Should Parking Charges be Based on CO2 Emissions?

From an environmental standpoint, parked cars with the engine and all electrics switched off does not produce any CO₂ emissions. So, is Richmond upon Thames Council's proposal to charge more for residents' parking permits for those with cars that produce higher CO2 emissions and less for the least polluting cars worthy of being called an environmentally green tax? The short answer is no. Is it worth doing to raise awareness of CO2 emission? Probably.

The Leader of Richmond upon Thames Council said "We believe that there would be a 15% cut in emissions if everybody bought a car one band lower than they have at present". This statement can be misinterpreted. The 15% is not a total reduction of 15% of CO2 emissions in Richmond, it is a 15% is vehicle CO2 emissions. So the total CO2 emission reduction for Richmond is likely to be a lot less.

25th October 2006