Government Interest
12. David Miliband, when he was Secretary of State
for the Environment, supported the idea of personal carbon allowances
as a promising policy option:
It is easy to dismiss the idea as too complex administratively,
too utopian or too much of a burden for citizens. Do we really
want another Government IT programme? Are there not simpler ways
of achieving the same objective by focusing on business to change
their behaviour not citizens? And will it ever be politically
acceptable?
But, as the Tyndall Centre's work shows, in the long
term, there may be potential to make a system work, and in a way
that is arguably more equitable, more empowering and more effective
than the traditional tools of information, tax, and regulation.[2]
13. On 4 June
2007 Mr Miliband appeared before us, and was again asked about
personal carbon allowances.[3]
He noted that the process was being carried forward through further
research (for example, a pilot scheme was being undertaken by
the RSA[4]) and the increased
public debate on the matter. Mr Miliband also said he believed
personal carbon trading was an idea that 'all the main parties
will think about' when preparing their next manifestos.[5]
My approach to this is that as a party of Government
that has been in ten years it is right that we are looking for
bold solutions. We have got to test them out, we have got to make
sure they are sensible, we have to make sure that they are in
tune with our values and the considerations of equity are paramount
in that for my party, but it is right that we look at it. I do
not think we should make any excuses about saying we have not
decided but we think it is worth working through.[6]
14. In August 2006, Defra commissioned the Centre
for Sustainable Energy to produce an initial analysis of some
of the ideas and issues involved in the concept of personal carbon
trading. The resulting paper, entitled A Rough Guide to Individual
Carbon Trading—The ideas, the issues and the next steps,[7]
examined the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches
and concluded that a personal carbon allowance and trading system
had the potential, with further research, to achieve emissions
savings in a fairer way than carbon taxes.
15. Defra told us:
The concept of a personal carbon allowance is one
of a number of potential long term ideas being explored by the
Government that could help to make individuals better informed
about, and involved in, tackling climate change. […] The
Government remains committed to exploring the potential of personal
carbon trading.
[…] The Government believes that the current
system of taxation strikes the right balance between protecting
the environment, protecting the most vulnerable in society and
maintaining sound public finances. There remain many high-level
questions about whether a personal carbon allowance scheme could
be a proportionate, effective, socially equitable and financially
viable policy option, particularly when compared or combined with
existing policies and other options for controlling carbon emissions;
whether it could be a practical and feasible option; how such
a scheme might work in practice; and whether it would involve
placing undue burdens on individuals.[8]
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