What Car? Q&A - Green special - Will going green cost me less?

I want to be a green driver to help the environment. Will it also cost me less to run my car?
Wilma Kaufmann

A: In March, when Gordon Brown was still Chancellor of the Exchequer, he said in his budget that fuel duty would increase by two pence per litre this October, a further two pence next year, and then 1.8 pence per litre in 2009.

However, he did extend the duty incentive for biofuels from 2009 to 2010.

Company car drivers will also pay more from April 2008, when the new carbon dioxide-related tax bandings will ratchet up costs. The threshold for the minimum 15% tax band falls from 140g/km to 135g/km.

At the same time, though, a new 10% tax band will be introduced for cars emitting less than 120g/km, and cars that run on biofuels were also given a 2% discount in March.

Gordon Brown was drawing a direct line between increasing vehicle excise bands and reducing carbon dioxide output - that's why a new £215 band was introduced in March 2006 for cars emitting more than 225g/km, and why the 2007 budget announced increases to £300 this year and £400 in 2008.

Many cities are considering congestion charging following London's example, and some towns are implementing emissions-based parking charges.

So, with duty going up on high-polluting cars and incentives for cars which emit less carbon-dioxide, it could well pay you to choose a greener car - and it's increasingly likely to do so as green issues become more pressing.

Green car buyer's guide
Click here to find out how to buy and run a more environmentally friendly car.