Green budget comment

Oh dear....I'd seen a headline suggesting it might be a Green budget - it is deeply disappointing - Brown's failure to act on tackling climate change means we will pay later - as the Stern review has shown. After 6 months of rhetoric on climate change, there is a shocking absence of substance in this budget.

Photo: Ruscombe field

The additional 50 per cent for green grants for homes equates to just £6 million - peanuts. A 30% increase for top band vehicles to £300 this year and £400 next year flies in the face of the govenement's own research about the price difference requried to change behaviour. We need to see a rise to at least £1800 tax for the worst gas guzzlers to ensure people but greener cars.

Exempting zero carbon homes from stamp duty sounds good but means little - it will not incentivise installation of micro generation and insulation measures. Brown was right to reject VAT on domestic flights as having limited impact. But he has copped out - Greens would have slapped an additional £100 on Air Passenger Duty on all flights to reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes. Cutting corporation tax is another step towards reducing the tax burden on big business - a step in the wrong direction.

See what we were proposing here.