Wednesday 12 March 2008

Measures to increase air passenger duty, car tax penalties for the most polluting cars, inviting tenders on road pricing and the potential tax on plastic bags are welcome. However, WWF is disappointed that the Government has gone back on its commitment to increase fuel duty in the short term and that no new green tax breaks for energy efficient households have been announced.

"The starting point is that we must cut our emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 if we are to avert dangerous climate change," said David Nussbaum, Chief Executive of WWF-UK.

"Central to this should be urgent, consistent policies to encourage and support businesses and individuals to reduce their emissions. Despite some welcome green measures, the Government must show a much higher level of ambition if we are to avoid the 'catastrophic' consequences of climate change that Alistair Darling outlined in his budget."

WWF's views on specific measures in the budget are outlined below:

Fuel duty:

WWF-UK is disappointed that the Government has reneged on its commitment to increase fuel duty. The 2p tax rise was announced a year ago, allowing business to plan ahead, and is essential simply to keep the cost of motoring in line with inflation. Freezing fuel duty creates a climate of uncertainty for business. Letting the real cost of motoring to fall further will simply lead to more congestion on our roads and a continued rise in carbon emissions from transport.

Homes and businesses:

WWF welcomes the commitment to a challenging zero carbon standard for buildings in the non-domestic sector. However, the opportunity to make significant cuts in carbon emissions from homes, which can slash energy bills from homes has been totally overlooked.

This year's Budget should therefore have seen fiscal incentives such as a nationwide rollout of council tax rebates for households reducing home energy demand, by insulating their lofts or cavity walls, a reduction in VAT for energy efficient home refurbishment products, and a stamp duty rebate for people upgrading their home energy performance shortly after moving into a property.

WWF-UK would also like to see far greater investment from the Government in the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, and the Warm Front Scheme which will help those on a low income gain grants for carrying out energy efficiency improvements on their home.

Air passenger duty:

WWF welcomes the increase in aviation duty, but it will have only a small effect on passenger numbers. And as the Chancellor said, the Government still supports new runways at Heathrow and Stansted, without considering the alternatives to flying.

Plastic bag levy:

WWF-UK supports a tax on plastic bags which use precious fossil fuel based resources in their manufacturing process. Simple behavioural changes could eliminate this unnecessary waste.