The Guardian view on fuel duty cuts: expediency over the environment | Editorial

If he goes ahead, Rishi Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was

Raising taxes on petrol and diesel is an important policy that governments can use to put the brakes on runaway climate change. However, it appears that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, wants to accelerate rather than slow the pace of planetary damage. In this week's mini-budget, he looks likely to announce a temporary 5p per litre reduction on fuel duty. This could cut the cost of filling an average family car by around 2.75 and might help some who have suffered as pump prices jumped in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, this is a false economy. Even with the pandemic lockdowns, transport remained the largest emitting sector, responsible for 24% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions.

Cutting fuel duty flies in the face of the government's claim to be a green leader. It is also a regressive measure. The New Economics Foundation says that only 7% of the savings from cutting fuel duty will go to the poorest fifth of households - while one-third will go to the richest fifth. If he were to go ahead with the policy, Mr Sunak would be handing money to people in proportion to how much they drive and how fuel-inefficient their car was. Labour has supported Mr Sunak. This is a triumph of political expediency over the environment. Neither party thinks it can afford to upset a significant number of voters. Polls suggest that an election held today would result in a government without a parliamentary majority.