Treasury Committee
Committee Office, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Media Enquiries: Laura Humble 020 7219 2003
Committee Contact: Lis McCracken 020 7219 5769
14 December 2006
New inquiry: Climate change and the Stern review: the implications for HM Treasury policy on tax and the environment
The Treasury Committee has decided to undertake an inquiry into the implications for HM Treasury policy of climate change and the Stern review, following the publication of Sir Nicholas Stern’s review of The Economics of Climate Change on 30 October 2006. The Committee will examine the effectiveness of steps taken by HM Treasury to tackle climate change in the context of tax and the environment.
In particular, the Committee will consider:
· progress made by the Government on the undertakings set out in its Statement of intent on environmental taxation, published in 1997, and subsequently endorsed in its 2002 paper, Tax and the environment: using economic instruments;
· the Government’s use of environmental or ‘green’ taxes that are specifically targeted at tackling climate change;
· the extent to which the Government uses environmental taxation to encourage behavioural change, rather than solely to raise revenue, and the social impact of such taxation; and
· looking forward, the appropriate role of environmental taxation, in the context of the range of means by which the Government can seek to achieve its environmental policy aims—for example, by means of regulation, a voluntary agreement or a spending measure.
In relation to the Stern review, the Committee will give particular consideration to:
· the innovative and novel aspects of the economic analysis carried out in the review, in order to examine what new perspectives the review has brought to the climate change debate; and
· both the design and the parameters of the economic modelling used in the review.
The Committee will not seek to examine the environmental science of climate change, except where it relates to the economic modelling undertaken in the Stern review.
Written evidence should reach the Committee by 5.00 pm on Wednesday 17 January. Further information for those submitting written evidence is given in the notes below.
NOTES:
1. Written evidence should be in Word or rich text format—not PDF format—and sent by e-mail to treascom@parliament.uk. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from. The deadline is Wednesday 17 January 2007 at 5.00 pm.
Submissions must address the terms of reference. They should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum and should be no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary. Further guidance on the submission of evidence can be found at www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/witness.cfm.
Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases.
The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or by making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
2. Committee Membership is as follows: Rt Hon John McFall (Chairman), Mr Colin Breed, Jim Cousins, Angela Eagle, Mr Michael Fallon (Sub-Committee Chairman), Mr David Gauke, Ms Sally Keeble, Mr Andrew Love, Kerry McCarthy, Mr George Mudie, Mr Brooks Newmark, John Thurso, Mr Mark Todd, Peter Viggers.
3. Press Notice No. 14
Further information:
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