Road transport is likely to be the next sector to be covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, with petrol rationing one of the ideas being floated. This is a scheme that the Dublin based think tank, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability (Feasta), are proposing. The idea being that the EU would determine the maximum allowed levels of annual CO2 emissions from road transport; this would be divided by the number of adults to give a theoretical personal allowance and we would all then be given an annual paper certificate allowing us to produce an annual amount of CO2.

The certificates would have a cash value which you could redeem at a bank. The petrol retailers would then purchase these certificates to cover how much fuel they sell and in turn reflect the certificate costs in the forecourt price. The idea goes that simple supply and demand economics would determine the price with prices rising towards the end of the year if a country is approaching its limit.

With the transport sector – specifically road transport - seeing the biggest rise in emissions within the EU, it is not surprising that the UK Government is keen for the European Commission to consider adding road transport to the next phases of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. But whether it will give serious consideration to ‘petrol rationing’ is questionable.