Motorists face tax to cross county borders

Motorists in the Westcountry could be forced to pay toll charges and cross-county border taxes as European lawmakers consider a raft of radical measures to deal with climate change.

Plans are currently being drawn up to address the growing problem of transport emissions across Europe and will be outlined in a major White Paper later this year. A report by a climate change consultancy firm this week warns that a mixture of "ambitious and aggressive policy measures" will be required to bring the problem under control.

The study, by AEA, is the first step towards setting targets for the neglected transport sector, which accounts for 21 per cent of UK carbon emissions. But its co-author, Sujith Kollamthodi, admits little has been done at an EU level to consider rural economies with poor public transport links.

He told the Western Morning News: "In rural areas we recognise it will be difficult to dramatically reduce car use – road pricing is not popular in the UK.

"We are not looking at a tourist tax – but much more work needs to be done and these are important issues.