Tag: CO2

22 sep. – OECD for raising taxes

pic: expressen.se

Raising taxes on highly polluting sources of energy is an effective way to curb CO2 emissions, says a new report from the OECD. However, 70% of energy-related CO2 emissions in developed and emerging economies are “entirely untaxed,” giving emission-producing companies little reason to change business practices (bit.ly/OECDtaxes).

Where is Sweden in all this? Sweden has the highest tax on carbon dioxide of all OECD countries – 107 euro per ton CO2 – but this tax is apparently not evenly spread over all emission sources. Only Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland meet or are over the threshold of 30 euro/ton CO2 over all emissions. According to the OECD as reported by SvD, the reason Sweden isn’t part of this elite crowd is because we use so much biodeisel, and biodeisel is exempt from CO2 taxes.

For many countries, especially developing ones, it is politically challenging to make prices high enough to encourage (or at least make economically worthwhile) deep reductions in CO2 emissions. The Yellow Vest movement in France is one example of popular pushback. In Sweden, the revolt over the taxes on gas (bensinupproret 2.0) is a minor variant of the same. Australia, Canada, Great Britain and a dozen-odd states in the US have taken significant steps in taxing emissions. In Canada, though, the opposition Conservative party has promised to do away with the tax if they win in the upcoming election (nyti.ms/NYTimesEmissions). Also exerting significant popular pressure, but in the other direction, are the pro-environment youth movements pressuring their governments for just these sorts of taxes.

The main report, with a country-wide breakdown so Sweden can really see where it’s at, will be presented in October. We can expect bigger headlines then.

Thurs. 01/8 – new wheels jump

pic: smartmotorist.com

BIL Sweden, the Swedish trade association for manufacturers and importers of cars, trucks and buses, reported a huge increase in car and light truck purchases this year. Compared to last July, car purchases increased 89%, while light truck purchases went up 219% (). Before you get all worked up about these jumps, it was expected. Last July, purchases were way, way down because of the the bonus-malus incentive that was just going into effect. Then, people thought “New car right now? Um, no.” But now, it’s more like “Bonus-malus-shmalus. We still need a new car (or light truck).”

Side note: Some translate bonus-malus to “discount-premium,” and others more to “carrot-whip,” meaning that purchasers of new vehicles got money back if they purchased an environmentally friendly car, or, paid extra taxes if they bought a car that was deemed not so friendly.

BIL Sweden thinks this yo-yo vehicle market makes planning difficult for the industry and for the consumer. It is therefore asking the government (nicely) to procrastinate on putting the new emissions test standard into effect, that is otherwise set to start at the beginning of next year. The new method for measuring vehicle emissions, called WLTP, is the new EU standard, but BIL Sweden’s Mattias Bergman is thinking that any new standard should be introduced soonest in 2021. This to avoid creating uncertainty and confusion for the Swedish consumer, of course. By the way, this would also put off new and higher taxes for most cars, even on some hybrid cars that would suddenly and surprisingly end up on the malus side of bonus-malus with the new rules.

Buying something with an eye to taxes is sort of like playing Whac-a-mole, as many car and truck buyers perhaps have come to realize.