Greenpeace today took a message about the real cost of fuel to lorry drivers protesting in Edinburgh about fuel prices by sending vans emblazoned with 'GLOBAL WARMING KILLS - KEEP THE FUEL TAX' to join the convoy.
According to the World Health Organisation, 160,000 people are already dying every year as a result of floods, droughts, storms and disease caused by climate change. If our dependence on oil is not reduced the figures are set to increase dramatically.
Rob Gueterbock, Greenpeace climate campaigner, said:
"These lorry drivers are wrong to call for the government to cut the tax. Global warming is the biggest threat to mankind and is already killing tens of thousands of people every year and devastating the lives of millions of others. The financial cost will run into billions. We need fuel taxes as a vital part of the fight against global warming.
Fuel tax is fair, because the polluter pays
"Cheaper fuel means we use more fuel. Overall the real cost of motoring is the same as it was 20 years ago. The government needs to send us all a signal that fuel is going to get more expensive over the next decade or so. Only then will people cut down on their car use, manufacturers mass produce green cars, oil companies sell us green fuels and policy makers sort out public transport.
"Fuel tax is actually a fair tax because the polluter pays. It taxes everyone who uses it by the amount they use it. A quarter of all families in Britain don't even have a car. What they need is access to good public transport.
"Blair and Brown say they care about global warming and the world's poorest people. If that's true they must stand firm and implement the duty increase as planned."
Since the last fuel protests, hauliers have already benefited from a halving of vehicle excise duty and duty on diesel has been reduced by 13% in real terms. There are also substantial incentives to convert lorries to run on alternative fuels.
Greenpeace is calling on the Government to send a clear signal that the price of oil-based petrol and diesel will increase steadily, and to make plant-based biodiesels and road fuel gas much more widely available on the forecourts. Any existing diesel engine can run on biodiesel without modification, and most vehicles can be converted to run on road fuel gases. The group is also calling on the road haulage industry to lead the way to the future hydrogen economy. Within 10 years our road haulage fleet could and should be running on hydrogen.
Further Information
For more information contact:
Greenpeace Press office on 020 7865 8255 or 07717 704577
