Green Options

With other countries failing to show any commitment to either contribute to the climate fund or reduce carbon emissions, the European Union has backed out from its plan to release billions for the climate fund.

What stared as a murmur of discontent is turning into an increasingly vocal chorus of protest as the British public begin to feel the pain of rising inflation, with already high fuel prices predicted to rise by as much as another 40% by the end of the year.

With a tank of fuel for the average family car costing close to $150, high fuel prices have effectively acted as one very large carbon tax - and effective they have been. Britons have reduced fuel consumption by 20% during the past year, driving less, and driving more slowly at the same time. Sales of fuel efficient vehicles are at an all time high.

But unfortunately this is not politically sustainable. The aforementioned protest is hurting the government’s popularity badly as disposable incomes are eroded by fuel bills. Having previously made broad promises to reduce Britain’s CO2 output by up to 80% by 2050 in a bid to profess world leadership on Climate Change, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been carefully avoiding any kind of statement on environmental targets during previous months. Meanwhile Britain is set to miss most of it’s legally binding and far less ambitious climate change objectives anyway.