Consumer forum Essay Example

Consumer forum Essay Example Consumer forum Essay Consumer forum Essay Once again, they placed a particular emphasis on fairness. Public transport was not typically regarded as credible and car clubs were not seen as attractive – partly because they fail to meet the need for autonomy, which personal ownership seems to deliver. We were able to conclude that the concept of shifting taxation away from car ownership and onto car use in a transparent way can command support. However, when it comes to taxation of fuel, vehicles and road use, people are often sceptical of the motives of policy-makers: they see taxes as revenue-raisers rather than carbon-cutters. But clear and visible hypothecation – from tax revenues to public transport – as in the case of London’s congestion charge, can help make such taxes more acceptable to people. These findings mirror evidence from elsewhere about the challenge of addressing the car culture. A prerequisite for achieving change is a committed effort to improve public transport services, to tackle long-term issues of access and mobility in a sustainable way. But effort is also needed to address our underlying attachment to cars. One clear opportunity is to work with the grain of people’s pride in their cars and accelerate the market for desirable low-carbon cars. We set out, right, a number of recommendations for improving the way we get around. These include some suggestions for developing a product roadmap for mainstreaming low-carbon cars, which can build on the work of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership(93). Holiday travel Overseas travel represents a major aspiration for many people. Participants at the Consumer forum spoke of their attachment to flying abroad for sun and for short breaks. Among less affluent groups there were numerous references to how the low-cost carrier boom has opened up travel to a wider section of the population. People were also shocked when they were informed of the impact of flying on climate change. For many, flying has always been presented as a positive thing, a chance to broaden your mind. ‘You just want to experience as much as you can, and learn about the different ways of living as well. And you can’t do that by staying around the same people. ’ Consumer forum participant There is a clear paradox in the relationship between travel and sustainability. Many champions of the environment and the developing world would acknowledge that travel was a driving force in opening their eyes. Yet there is no question that we urgently need to limit the rapid increase in carbon emissions from frequent flying. The fact that one of the ten breakout groups at the Consumer forum chose an end to internal flights within Britain as their ‘best idea of the day’ demonstrates that attitudes are open to change. It may be that, with careful and visible investment in infrastructure, and improvements in inner-city rail services (where these are a realistic and available alternative) more people might become receptive to leadership on curbing domestic flights. Even so, there are fewer alternatives to air travel in some cases. People in Northern Ireland, for example, can claim with some reason that air travel helps to reduce their potential isolation from the rest of the UK and the European mainland. Overseas travel is a more contentious area. Of course, projected emissions growth from aviation means that demand management is urgent and essential. Bringing aviation into the Kyoto Protocol and emissions trading schemes will be important steps. But it would be short-sighted to think that we can leave air passengers out of the equation when we push for more radical interventions. As we have argued upfront, if policy-makers and advocates are to create and retain the mandate for the bold action that is needed on sustainable consumption then policy will need to actively touch the lives of citizens and engage with them honestly and courageously. Our contribution has been to see how public support, and hence political will, can be built for essential demand management measures. This is the rationale for rolling out carbon offset on an opt-out basis.