That wasn’t the only green measure in the latest budget either.
As predicted, the UK’s Conservative government’s new budget includes a “call for evidence” for how taxes and other mechanisms could be used to reduce single-use plastic waste. But that’s by no means the only green feature of the latest budget.
Other measures include:
— £400m ($530m) for electric vehicle charging infrastructure
— £100m ($132m) for a plug-in car grant
— £40m ($53m) for charging research & development
— Clarifications to the law so drivers will not face taxes if charging at work
— 1/3 off rail fares for 4.5 million people aged between 26-30
— 1% increase in company car tax for diesel vehicles
— An increase in taxes on new cars that do not meet the latest EU6 emissions band
At first glance, this actually looks like a pretty decent—if not revolutionary—haul for the green economy. And it is in keeping with recent headlines suggesting post-Brexit Britain is still betting on green growth. (This will no doubt drive the climate skeptic UK Independence Party and Nigel Farage nuts.) Meanwhile, the opposition Labour Party has pledged to factor the cost of climate change into all future economic projections, should the party be voted back into office.