Only stiff rules will drive car makers to see past the petrol
The government is in a deep hole over cars and carbon emissions. The doubling of the oil price in the past year has seen petrol prices soar to around £1.20 a litre. Ministers are fretting about a planned 2p increase in fuel duty this autumn and about their earlier decision to impose big increases in car tax for gas guzzlers. The scope of the latter is so draconian that humble family cars will be caught in the net. Applying it to older vehicles seems clumsy - punishing past acts rather than trying to influence future behaviour. On one hand, environmentalists are rightly calling for no let-up on taxes designed to cut emissions by making people drive less.… Seguir leyendo »