The Budget 2008 - the green measures

Carbon emissions from vehicles to be reduced from 130 grammes to 100 grammes by 2020

Bad news for 4x4 drivers. From next year, first year rate of road tax on the most polluting cars will rise significantly. Low carbon cars will not not have to pay any car tax in first year.

£26 million will be committed to the Green Home Service to help cut fuel bills.

Mr Darling has jumped on his first big bandwagon of the day. He will impose charges on plastic bags from next year. The detail will be important on this one; the Chancellor says that profits from the scheme will go to environemntal charities. Will profits from a placcie bag levy really be hypothecated, or is this just a revenue raising trick?

Government inquiring whether carbon target should be 80 per cent.

First carbon budget will be announced alongside the Budget next year.

Chancellor says that non-domestic buildings will be carbon neutral by 2019.

Read the Budget speech in full

Web grab:
Darling introduces range of measures to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour

Surging prices force Darling to defer 2p a litre 'green't fuel tax in Budget

Budget confirms £32 per tonne Landfill Tax from April

The main environmental points from the Guardian

Gas guzzlers take brunt of motorists' tax hikes

Charges on single-use carrier bags

Comment:

Darling's plastic bag charge: should we be pleased?

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has described this year's Budget as a "green cop-out".

Green Budget won't create greener homes, warns the Federation of Master Builders

Comments

[Larry]

What, if anything, will Mr Darling do for those owners of 4x4s and other larger vehicles who retrofit to burn hydrogen after purchase?

Would he suggest carbon taxing homes based upon footage? Considering the advances in energy efficiency technologies; a small, poorly insulated cottage burning gas to heat may have a larger 'carbon footprint' than a mansion (or palace) retrofitted throughout with the latest vacuum insulation, H2 (from mains water) HVAC system, electrics (from wind/solar) and LED lighting.

Blanket taxing of a particular model or class of vehicles is not only senseless but unjust as some saloon owners (and most motorbikes) produce more carbon emissions than a 4x4 retrofitted to burn H2 or one factory-equipped with a hybrid powertrain.

Some after-market products DO exist which permit drivers to supplement their petrol-based fuel with water - converting (on-board) the H2O into H2 and O with the H2 easily vented into the air intake manifold.

This dramatically increases the percentage of Hydrogen in the mix each cycle without adding ANY Carbon - providing more power with fewer emissions - resulting in the same acceleration/miles driven on less (petrol) fuel.

Oh yes, unfortunately at the outset, it also burns-off all those nasty carbon deposits in the engine which have caused poor performance, lower fuel efficiency and more fuel burned in the exhaust convertors. But after that - it's smooth sailing!

Failing to heed this advice: Yearly individual emissions testing at local stations equipped with dynamos (to simulate real-world conditions) and taxing on the results may be the answer.

. In this way those who truely care will not be washed with the same dirty brush as those who do not.