Steve Walker wrote:
>>>>There is absolutely no need for anyone to drive band G car.
>>>
>>> There is absolutely no need for anyone to own a television
>>
>>Already taxed at some ВЈ130 per year.
>
> Peanuts, and not related to energy consumption. You pay the same for any
> TV, however much you use it.
>
>>, visit a
>>> theatre, take a foreign holiday, eat cooked food, wear any clothing
>>> other than sackcloth, etc.
>>>
>>Most people would argue that all of the above are more necessary than
>>driving a band G car.
>
> None of them are strictly necessary at all. Why is a foreign holiday
> necessarily more important than driving the car one prefers? Who but the
> individual has the right to make that choice?
>
Governments do. They regularly ban vehicles (from public roads, Mr
Hammond) which they deem to be not safe. They also tax them based on
emissions, but they haven't banned any based on emissions. Tax on
emissions is an extension of "sin" taxes. Whilst people may not like
"sin" taxes, they're probably better than things like income tax.
>>>>By 2009, I'd expect there to be many more band A and B vehicles than
>>>>Band G vehicles, which should benefit almost everyone.
>>>
>>> Which will make precisely fuck all difference to anything. What
>>> difference do you imagine it will make, apart from more people driving
>>> horrible cars?
>>>
>>Horrible is subjective. Most drivers, cyclist and pedestrians will see
>>(and impact) fewer horrible cars.
>
> So they can see the CO2 emissions then? Or is this just a variation on
> "I don't like looking at 4x4s"? Does it hurt more if you're hit by a car
> with higher carbon dioxide emissions? Do you think that more band A and
> B vehicles in the UK will make any quantifiable difference whatsoever to
> climate change? It's an utterly pointless gesture.
>
Did I mention 4x4s? Large vehicles tend to be more problematic for
cyclists, pedestrians and other drivers. Pedestrians when they get hit,
cyclists because they can't see over the high sided vehicle. Larger
vehicles tend to cause more congestion than smaller vehicles.
If it was to be strictly a congestion charge (and in Richmond a parking
charge) it would make sense to charge by vehicle volume, but that's
more difficult than emissions.
Will it make a difference? I'd expect to see a lot more category B cars
on London, and fewer Category G cars, so yes, CO2 output will fall.
Will this impact climate? No, unless the rest of the world follows
suite.
What no one knows is whether this applies to commercial vehicles, some
of which will have no choice but to deliver in high emission vehicle.
