Under a current policy proposal for a lower carbon society, every adult in the UK would get an equal carbon allowance to cover their home energy use and personal travel including flights. But what about children?

Under a current policy proposal for a lower carbon society, every adult in the UK would get an equal carbon allowance to cover their home energy use and personal travel including flights. These allowances would reduce over time as the UK's carbon budget falls. People would be allowed to buy and sell ‘spare' allowances: those with high carbon lifestyles would have to pay to get the extra allowances they need.

But what about children? Are allowances only for adults or should children get a full adult allowance? Alternatively, children could be given a partial allowance, but how big should this be? The bigger the allowance children get, the less of the national carbon budget is left to share between adults. So this issue would affect everyone, not just the half of the population which lives in households including dependent children.

Possible starting points for debate

Children deserve a full carbon allowance as a matter of principle - they are people too.

Children are the responsibility of their parents who should be responsible for their carbon ‘cost' as well as their financial cost, so they should not get their own allowances.

Children on average have lower carbon emissions than adults so should get a lower allowance.

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