Wednesday, May 21, 2008

South Africa: Carbon Tax

From Business Report (South Africa):

Carbon tax tagged as green solution
The introduction of a carbon tax could have the biggest single impact on cutting South Africa's emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

This is outlined in the government's long-awaited scientific study outlining scenarios for mitigating emissions, released yesterday after being presented to the cabinet earlier this month....

...Environmental affairs and tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk was quick to point out yesterday that no decision had been taken yet on the state's preferred instruments to cut emissions.

Carbon would have a price, and a tax was one possible measure. "We believe markets will have to play a large role," he said, adding that the government had noted business's preference for incentives to comprise as large a part of the package as possible....

But of course.