User:Horizonsisbull/report

Green tax
Impose an ad valorem tax of 5% on high-carbon fuels, as well as vehicles which uses high-carbon fuels. In the period of January-March 2011, resulting from a 7.94p and 10.51p rise to petrol and diesel prices, respectively, petrol sale dropped by 15% and diesel sale dropped by 6%, compared to 2008, this led to a loss of income of £637m. This is partly due to consumers using less fuel, and lorries from Europe refueling in France, where the fuel is cheaper. However, I believe we have reached the stage now where businesses such as supermarkets have no choice but to use fuel, so a higher price (5%) would not have such a significant drop as before in fuel use. A 5% tax would create about £315m The tax will extend into the sale of vehicles, where vehicles that uses high-carbon fuels are taxed £500 per car. The actual rise in car prices would not be as high, and both the consumer and the manufacturers have to bear the tax, and so there is an incentive for both parties to buy and produce greener vehicles. In 2010, the sale of cars are around 2 million, and so the tax should create a revenue of £1 billion. As the public is opposed to any taxes because they have to pay more and also feel like the government is ripping them off. We will make it clear that all revenue from this tax will be used to promote greener fuels and vehicles, and to fund new technologies, and we will publish the use of the revenue online under the freedom of information act.

After the carbon tax is implimented, we try to shift the tax into a carbon trading scheme, so other sectors of industry, not just the fuel and transport sector, is affected. Each type of company will be given a number of carbon credits, and they are allowed to release that amount of greenhouse gases (10% lower than the average) and they are allowed to trade any remaining credits in a free market. The demand will exceed supply, and so the government can sell credits to satisfy the demand. All revenues will be used in the same way as the carbon tax.

The carbon tax is implimented first because it is less complex and time-consuming to implement, and also easier to monitor than a trading scheme. Because the tax is government-controlled, it is less affected by market fluctuation, which is likely to happen at the early phase of this scheme. As the tax is not beneficial for all parties, all parties will have incentives to change to greener processes. If a carbon trading scheme is implemented on the offset, the companies below the average would not have an incentive.

Increased investment in Science and Technology
The second policy we propose is to heavily increase investment in Science and Technology. This will be partly financed by the £1.4billion budget allocated to DECC, supplemented by the revenues collected from carbon taxes mentioned in the earlier policy. We primarily focus our interest in enhancing fuel efficiency in every single aspect as it is the way to be sustainable without compromising our current living standards. We intend to collaborate with the Department for Education in providing more funding to institutions, and scholarships to attract top talents, to work in the field of research and development for breakthroughs to engineering a low carbon economy. We shall also collaborate with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to establish more competitive grants and awards for companies to innovate in addressing climate change, and to commercialize solutions to make it scalable and feasible. This in the long run will nurture local firms into global leaders with capabilities in tackling the world's most pressing issue, and in turn strengthen the competitiveness of our economy. Funds will also be channeled into furthering our capabilities in nuclear infrastructure and technology, as we gear towards adopting nuclear as our main source of electricity. This will do away our reliance on fossil fuels and allow us to progress towards a greener economy. As transport contribute towards 28% of our carbon emission, we will collaborate with the Department for Transport, investing in technology and infrastructure that encourages motorist to do away with petrol vehicles and adopt hybrid, CNG or even electric vehicles. We firmly believe that these policies will enable us to work towards a more fuel efficient, cleaner and competitive economy.

Education
Climate change needs to be a core topic in each GCSE and A-Level Science subject across all examining boards. Young people, between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, need to be aware of the most instrumental factor that will affect their lives in the future. They need to have the ability to make informed decisions on climate change by having a sound understanding of both the scientific principle of and evidence for climate change. Ultimately the fate of our world will depend on how ‘green’ their lives will be. This is a long term plan on the scale of fifteen to twenty years, but the plan will produce a generation of young adults that will encourage government to act on climate change rather than debate about the existence of it. This government as well as future governments must take active steps to reach the aim of the Climate Change Act, which is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80%. These acts will comprise of policies that will alter people’s lives and these people are more likely to accept these policies if they understand why they are being implemented. This policy will very much compliment the other two policies outlined as some of the children educated in climate change properly will have the opportunity to work in an exciting field of research and development. Implementing this policy will mean that the national curriculum will have to be altered and teachers will need to be taught about climate change too. The respective royal colleges will be more than happy to aid in this task as they are the best people to do it.

Afteredit copy
A major contributing factor to UK’s current and future problems is climate change; overwhelming scientific evidence has confirmed its existence. Carbon dioxide levels have increased by over 40% since pre-industrial revolution times, and the global climate is warming at an alarming rate. As a result, this report aims to highlight 3 central policies that we believe will be both practical and effective in combating this issue.

First, we propose a tax of 5% on high-carbon fuels, which should not cause a significant drop in consumption. The implementation of the tax will generate about £315m per annum. A separate tax will also be imposed on vehicles using only high-carbon fuels; each vehicle will be taxed £500 per car, taken at the point of sale. The actual rise in car prices would not be as high, and both the consumer and the manufacturers have to bear the tax, and so there is an incentive for both parties to buy and produce greener vehicles. In 2010, the sales of cars were around 2 million; by extrapolation, the tax will create revenue of £1 billion.

Taxation is always unpopular with the public, so we will make it clear that all revenue from this tax will be used to promote greener fuels and vehicles and to fund new technologies, not for government use. We will publish the use of the revenue online under the Freedom of Information Act to make it absolutely transparent. We also aim to extend this tax to other sectors of industry.

The tax has a negative effect on all companies in terms of revenue, and this is not what we want to achieve in the long run - we want to reward companies that are green, and put palpable pressure on companies that are not. So the second step of this policy is to introduce a carbon trading scheme. In this scheme, companies that has a carbon footprint below a certain mark (we will set it at 4/5 of the average [40%] for that sector) can sell its extra credits to companies that are above that mark, and thus will gain revenue from this scheme. The greener/less green you are, the more revenue you can generate/lose. The government can sell credits (as demand will exceed supply) as an additional source of income. All revenues will be used in the same way as the carbon tax. The carbon tax is implemented first because it is less complex and time-consuming, and also easier to monitor than a trading scheme. Because the tax is government-controlled, it is less affected by market fluctuation, which is likely to happen at the early phase of this scheme. The shift to the trading scheme is necessary, as it encourages and support new, green businesses, which the tax do not do.

The second policy we propose is to heavily increase investment in Science and Technology. This will be partly financed by the £1.4billion budget allocated to DECC, supplemented by the revenues collected from carbon taxes mentioned in the earlier policy. We primarily focus our interest in enhancing fuel efficiency in every single aspect as it is the way to be sustainable without compromising our current living standards. We intend to collaborate with the Department for Education in providing more funding to institutions, and scholarships to attract top talents, to work in the field of research and development for breakthroughs to engineering a low carbon economy. We shall also collaborate with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to establish more competitive grants and awards for companies to innovate in addressing climate change and to commercialize solutions to make it scalable and feasible. This in the long run will nurture local firms into global leaders with capabilities in tackling the world's most pressing issue, and in turn strengthen the competitiveness of our economy. Funds will also be channelled into furthering our capabilities in nuclear infrastructure and technology, as we gear towards adopting nuclear as our main source of electricity. This will do away our reliance on fossil fuels and allow us to progress towards a greener economy. As transport contributes 28% of our carbon emission, we will collaborate with the Department for Transport, investing in technology and infrastructure that encourages motorist to do away with petrol vehicles and adopt hybrid, CNG or even electric vehicles. We firmly believe that this policy will enable us to work towards a more fuel efficient, cleaner and competitive economy.

Our final policy aims to tackle the issue from an education angle. Climate change needs to be a core topic in each GCSE and A-Level Science subject across all examining boards. Implementing this policy will mean that the national curriculum will have to be altered and teachers will need to be well informed regarding climate change. The respective royal colleges will be more than happy to aid in this task as they are most suited for it. Young people, between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, need to be made aware of the most instrumental factor that will affect their lives in the future. They need to have the ability to make informed decisions on climate change by having a sound understanding of both the scientific principle of and evidence for climate change. Ultimately the fate of our world will depend on how ‘green’ their lives will be. While this is a long term plan on the scale of fifteen to twenty years, this policy aims to produce a generation of young adults that will actively encourage the government to act on climate change rather than debate about the existence of it. Our government, as well as future governments must take active steps to reach the aim of the Climate Change Act, which is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80%. These acts will comprise of further policies that will alter people’s lives and it is vital that the population understands the background and motivations for change in order to gain wide acceptance.

The three policies aim to complement each other synergistically, dealing with the problem in both the short and long terms. The main goals are as follows:

1)	Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the shortest time possible through taxes and a carbon trading scheme.

2)	Invest and generate interest in climate science, so that permanent solutions can be developed to combat climate change.

3)	Educate the next generation about the importance of climate change in order to hone future talents in the field of climate science, as well as increase public awareness and response towards the issue in the near future.

2 minute talk
We would like to propose 3 policies involving investing more in science, introducing a green tax and educating the next generation of young adults.

Our central policy will be to invest more in science, technology and innovation. These three items are the key drivers of development in today’s world. Now this development will not only reduce the effects of climate change but will also strengthen our economy. Our primary focus will be in enhancing fuel efficiency in every aspect of our lives as it is the only way to be sustainable without compromising our current living standards.

A green tax will support the initiative to invest more in science. It will be a tax on high carbon fuels and vehicles which use them. Initially the public will be opposed to it. However the revenue generated from it will be used to fund the investment in science, technology and innovation. We propose that the government publish the use of the revenues online to make the process completely transparent and to gain public backing.

Ultimately the fate of our world will depend on how ‘green’ our lives will be in the future. Implementing life changing policies on the public, when they do not understand the severity of the situation can be, at times, impossible. To counter this we propose that Climate change be a core topic within each GCSE and A level science. This will result in a generation of young adults who will have a sound understanding of both the scientific principle of and evidence for climate change. This is important because rather than the government persuading the public to act; the public will persuade the government to act.

The green tax and the introduction of climate change in the national curriculum will compliment the increased investment in science and technology. Steps need to be taken now as preventing climate change will always be much easier than curing it.