Will Of The People: Ban SUVs, Boost Bicycling, Tax Frequent Flyers

The U.K.’s first climate assembly—made up of members of the public—has called for a tax on frequent flyers, a ban on selling SUVs and a cut in meat consumption.

The assembly was made up of 108 people from all walks of life who met for 6,000 hours across six weekends earlier this year. The first meeting was addressed by Sir David Attenborough.

A final report of the assembly was issued on September 10 and it said recovering from COVID-19 should encourage different lifestyles to tackle the climate crisis.

A large majority, 79% of the assembly, strongly agreed, or agreed, that economic recovery after the pandemic must be designed to help drive the country to its 2050 net zero target, which was signed into U.K. law last year.

70% want more investment in “cycling and scootering facilities.” 86% want the the U.K. to “quickly stop selling the most polluting vehicles.” 72% want more “localization.”

“Leadership to forge a cross-party consensus that allows for certainty, long-term planning and a phased transition,” the report said.

“This is not the time nor the issue for scoring party political points.”

The assembly recommends making wind and solar energy a key part of how the U.K. reaches net zero and also wants to see a greater reliance on local produce and local food production. Education should be used to encourage a reduction in meat and dairy consumption, agreed the assembly.

The report stressed that “meeting [these commitments] is more difficult than responding to the coronavirus crisis or getting Brexit done, and will require transformations in every sector of the U.K. economy, sustained investment over three decades and substantial changes to everyone’s lives.”

Above all else, the assembly wants fairness to be a the heart of policy going forward: “Fair to people with jobs in different sectors. Fair to people with different incomes, travel preferences and housing arrangements. Fair to people who live in different parts of the U.K.,” the assembly’s report concluded.

Chairs of the parliamentary select committees that commissioned the assembly report have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to act on the recommendations of Climate Assembly UK by “showing leadership at the very highest level of government.”

In November 2021 the U.K. will host the UN climate summit, COP26.