Some People Believe That One Of The Best Ways To Solve Environmental Problems Is To Increase The Cost Of Fuel

Need help with IELTS writing? Get your essays, letters and reports corrected by me.

Band 9 essay sample

According to some people, increasing the cost of fuel will reduce environmental issues to a great extent. I do not agree with this view because oil is not the only pollutant. Also, the price hike will only affect poor people who hardly own cars. The rich who own cars will continue to buy oil and hence this measure is unlikely to reduce air pollution.

No doubt, vehicles pollute the air. They release harmful gases responsible for global warming. So, obviously, increasing the price of fuel should reduce pollution levels as it will discourage people from using their private cars. In reality, however, this is unlikely to happen because poor people who will be affected the most by this measure do not own cars in the first place. The rich people who own cars will continue to buy oil regardless of the hike in price. Consequently, we will not see any drastic reduction in the number of vehicles on the roads. At the same time, this price hike will increase transportation costs and thus make all commodities more expensive. In short, any rise in the price of oil will only make life miserable for the poor and will not achieve any improvement in air quality.

In addition, vehicles are not the only cause of environmental problems. Factories pollute just as much as vehicles. Even household appliances like air conditioners and refrigerators release green house gases. Livestock is another major cause of global warming as they release greenhouse gases when they digest food. A hike in the price of fuel cannot stop these other agents responsible for air pollution. A better solution is to switch to green energies and electric cars. Of course, this will involve enormous upfront costs but in the long term, they will reverse environmental damage to a great extent.

To conclude, hiking the price of petrol is unlikely to stop global warming as this measure cannot achieve any noticeable reduction in the number of vehicles on the roads. A more viable solution is to invest in green technologies.

Do you have an essay on this topic? Submit it below in the comments for a free band score estimate.

Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.