Dundee LibDems welcome the launch of green tax policies report

4.51.56pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 20th May 2006

LibDems launch green tax policies report

Dundee Liberal Democrats have welcomed the launch of the party's green taxation paper called "The Green Switch" which is aimed at curbing carbon emissions and halting global warming.

Dundee LibDem party secretary Michael Charlton said today (Saturday 20th May), "We greatly welcome the publication of this major report. It shows the LibDems take environmental and sustainability issues seriously. Contrast this with the superficial claims of Labour and the Tories on Green issues."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said: "We want fairer and greener taxes, but not higher taxes. Green taxes can change our behaviour and safeguard our planet for our children in a way that hugging a husky cannot.

"This is about using taxes in a new way to change behaviour, not to raise money for the Government. Tory hot air will not cool the climate, while Labour is missing targets and ducking decisions. The Green Switch is about shifting taxes from good things, such as work, onto bad things, such as gas-guzzling cars and half-full flights that cause wasteful carbon emissions."

The Liberal Democrats hope to change Britain's car-buying habits. The owners of cars which generate the most pollution would face annual road taxes of £2,000 under Liberal Democrat plans to tackle climate change. The figure - 10 times the current rate - would cover high-end cars such as BMW's 7 series, Bentley Continentals and the four-by-four Porsche Cayenne. It would apply only to new models, with exemptions for "essential" vehicles.

Chris Huhne said it was vital "to use green taxes as a lever in order to make our behaviour sustainable. We must change the cars that we buy rather than the cars that we're using at the moment. This was because it was important "people know exactly what they're letting themselves in for" when considering a purchase. The idea is not to encourage people to go on driving 'rust-buckets'," he said, "but actually to encourage them when they're purchasing a new car to buy a car which is consistent with their environmental obligations."

You can find the full document for downloading below.

Related Links:

Lib Dems launch green tax policies - LibDem UK website.

Report in PDF format.

Report in MS Word format.