§ Mr. ToddTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the actual impact of increased fuel duties since 1996 on the generation of pollutants against the estimates made. [78321]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe fuel duty escalator is a long-term strategy whose impact on transport emissions can be expected to build up over time.
The escalator is also part of a package of measures to reduce emissions, particularly of CO2, through the promotion of fuel efficiency and reduced congestion. Taken on its own, increasing fuel duty by six per cent. per annum in real terms between 1996 and 2002 is currently estimated to reduce 2010 road traffic CO2 emissions by between 2 million and 5 million tonnes of carbon as set out in the Climate Change Consultation Paper.
However, it is too early to provide an accurate assessment to date of the actual environmental impact of fuel duty increases since 1996, to compare with this estimate.