New Delhi, December 18: With climate change and greenhouse gases at the top of the global policy agenda, an inter-Ministerial expert committee today endorsed measures including a “Gas guzzler tax” to promote fuel economy in vehicles and called for greater participation of the private sector in the public transport system to wean people off “personalized motoring.”

The panel is headed by Planning Commission member Anwarul Hoda and includes TERI Director-General R K Pachauri and Centre for Science & Environment Director Sunita Narain. It also has as members, Secretaries of a range of Ministries including Environment, Urban Development, Power, Petroleum and Transport.

This committee to frame policy for public transport “sensitive to climate change,” has endorsed tougher fuel economy standards with fiscal incentives as “positive and negative signals”.

Under this, the Petroleum Conservation and Research Association would set fuel economy norms for each category of two and four-wheelers. Carmakers would then have to improve fuel efficiency by a certain percentage each year — 8 percent envisaged during the Eleventh Plan. “Indeed, this may seem to be a tough measure and vehicle manufacturers may protest. As the experience in the USA indicates, when tough measures in this regard were taken, after initial protest, vehicle manufacturers did comply,” says the proposal.

With fuel economy standards fixed for each category, a vehicle with composite rating below the average in its class would pay an additional 8 percent excise duty as Gas Guzzler Tax if its efficiency is between 90-99 percent. The extra tax would rise subsequently to a maximum of 24 percent as fuel economy drops.

“The additional revenue generated through the tax would be used to give incentives to buyers of high-efficiency vehicles/public transport,” says the proposal. It would also be used to provide incentives to stimulate mass production and support initial sales of costly hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.

Carbon dioxide accounts for 83 percent of greenhouse gases and is the largest contributor to climate change. The transport sector is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide with road transport accounting for 90 percent of total transport-sector emissions.

As in the case of electronics and electrical goods, the panel wants energy labeling based on combination of fuel economy and tail pipe emissions to be introduced to identify high-fuel efficiency and low pollution-emitting vehicles, making it easier for consumers to identify the best vehicles in each category.

The panel also endorsed the need to encourage the private sector, particularly major corporate houses, to join in providing transport services on non-remunerative routes that would be auctioned and awarded to those who seek minimum subsidy to run them.

In order to reduce private vehicle operation and hence, congestion and air pollution in heavy traffic areas, the committee has proposed an entry fee with high parking fees. To discourage private transport, it seeks an increase in registration charges, fuel tax and carbon-based annual road tax where low-power, low-emission hybrid and newer vehicles would be charged less road tax.