Select committee: Environment and Climate Change Committee
Conclusion 41
1st Report - In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals
Published 12 Oct 2022
Paragraph 213
Environment and Climate Change Committee Mobilising action on climate change and environment: behaviour change All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
While taxes are often effective at changing behaviour and it may ultimately be necessary to use taxes in this area, it is not the right moment to introduce a tax on emissions associated with household products like food. Such a tax could be regressive—impacting on lower income households more severely during a cost-of-living crisis—and could undermine public support for the UK’s climate and environmental goals. When future governments consider such a measure, eliminating regressive impacts through policy design should be a priority.
From: Environment and Climate Change Committee, 1st Report - In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals, paragraph 213, 12 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 21 December 2022 (deadline 12 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the committee's report and states that it has "carefully considered all the committee's conclusions and recommendations", responding mainly by pointing to existing strategies and policies, with some further action to follow.
- On the public engagement strategy sought by April 2023, the response points to the Net Zero Strategy and says a revised 25 Year Environment Plan will set out the approach to "enabling green choices, including through engagement".
- On a frequent flyer levy, the government says it "was minded to retain APD as the principal tax on the aviation sector", citing concerns about administrative complexity and data handling. It does not commit to a call for evidence.
- On Covid-19 lessons, it agrees there "may be useful lessons" and says it "will take this recommendation into consideration" as part of ongoing policy development.
- On Extended Producer Responsibility, it recognises its importance and says it will consult next year on reviewing existing producer responsibility systems. It is "considering" options for textiles.