French President Nichols Sarkozy took a bold stand Thursday by calling for a carbon tax to be levied on gasoline and other carbon dioxide emitting fuels.
If enacted, France would become the world’s largest nation to institute such a levy.
The French carbon tax would allow the government to cut other taxes
However, Sarkozy is fighting an uphill battle in his attempt to discourage the use of fossil fuels and reduce the greenhouse gases that produce global warming. Two-thirds of French oppose the tax while one-third support it. Even voters from his party reject the idea.
Sarkozy called the proposal an example of “ecological taxation,” and said the estimated 3 billion euros it would raise would be returned to French citizens through cuts in other taxes and by so-called “green checks.”
Carbon taxes to discourage the use of fossil fuels – mainly gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas and coal in France – have already been adopted in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Slovenia. France generates most of its electricity from nuclear plants, so electric bills would exempt from the levy.
According to the Associated Press, the tax would increase a liter of gasoline by 4 cents, however that fee could rise over time.
Though Sarkozy’s proposal will likely spark a bitter fight in France, it is likely to cast a long shadow at the U.N. climate meeting in Cogenhagen this December of 37 industrial countries. It could raise the bar for bold action and by doing so make at least modest steps more tolerable.
We shall see.
