French President Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured above) vowed yesterday to lead the fight to “save the human race” from global warming, launching a carbon tax to encourage French families and industry to cut their use of fossil fuels. From 2010, France will become the biggest European economy to levy a carbon tax. The tax, initially set at €17 (£15) per ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, will be levied on individuals and businesses for their fossil fuel consumption. It means family fuel bills will rise, while businesses will pay more for factories run on fossil fuels. In a speech full of harsh warnings about the need for France to take the lead over CO2 emissions, Sarkozy said: “There are no reserves left. It’s a question of survival of the human race. There is one objective: to encourage homes and businesses to change their behaviour.” Just great – so cue UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown any day now, desperate for revenue, raising taxes under the guise of being a saviour too. Why don’t these politicians just do what they intended to do in the first place, raise taxes, without all this pretentious bullshit about saving the planet ? Or if they’re really serious about climate change, why don’t they incentivise people by cutting taxes on those who use less energy rather than raising taxes on everyone ? As if we didn’t know.