It could happen. It’s already being (re)considered in the UK. In 2004, the then British Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, floated a “green tax” idea that would have motorists paying a road user tax of around  2p to £1.50 a mile, depending on time of day and levels of congestion.

But this road pricing scheme never really stood a chance. Almost 2 million Brits signed a petition against the green tax and as a result it was shelved.

Now a new report by the Committee on Climate Change, an independent body established under last year’s Climate Change Act last year, has suggested that this road pricing scheme is crucial if Britain hopes to meet its legally binding greenhouse gas targets (80 per cent by 2050).

The report recommends that cars be fitted with electronic tracking devices to enable authorities to charge this road user tax of up to £1.50 a mile at peak congestion times. This could, according to the report, save  5.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year  (5% of total road transport emissions) by 2020.

But for any road user tax to be effective, the report states that it needs to be used alongside the current fuel tax. Any reduction in fuel tax to offset the road user tax would defeat the purpose of trying to reduce carbon emissions.

Other recommendations include more stringent enforcement of speed limits, government subsidies to increase electric car purchases, and having everyone take eco-driving lessons.

It will be interesting to see how the British politicians and public respond to these suggestions. (Carrots are always more popular than sticks.)

You can read the full report here.

Image: geoftheref

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