§ 29. Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the contribution his Department is making to efforts to ensure that Britain meets its national and international environmental targets. [125855]
§ Mr. TimmsRecent Budgets have introduced many measures to help the UK to achieve its national and international environmental goals. Measures to tackle climate change include the climate change levy and reforms to vehicle excise duty (VED). They put the UK on track to meet its legally binding Kyoto target for a 12.5 per cent. reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and move towards its own more challenging domestic goal of a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions. Measures to improve air quality, to help meet targets in the Air Quality Strategy, include cutting and freezing duty on road fuel gas, introducing a duty differential to encourage ultra-low290W sulphur petrol, and extra incentives within the new graduated VED and company car tax systems for cars which use less-polluting fuels.