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Taxation: Using the tax system to tackle climate change

Date: November 26, 2019

Key points

General agreement that action needs to be taken to tackle global warming.
Government seems to lack will power to use taxation to drive change.
Advantages to the environment of tree planting.
Broaden capital allowances to reduce the carbon footprint in residential building.
Research and development tax relief could encourage greater energy efficiency.

It was the last episode of Blue Planet II when Sir David Attenborough revealed the horrifying impact that plastic is having on the world’s oceans that everyone finally sat up and took note. But, as he told the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, he has been warning about the dangers of plastic pollution for 20 years. So why did that short sequence resonate so effectively?

People across the generations are convinced that change is needed. We need only look at the massive age range of those who took part in Extinction Rebellion protests to see that. The problem is how?

Taxation magazine is a tax publication – to state the obvious – so is unlikely to come up with the solution to stop global warming. But surely the tax system could be put to better use to encourage organisations that are working in this area.