Green Party MEP Catherine Rowett has welcomed a report by the conservative thinktank Bright Blue that calls for measures to reduce air pollution, including ending the Government’s fuel price freeze, by pointing out that the fuel price freeze has cost the Treasury £7 billion since 2011 and contributed an additional 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 from increased traffic.
Catherine Rowett MEP said, “For too long the Government has failed to take action on the poisonous air we have in this country, costing lives and costing taxpayers. Recent studies show that air pollution causes even more harm to health than we previously understood, especially for children. It is good to see a wider range of political opinion recognising, at last, that the price freeze on dirty fuels is counterproductive.
“Freezing fuel prices while rail prices soar is not only grossly unfair, it is hindering the switch to sustainable transport we need in the face of the climate emergency. Instead of subsidising private cars – which is effectively what we are currently doing – we need to be investing in clean public transport.”
Catherine Rowett also called for taxes on aviation fuel and on frequent flyers, saying “The aviation industry does disproportionate damage to the environment. Air travel is currently exempt from any kind of tax. This too is counterproductive and incentivises the wrong choices.”
European regulations currently set a legal limit on emissions of NO2, which provided the basis for environmental law charity ClientEarth to take the Government to court.
Catherine Rowett also commented on the impact a no-deal Brexit would have on air quality standards: “I fear that with the current Government apparently set on crashing out of the EU in October, we will lose the EU standards on air pollution and the Government will no longer be accountable for keeping people safe from poisonous air. There is a risk that future UK governments will neglect our health in the interests of profit, and to escape from regulations that are designed to protect us. It is vital that we adhere rigorously to the standards that global health bodies like the World Health Organisation say are safe.”