive. VED should be dramatically increased for inefficient vehicles such as SUVs. Incentives should be provided for state-of-the-art fuel efficient vehicles.
- Tax aviation. Tax aviation fuel and increase air passenger duty (APD) to reflect the true environmental impact of flying.
Stephen Tindale, Greenpeace's Executive Director, said: "By rewarding energy efficiency and increasing taxes on dangerous and polluting forms of transport, Brown can help to combat climate change and end fuel poverty.
"Brown must go green in this year's budget. It's an opportunity to help save thousands of lives."
For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.
