Rationing Of Carbon Contemplated in UK

Rationing Of Carbon Contemplated in UK

In WW2 they rationed V8 Juice, among other things; in the UK, the Environmental Audit Committee says that a personal carbon allowance is the best way to cut CO2 without hurting the poor. If you need fuel for your V8 and go over your allowance, you will have to buy credits from somebody else. 10 litres of gas would use up 23kg of credits; a flight to Rome from London would eat up 900kg. The chair of the Committee, Tim Yeo (of the Conservative party) says "We found that personal carbon trading has real potential to engage the population in the fight against climate change and to achieve significant emissions reductions in a progressive way,' he said. 'The idea is a radical one. As such it inevitably faces some significant challenges in its development. It is important to meet these challenges." The Environment Minister, Hilary Benn, says "It's got potential but, in essence, it's ahead of its time. There are a lot of practical problems to overcome." But the rich who keep their lights on for no good reason would have to buy credits from the people who don't. Perhaps this is an idea whose time has come. ::the Mail