Cameron proposes scrapping climate levy

David Cameron has said that if he were Prime Minister he would scrap the climate change levy and introduce a new carbon tax.

The Conservative leader announced the plans in a speech delivered in Oslo following a visit to the Arctic. He also advocated a new carbon pricing system designed to promote cleaner fuel use, transforming business and helping shield the planet from environmental damage.

Mr Cameron said that the proposed changes would be tax-neutral - hitting activities which produce more carbon emission with higher levies, while 'clean' production processes will pay less.

Mr Cameron said: "We must not be afraid of using the tax system and market mechanisms to encourage investment in, and take up of, clean new technologies which will transform the way we do business, create new markets, and reduce our impact on the planet.

"We must make sure that the various methods we use amount to a coherent whole, ensuring the carbon is priced effectively. It isn't the job of government to pick technologies. It is the job of government to set a rational framework within which producers and consumers recognise the environmental cost of carbon because it comes home to them as an actual money-cost."

Mr Cameron said: "Tackling climate change is a key part of my ambition for the Conservative Party to lead a new green revolution... I want to recapture climate change from the pessimists.

"I think of a cleaner, greener world for our children to enjoy and inherit. I think of the almost unlimited power of innovation, the new technologies, the new products and services, and the progress they can bring for our planet and all mankind. And I think of the exciting possibilities that may seem a distant dream today - changing the way we live to improve our quality of life. We've all got to get positive about climate change."

Mr Cameron's comments coincided with Chancellor Gordon Brown's visit to the US in an attempt to secure international support for climate change action.

Mr Brown will unveil proposals for an £11 billion fund for developing economies to invest alternative sources of energy and greater energy efficiency today.

(KMcA/GB)