People think that government should increase the cost of fuel for cars and other vehicles to solve environmental problems. Give your opinion.

It is widely believed that one solution to environmental problems would be for governments to raise the price of petrol.

While

I consider that

this

might be an effective measure, I would argue that other measures might have an even greater impact. If national authorities raised taxes on petrol,

this

would address two environmental issues.

Firstly

, in terms of private cars, motorists would limit the number and length of their journeys to compensate for the extra expense. Governments would

then

be forced to upgrade and expand public

transport

provision, as people would still need to travel to work, to school or to travel to shops and hospitals,

for example

.

Secondly

, from the perspective of freight services, more goods would have to be transported by rail rather than by truck. Both these measures would cut down on emissions from vehicles and help to reduce the greenhouse effect.

On the other hand

,

while

this

rise in fuel prices might be a useful stopgap measure, governments could adopt

transport

policies which would be more effective in the long term. The local authorities in London,

for instance

, introduced a congestion charge on all vehicles visiting the city centre. They use the money raised to subsidize the cost of fares and to invest in

transport

infrastructure. In turn,

this

has improved the air quality in the city,

as a result

of the reduction in exhaust fumes. Another policy would be to introduce free bus and train passes, as the increased use of public

transport

would reduce pollution from private cars and help in the effort to combat global warming. In conclusion, a sharp rise in petrol prices would be a useful environmentally-friendly

transport

measure,

although

in the longer

term

Add a comma

term,

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other steps would be more effective.