Many people believe that governments should raise the cost of fuel of cars and other vehicles to solve environmental problems. State your opinion? v.2

While it is believed that higher fuel cost may improve matters, I would argue that this is not an optimal solution, and there are other ways to mitigate the impacts on the environment. A rise in the price of petrol would disadvantage individuals and the society as a whole. If gas prices surged, there would likely be significant increases in the costs of other household appliances and products. However, these people rely heavily on menial jobs and agriculture to make ends meet. Therefore, they would have to make cutbacks in household budgets to make the most of their incomes. From the perspective of society, as fuel costs soar, consumer sentiment plummets. Consequently, people would put off discretionary purchases, namely recreational activities and accessories, as they only have a limited ability to change how much gasoline they consume. This can have detrimental impacts on business and weaken the economy. Alternatively, there are better solutions to environmental problems. Firstly, governments should impose restraint policies on cars and other motorized vehicles during peak periods. This is known as road space rationing which has successfully reduced traffic congestions and carbon emissions in cities, namely Beijing and Sao Paulo. Secondly, governments should also improve and expand the public transport system. The problems with public transport at the moment are that they are inconvenient and people have limited access to them in some regions. Therefore, solving these problems can minimize the use of private vehicles, which can be done by offering membership cards and vouchers, cleaning the vehicles frequently, etc. In conclusion, while increasing the price of fuel has serious consequences, there are more efficient measures to tackle environmental problems.