LONDON -- Taxes will need to go up if Britain wants to make the costly changes necessary to move to a low-carbon, "green" economy, lawmakers warned Monday.
House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee Chairman Tim Yeo said in a report that to pay for a "green stimulus package" announced by the government in November, taxes will have to rise or radical cuts would have to be made in public spending elsewhere, The Daily Telegraph reported.
In the report, the members of Parliament criticize the small scale of the government's response to the global warming crisis, revealing that its $755 million green stimulus package is actually made up of money brought forward from future budgets, meaning that Whitehall will either have to cut spending or raise taxes to pay for future "green" measures.
"The Treasury has announced very little new money for green investments," Yeo said to The Daily Telegraph. "Yet meeting our climate change targets will require a step-change in for the low carbon energy sector, especially when the financial crisis has led to a shortage of capital."
Copyright © 2009, by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
