‘Icelandic government proposes new green taxes’

ENDS EUROPE DAILY – 20/11/09

The Icelandic government has announced plans to introduce an environmental charge on electricity consumption and a carbon tax on fossil fuels. The charge on electricity use would be set at 0.12 krona per kilowatt hour (this is lower than the rate originally proposed) and is expected to raise €30.4m. Tax breaks would be provided for greenhouse farmers and households in areas with no geothermal heating. The carbon tax would be levied on petrol, diesel, aviation oil and heavy fuel oil, based on EU carbon prices. Iceland already has some environmental taxation through its national recycling fund, which imposes levies on a range of products and earmarks revenues for environmentally sound disposal and recycling.

‘All new buildings to be ‘near-zero-energy’ by 2020′

ENDS EUROPE DAILY – 18/11/09

EU governments and MEPs have reached an agreement on plans to revise the 2002 directive on the energy performance of buildings in order to ensure that all new buildings constructed after 2020 will consume ‘near-zero-energy’ i.e. they will have ‘a very high energy performance’, and any energy used will come ‘to a very large extent’ from renewable sources generated either on-site or nearby. Public authorities are expected to lead the way by setting an example in their own buildings. There was also consensus on a new EU-wide methodology for setting national efficiency requirements on building components such as roofs and windows, but the exact details will be agreed later through the EU’s comitology procedure. MEPs were less successful in their efforts to force governments to upgrade the efficiency of existing buildings, in the end reaching agreement only to ‘develop policies and take measures such as targets’ to transform existing buildings into near-zero-energy buildings when they are refurbished. MEPs also failed to secure new cash to fund efficiency improvements in existing buildings. Governments will therefore have to produce a list of measures and instruments to support the law’s implementation, and by 2011 the European Commission must say whether additional EU funding is needed. Read the European Parliament press release…

‘EU electric car policies ‘will increase CO2 levels’’

ENDS EUROPE DAILY – 12/11/09

Green mobility group T&E (Transport & Environment) has suggested that EU policies designed to promote electric cars could increase rather than decrease total emissions from road transport. Electric cars are counted as ‘zero emissions’ under current legislation, even though the electricity they use can come from coal, in which case such cars can have a higher carbon footprint than that of conventional cars. The group highlights that EU car CO2 legislation includes ‘super credits’ that allow car-makers to sell up to 3.5 gas guzzling SUVs for every electric vehicle they sell and still reach their EU target. They therefore urge EU policy-makers to close off these ‘loopholes’. Whilst they do not deny that electric cars have a role to play in cutting European transport emissions, they feel that policy-makers should not incentivise them in this way and should instead tighten car CO2 emissions limits, promote green electricity and make smart meters in electric cars mandatory as part of the electric car type approval rules that are due to be proposed next year. Read the T&E press release…

‘Everyone should be able to keep warm’

THE INDEPENDENT – 21/11/09

This article commends the announcement in the Queen’s Speech of the inclusion of mandatory help for fuel-poor energy customers in the Energy Bill. It highlights calls from Consumer Focus for the UK government to ensure that all households living in fuel poverty have full access to assistance, through measures such as the extension of discounted tariffs to pensioners, families with children and disabled people eligible for Cold Weather Payments, as well as to people on means-tested benefits with school-age children. Read the article…

‘Talking energy: The less energy we use, the more we gain’

THE TELEGRAPH – 20/11/09

This article highlights the potential role of energy efficiency improvements in addressing the UK’s energy ‘trilemma’; the need to replace existing generating capacity with an energy source that is affordable, reliable and low-carbon. It quotes MP Malcolm Wicks’ comment that energy efficiency is not a ‘soft’ option, but represents a ‘rigorous and vigorous action programme to reduce substantially the country’s demand for energy’. It also conveys National Energy Action’s calls for the government to initiate a comprehensive retrofit of the existing UK housing stock, and to better coordinate existing government schemes that are of relevance to the issue e.g. Act on CO2 and Warm Front. In particular, the article emphasises the value of smart meters, both for highlighting to the public exactly how much energy they are consuming and for putting an end to estimated bills and thereby enabling the delivery of better-targeted assistance to those struggling to pay their energy bills. Read the article…

‘Green with envy: The tension between free trade and capping emissions’

THE ECONOMIST – 19/11/09

This article discusses the suggestion that manufacturers in countries with tighter carbon emissions limits and carbon reduction policies will face added costs which foreign competitors do not, and the argument that this may cause them to relocate some of their production to ‘carbon havens’ where the cost of polluting is lower. It highlights, however, a new study by economists at the World Bank and the Peterson Institute for International Economics which finds that although some production would migrate, the net increase in emissions in poor countries would be small. The article discusses suggestions for carbon-based tax adjustments on exports from countries that benefit from low carbon prices, but fears these would have adverse implications for trade, particularly for developing countries. Read the article…

‘Party policies on the environment’

THE GUARDIAN – 17/11/09

This article explores how the main UK political parties have been doing in relation to climate change policy and how they intend to make further progress in the future. It highlights Labour’s success in putting climate change at the heart of the G8, calling a UN Security Council meeting on climate change, and introducing the Climate Change Bill, together with their future plans to triple renewable energy production to provide 30% of electricity needs, to build up to ten new nuclear power stations, and to develop and implement carbon capture and storage technologies to ensure cleaner use of fossil fuels. A new Infrastructure Planning Commission has also been established to fast-track major projects, in order to avoid unnecessary and bureaucratic delays to the development of low carbon alternatives. The SNP and Liberal Democrats are opposed to nuclear but do recognise the value of clean coal initiatives. The Liberal Democrats have openly discussed the potential benefits of green taxes, in the form of inducements. They propose a Future Transport Fund to invest in a UK-wide high speed rail network, to work with the EU to introduce gradually tougher mandatory vehicle emissions targets with zero-carbon emissions for all new cars by 2040, and to ensure that at least 10% of all transport fuels come from renewable sources by 2015. The Tories suggest there is an urgent need to move to a low carbon economy ‘in order to strengthen our economy, help guarantee our energy security and protect our environment for future generations’. They pledge to support the development of renewable and low carbon energy sources, and plan to create a ‘decentralised energy revolution’ by introducing a system of feed-in tariffs to encourage the micro-generation of electricity. This would be combined with an expansion of off-shore wind and marine power sources in the form of a network of large-scale Marine Energy Parks. Read the article for more details…

‘Government answers road tax report criticism’

BUSINESS CAR – 16/11/09

This article highlights some key points from the government’s response to the Parliament’s Transport Select Committee report on road taxes: First, the report criticised government’s inconsistent justification of motoring taxes on either environmental or revenue-raising grounds, to which the government responded by saying that primarily they are revenue-raising but where possible and appropriate, environmental factors are built in. Secondly, to counter comments that a simple tax on fuel would be the most effective way of raising revenue and achieving green pressures on motorists, the government argued that its wider tax strategy helps to pressure car makers into building greener cars, as well as reducing emissions from driving. Thirdly, in an effort to clarify its stance on road user charging, the transport secretary has agreed not to introduce a scheme in the next parliament, but indicated that the DfT and Treasury will continue to explore such systems for the future. Fourthly, in relation to the workplace parking levy system, the Government committed to developing guidance for introducing schemes but did not commit to provide assistance regarding how cities should be consulted. Finally, the government supported calls to spend more of the funds raised from traffic penalty charges on efforts to solve the problem-causing offences rather than using the fines for revenue-raising, and added that all authorities should aim for 100% compliance with no penalty charges. Read the article… 

And the government response…

‘Carbon tax could help China head off tariff threat’

REUTERS – 16/11/09

This article discusses the merits of introducing a carbon tax in China. In light of the increasing debate about the feasibility of using border tax adjustments as a means of allaying competitiveness concerns amongst countries that are considering the introduction of a carbon tax, this article suggests China may fare better by introducing its own carbon tax rather than having to pay the tariffs that would be imposed on the costs of their exports. At the very least, their own carbon tax would give China control over the revenues. The article also highlights the irony that part of the growth in emissions from China, the world’s top carbon dioxide polluter, is caused by consumer demand for cheaper Chinese goods in the US and other relatively wealthy nations. Read the article…

‘Dutch first in Europe to adopt green tax for cars’

THE INDEPENDENT – 16/11/09

The Dutch government has announced plans to introduce a green tax to replace the annual road tax on cars from 2012. It is envisaged that drivers will pay a charge per kilometre driven in order to try to end chronic congestion and cut carbon emissions. The system will use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to monitor cars, which will be similar to the scheme used in Singapore where drivers are charged according to the amount of travel. The GPS will track the time, hour and place each car moves and send the data to a billing agency. When this plan takes effect, the corresponding abolition of purchase and roads taxes could cause car prices in the Netherlands to fall by up to 25%. In their place, an average passenger will pay 0.03 Euros per kilometre, with higher charges levied during rush hour and for travelling on congested roads. The Dutch Transport Ministry also said that trucks, commercial vehicles and larger cars that emit more carbon dioxide will be assessed at a higher rate. Read the article…