In yet another bizarre scheme, British MPs want their citizens to be required to carry carbon rationing cards to be used for purchasing big ticket items such as gas, airline tickets, and their electric bills.

The influential Environmental Audit Committee says a personal carbon trading scheme is the best and fairest way of cutting Britain’s CO2 emissions without penalising the poor.

Under the scheme, everyone would be given an annual carbon allowance to use when buying oil, gas, electricity and flights.

Anyone who exceeds their entitlement would have to buy top-up credits from individuals who haven’t used up their allowance. The amount paid would be driven by market forces and the deal done through a specialist company.

The government currently thinks this is a good idea, though a bit ahead of its time, and also thinks that everything, including food, could be added to the ration card.  That, indeed, could penalize the poor.  Plus, the plan is flawed, as it would penalize those in the country and the elderly as well.

The scheme would penalise those living in the countryside who were dependent on their cars, as well as the elderly or housebound who need to heat their homes in the day.

Large families would suffer, as would those working at nights when little public transport is available.

Fraud is also a concern.  No one knows how the cards will be made or how easy it would be to clone or duplicate them.  Instead of taxing the people, the government should be spending that £2 billion researching alternative energies so that we can forgo the current system we have now.  Taxing the people more is not the way to change things.