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32 comments on UK Government: "energy security and climate change"
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GAIA Host Collective
Government solution seems to be to tax CO2 generating equipment even more heavily (under the guise of carbon trading). Somehow this is supposed to magically improve matters by the secondary effect of forcing investment by everyone in less carbon generating solutions. Primarily, of course, it just means the government has more money and those that are supposed to invest have less. Stop me when you spot the flaw.
Why not turn that around.
Reward those that invest in more efficient, less carbon generating equipement now, and then tax the laggards later. Want to invest in alternative energy solutions? Here's half the cost. Want to buy an efficient vehicle? Here's 150% of the value of your old inefficient vehicle, providing its scrapped. Approaches that give a positive inducement to people to act, which means quicker and more far reach effects than attempts at force.
Oh, and will someone tell them to stop wittering about standby buttons? On their own figures standby amounts to ~1% of domestic energy consumption whereas heating is over 70%. Focus on the big wins please.
Gary, spot on.
Please add to your list:
- Want to cut down on energy consumption? Here's a tax break on home insulation, solar thermal, PV, wind and geothermal installations (and rain-water harvesting, for different reasons).
- Want to install wind turbines, but it doesn't make sense because you live in a city? Here's a tax efficent fund for people to invest in pre-permitted offshore wind farms with domestic electricity comsumption offset against pro-rate production.
- Road Tax? Replace with a miles-driven scheme calculated according to the emissions of your car, lower emissions, oower rate per mile.
- Remove (or at least reduce) fuel duty on properly renewable fuels (recycled vegetable oils, jatropha-biodiesel, etc)
- the list is endless
The problem with subsidies is that they encourage irrational activity and miss many better options. If you get paid to install wall insulation and solar heat but not windows, when your major problem is leaky windows, the money will be mostly wasted.
Energy taxes are THE market solution. They give certainty and reward EVERY successful method of savings.