After last week’s rival announcements by our two ‘PMs-in-waiting’, the rush by our politicians to establish their green credentials gives the clearest signal yet that taxation to tackle climate change will become the norm, rather than the exception, in the future.

Protecting the environment, a long-championed cause by our slowly-departing current Premier, will shape national and international politics in the second part of this decade, almost as much as the War on Terror shaded the first part.

The government has already signaled that new taxes on fuel, petrol, road use, refuse collections and other carbon-offsetting taxation measures are just around the corner, and with the draft Climate Change Bill, which calls for a 60 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, it seems that even domestic households will be expected to do their bit.

David Cameron’s green proposals include taxing frequent fliers and a tax on flights based on the level of carbon emissions. You might argue that these taxes boost domestic tourism by dissuading people from making many short-haul trips in a year.

Inevitably, the just-causes of Britain’s politicians will impact upon every business in the country, and our industry will have to prepare itself for these changes, even if other countries are reluctant to do so.

Introducing these taxes unilaterally will certainly harm British tourism in the short-term, so we must work to ensure that these measures are not only adopted across the board, especially within multinational hospitality businesses, but that they are part of a wider, international process of policy change.

It is particularly incumbent upon the government to ensure that the initial national stage of this process does not represent – put simply – taxation for taxations sake, and is the first stage of a period of committed change in the way we consume energy.

It is inevitable that other countries which do not follow the British lead will be in a strong position to grab a portion of Britain’s more expensive tourism market.

But in the long-term our loss will not necessarily be their gain.

Significant investment has been placed in advancing new and greener sources of energy, and methods of travel. Consumers are also becoming increasingly aware of their own carbon footprint, and the green credentials of a particular company often effects how and where they spend their money.

And let’s not forget that saving on energy consumption and cutting back water waste saves money in the short-term, and conserves natural resources in the long-term.

If our industry can become acclimatised to the green regime sooner rather than later, then the gains will be ours.