It is true that vehicles contribute major part of carbon monoxide released into an atmosphere which in turn creates a green house effect due to air pollution. One of the approaches suggested to address this problem is to raise the cost of gas. While this proposal might produce a minor positive impact on the level of air contamination, I contend that this is not a viable and sustainable solution and it's negative effects will overshadow the positive influence on the environment.
Firstly, raising the cost of fuel will most probably fail to serve the purpose of substantially reducing the number of vehicles on the roads. The price increase will effect the public transportation costs as well and since
people would be still obliged to get to and from work, they will most probably prefer to keep driving their cars rather than switching to buses and trains which will become more expensive too. Moreover, traveling by car could hardly be compared to the flights fares, meaning that most of the population will continue using cars for their private endeavors and travels. Cars still be used for the long distances, despite the costs. Given the necessity of the private cars in the household stated above, the change in gas pricing policy would clearly have next to no effect on the environmental situation.
Secondly, the negative impact of this approach on individuals and a society as a whole should be taken into consideration. The immediate result would be cut in the net income which will be felt most acutely by an underprivileged part of the population. Their quality of life might be further reduced and in the most extreme cases they might be forced to withdraw entirely from the labor market due to their inability to commute to a workplace. The impact on the economy is obvious, more people will be seeking welfare and create a burden on country's economy. The funds, that might have been potentially invested into environmental research, would be diverted elsewhere by this development.
In conclusion, in my opinion the increase in fuels price will fail to serve the purpose of substantially improving the environmental situation. The viable approach that considers simultaneous development of public transportation and discourages the use of private vehicles looks to be a more viable option.