Britain has some of the most expensive fuel for road vehicles in the World.  And we pay road tax, too.

​

However, we don't have many tolls (the M6 toll and the London Congestion Charge being notable exceptions).

​

And one thing we do that most other countries in Europe don't do is charge more for diesel than for petrol.  Diesel is denser than petrol so you get more fuel for your litre of diesel than you do for your litre of petrol, so it's only fair to pay a bit more for diesel (diesel is inherently more polluting than petrol as well, because of particulate emissions).

​

Paying a high price for fuel encourages 'good behaviour' in a number of ways:

• encourages us to drive less, e.g. by sharing cars to get to work, or using the train;

• encourages us to drive more economically;

• encourages us to buy cars that are inherently more economical;

• encourages the shift away from fuel-powered cars altogether (electric vehicles).

​​

And yet rather than being smug about our fuel prices, we hate them.  So much so, that the 'fuel price escalator' where taxes made the price increase by more than inflation every year, was abandoned years ago, after a protest that blocked supplies for eight days.

​

Why should we pay more than other countries just because it's good for the environment?  After all, if other countries pollute the air, then we eventually get their pollution too.  And there's the argument that people in remote areas need their vehicles to get about - it makes no sense for them to be priced off the road because we want to change behaviour in the cities.  And it's no good just doing it alone - especially as other countries don't seem to be very keen.  Last Year, when the French Government tried to increase fuel taxes, they had riots.

​

Yet we know that the pressure on the environment means that we need to change the way we get about, and fuel prices are a way of encouraging this.

​

So here's an idea:

• Restart the fuel price escalator, ensuring that petrol increases at least as fast as inflation + 1%, and diesel increases at least as fast as inflation + 2%.

• IN RETURN, guarantee that at least 90% of the extra money raised by the escalator (this will be something like £600m in the first year, £1200m in the second year, £1800m in the third year, etc.) is spent on roads and transport infrastructure - including research into electric vehicles and provision of electric charging points in remote areas.  There may need to be an additional pledge not to divert more than a certain fraction to railways.  Maybe scrap the M6 toll, so this road does the job it was built for, rather than be a private road for the wealthy.

• Get as many other countries as possible to join in the strategy.  With a something-for-something deal, it should be easier to avoid riots.

 

Within ten years, an extra £6 billion a year will be available for transport improvements, and more people will be migrating to electric cars.  The strategy will eventually self-limit, because as the demand for fuel diminishes, the revenue will diminish, but by then the tax will have begun to do its job.

​

I wish we had started this years ago.

​

Governments in the UK and EU are currently trying a different approach - regulation on new cars.  I believe this is the wrong approach, as it increases the costs of new vehicles, and discourages car owners from trading up to newer, more efficient, vehicles.  It also damages the car-making industry, as evidenced by the recent announcement to close the Bridgend car factory.    How is that going to help fight climate change? 

​

What do you think? Click here to comment