To think the government should allocate individual carbon passports?

[julieca]

I think the government should issue everyone in the country with a carbon passport giving a set amount of carbon you can generate every year. Every time you do something where carbon outputs can be measured e.g. flights, pay your heating bill, buy petrol, buy a new car - a carbon allowance is deducted from your passport.
But you can also sell and buy your carbon allowance. So people who never fly or use a car can make a bit of money by selling their carbon allowance.
The government could have pledged to reduce individual carbon allowances every year.
This will reduce flights, cars, etc but through a more capitalist approach, than a central state approach.
So YANBU - yes this should happen
YABU - no a stupid idea

What is is with the Left and its overwhelming desire to control every aspect of peoples lives in the name of "the greater good"????

I already have a "carbon passport" for driving - I pay per mile via Fuel Tax.

The same for my Heating, water, electricity......

Not sure what your "passport" would do any differently, apart from create the need for whole new buildings of bureaucrats, with all the electricity, heating, cooling, travel etc. that this would entail....

What a stupid idea! I say that as someone who probably has a lower carbo output than others. I walk to the station then use a train to go to work on an electrified line. We can’t have a child so we aren’t contributing to over population.

Why are you against it then?

With a carbon passport and allowance someone who has 4 children will have to think very seriously over what they can afford carbonwise, and you will be a lot better off.

Everybody will have to think twice before buying a Range Rover or flying on the 5th holiday in row.

I think it's a idea that's with considering, but whether we like it or not something needs to be done. There is so much shortsightedness on this thread.

@DecadentlyDecisive

What is is with the Left and its overwhelming desire to control every aspect of peoples lives in the name of "the greater good"????

What is it with some mumsnetters that they think they can outwit nature. You won’t. You can’t ignore the climate crisis in the same way that you cannot ignore a tsunami.

flying on the 5th holiday in row.
Do you mean like 5x a yea? Because If someone can afford that they can afford to buy extra credit.

Then there should not be extra credit to buy.
And you know exactly what I mean by five times in a row. Are you always this obtuse?

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

Then there should not be extra credit to buy. And you know exactly what I mean by five times in a row. Are you always this obtuse?

k

Instead of adding more layers of bureaucracy, public transport needs heavily investing in especially in rural areas.

It takes me 30 minutes to get to my place of work by car by public transport it would take 2 1/2 hours and three bus changes and I'd get there at lunchtime

hmm k

Use your words.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

hmm k

Use your words.

Fucking hell. I thought you just had a bad evening so let it go, but seriously, if you speak to people luck that normally good luck. Firstly, 5 in a row can be 5 in 6 years if there are no holidays in between. Ir 5 in one year. So no obtuse in there. And "use your words"? Sorry miss teacher! I will do better. Cunt

Yes, YABVU. Once again it's always the little people that are told they should be responsible for this while big corporations do fuck all. Sick of it.

@julieca

I wouldn't make getting to work exempt. I still remember just when nearly everyone lived close to where they worked. As more people got cars, that changed.

So what do you expect people to do, change jobs? Move house to live closer to their job? I only work 4 miles away but need my car to get there.

I've looked at public transport to get to work, which is a 10-15 minute drive. 50 minutes by bus and 70 minutes by train. Why on earth would I swap 15 minutes in the car for over an by public transport?

Yes I changed jobs. But four miles is nothing on a bike, especially if you had an electric motor for hills.

I'd have to move to a lower paid job to move closer to home.

I agree 4 miles is nothing on a bike but I have 2 routes to choose from, neither of which I would feel safe, especially in the winter. One is along a badly lit lonely towpath and the other is on a busy winding road with poor lighting. My safety is the most important thing to me!

I don't have kids so I'm pretty sure that cancels out my car journeys!

@julieca YANBU, but I don't think a personal carbon account is necessary.

3/4 of emissions come from transport and from energy generation for industry and domestic use. The UK is rapidly moving towards a low carbon economy. Domestic heat is moving away from gas and with better insulation towards electric heating. Transport is gradually becoming electrified. Electricity generation is becoming more renewable and nuclear.

To anyone who thinks business isn't doing anything, they are, maybe not enough but things are starting to move in the right direction.

@Lonelycrab

I wouldn't make getting to work exempt

I think whatever is done, it would need to be seen as fair and proportional for populations to get behind it. I think it’s not reasonable or in any way practical to say everyone on the planet must work very close to where they live.

FWIW I think we’re fucked. Humanity has become too selfish and not wise enough to understand the true scale of the problem.

That why have enlightened individuals like yourself to tell us about our selfishness every waking moment of the day. Honestly, does the permanent hyperbole not tire you out?

Individuals in Britain use far more resources and carbon than they did even when I was young. Temperatures in houses are higher, people travel more on a daily basis, fly more, and use much more plastic.
We are already seeing the impact of climate change in Britain with greater flooding. Things will get worse. And I don't see many willing to change.

No I don't think we should

So I would get penalised for living rurally and having to rely on my car? I would also be penalised for having to go to work in my community nursing job covering that wide rural area? I haven’t flown in 14 years

Putting on more buses wouldn’t solve the issue either because it’s the time it actually takes to get to those places that I need to go

I also think this will of slide single people. We use our car to get our weekly shop, we can’t carry that on a bus and deliveries have been a let down. Now that’s fine we can use our credit or whatever for that but we have double the credit of our neighbour who would have to also get her shopping…

I'm not against the idea perhaps just applied to flights initially? Taxing/limiting heating the home is probably too controversial for poorer families, maybe limit it to 'luxury' uses of carbon

@BashfulClam I doubt this will happen. But if it did firms would change how their services are delivered to meet people's changing needs. So more delivery services, or just more local shops. Before when few people had cars, there were shops very close to where anyone lived. If you needed a pint of milk and some bread, you popped out and bought it from the shop usually on the same street as you.
Nothing stays the same. Services change as the way people live changes.

@julieca Per capita carbon emissions in the UK are lower than at any time in the last hundred and fifty years. Even including our offshore emissions they are lower now than at any time since the thirties. Be careful making assumptions.

That surprises me. Do you mean over the last 12 months or 2019 pre pandemic?