Air passengers may have to a pay carbon offset tax.

Air passengers may have to pay a carbon offset tax.  “Failing Grayling” the soon to be gone transport minister? is consulting on some kind of carbon offset tax on transport.  Although air travel is mentioned at the top of the newspaper article (since its the most controversial aspect of it) it might apply to all forms of transport.  Of course with a new Prime Minister taking over today everything might change and seems unlikely Grayling will keep his post.  Even if he does, he has an uncanny way of turning gold to base metal and screwing anything up he goes near.  In the process wasting vast amounts of taxpayers money.

In the admittedly unlikely event this goes ahead, would a carbon offset tax be a good idea?  I have my doubts.  At the moment very few people who fly offset.  The main danger is that it acts as a get out of jail free card.  I offset then I can fly.  There is actually a risk that people might fly more often therefore making things worse.  It also assumes offsetting schemes work.  Have come across one where all the trees had died of something (not sure what) and that was in the UK.  Many of these schemes are in the developing world.  Overcoming corruption and keeping an eye on what is happening to the money is going to be tricky and who would decide what the money would be invested in anyway.

On the plus side anything that raises the price of flying and driving and makes people think about what they are doing would be good.

Neil