Most people agree that the uses of fuel should be reduced to some

extent and opposing a higher price is one way to do it. It seems to me

that increase petrols price is not the most effective solution to
congested traffic and pollutions, and I will explain why in this essay.
Firstly, higher price does not equal lower consumption. Examples can
be seen in countries such as France or Italy, where increase in price
has apparently not reduced the demand for such fuel. In these cases,
the effect has been to force people to pay more for the same volume of
energy, which appears to penalize those who can least afford it.
Moreover, there seems to be difficulty in government promising
renewable energy scheme without interfering in the entire market. If
the state was to control the entire market of petrol, this would force
suppliers to leave the market, thus reducing the competition and
efficiency. Finally, higher fuel cost might affect the economy. By this we
means that increase in petrol price will lead to higher transportation
cost in general such as trucking or sea freight, thus creating more
disadvantages for the export industry of the country.
Admittedly, there are some positives to increasing the price of petrol,
notably the amount of taxes raised to subside renewable energy
projects. Despite this, it seems that the advantages are outweighed by
the issues faced by consumers.
To tackle these problems, it seems to need a combination of solutions,
ranging from encouraging the uses of public transport to promote
renewable energy scheme.
In conclude, it seems unreasonable to force vulnerable consumers to
pay more for a commodity which is essential to them without the
infrastructure for renewable energy being in place. It would be more
logical to improve availability of renewables first, which would allow
customers to make a genuine choice.