Fuel tax hike urged to cut C02 emissions

Raising taxes on petrol, diesel, and home-heating fuels, plus a complete ban on the burning of coal and peat, are urgently needed to help cut carbon emissions, the Climate Change Advisory Council has warned.

In its first annual review of the country’s efforts at tackling greenhouse gas emissions, the council says there is now no hope of meeting the 2020 targets for carbon reduction set by the EU.

Longer-term targets for 2030 and 2050 also look unachievable unless there is radical and swift change in the way we get around, manufacture, produce food, generate and use power, and heat buildings.