Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution today told MPs that the environment appeared to have been forgotten by organisations and newspapers campaigning for a cut in road fuel duty.

Giving evidence to a special hearing of the Select Committee on the Environment, Transport and the Regional Affairs, the Commission's chairman Professor Sir Tom Blundell, urged the government not to respond by cutting road fuel duty.

'The press coverage rarely makes any connection between government policy on combating climate change and the high level of taxation on road fuels in the UK,' said Sir Tom. He was giving evidence to the committee following the publication of the Commission's 22^nd Report, Energy - The Changing Climate, just over two weeks ago.

'Disappointingly, the government doesn't seem to be making much of this connection either,' he went on. 'But the fact is that road transport's contribution to the UK's emissions of greenhouse gases is a large and growing one.'

'We particularly regret that successive governments did not devote more of the revenues from the fuel duty escalator to improving the alternatives to cars which produce less carbon dioxide. We hope significant changes in public transport investment will be announced in the near future.'

Sir Tom said the newspaper campaigns highlighted the challenges the UK faced in doing its part to prevent damaging climate change from running out of control in this century and the next. 'We need to do a better job of communicating what's at stake to every citizen - whether energy consumers or energy producers - because more public support is going to be needed. There will also have to be a long-term political consensus to deliver the necessary changes.'

1) The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's 22^nd Report, on energy and the environment, was published on June 16. It concluded that as a contribution to global efforts to prevent climate change running out of control, the United Kingdom should plan for a reduction of 60% over the next 50 years in the quantities of carbon dioxide it produces by burning fossil fuels. On July 5 three Members of the Commission (the Chairman, Dr Susan Owens and Professor Brian Hoskins) will appear before the House of Commons' Select Committee on the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs to discuss the Commission's report.

2) Between 1990 and 1998 annual emissions of carbon dioxide from road transport rose by 6% while road transport's share of total emissions rose from 19% to 21%.¹ The Government's goal is to at least stabilise total annual emissions of carbon dioxide at the 1990 level by 2000, and to reduce them by 20% by 2010.

3) The road fuel duty escalator - pre-announced increases in duty above the rate of inflation - began in 1993. One of the main aims of the policy was to encourage the development, marketing and purchasing of vehicles with a lower fuel consumption in order to control road transport's rising emissions of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the main contributor to human-induced climate change. However, until the end of the 1990s the increases in duty were to a large extent offset by falls in the underlying price of crude oil. Recently sharp increases in the underlying price have focussed intense criticism on the UK's relatively high levels of road fuel taxation (some three quarters of the pump price).

4) High pump prices encourage drivers to purchase vehicles with a lower fuel consumption and use their vehicles less. Even before the recent steep price rises, there was evidence that the escalator had expanded the market for new cars producing less carbon dioxide.² In its 18^th and 20^th reports, on transport and the environment, and in its latest report the Commission has argued that more of the revenues from road fuel duties should be spent on improving the alternatives to the car and widening people's transport choices.

5) In 1998 the cost of petrol at the pump, after adjusting for inflation, was only about 3% higher than in 1974 and the overall cost of motoring was unchanged. In contrast, during that period the cost of bus travel rose by 65% and the cost of rail travel by 50% after adjusting for inflation.³ Both forms of travel produce less carbon dioxide per passenger mile than car journeys.

6) Transport is covered in chapter 6 of the Commission's 22^nd report, Energy - the Changing Climate, from paragraphs 107 to 131. The report is available from the Stationery Office (Cm 4749, price £27.00) or can be downloaded free of charge from the Commission's website: http://www.rcep.org.uk. An illustrated summary of the support is also available on the web site, and in printed form free of charge.

Press enquiries are being handled by Keith Allott: tel: 020 7273 6649, e-mail keith.allott@rcep.org.uk.

References
^1. DETR Information Bulletin, 1998 UK Air Emission Estimates, 30 March 2000, Table 3.
^2. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has reported that the carbon dioxide emissions of the average new car sold in the UK in 1999 were 2.2% lower than in 1998, following a 0.9% reduction over the previous year.
^3. DETR, 1999, Quality of life counts - Indicators for a strategy for sustainable development for the United Kingdom: a baseline assessment. DETR. Page 235, Table 4.

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