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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 7, NUMBER 9, SEPTEMBER 1994

REPORTS... ENERGY: ENERGY & CARBON TAXES

Item #d94sep71

State and Local Taxation: Energy Policy by Accident, $35, Aug. 1994. Order from Alliance to Save Energy Publications, 1725 K St. NW, S. 509, Washington DC 20006.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, most state and local governments tax energy far less than other goods and services. They are missing a potential of $7 billion in taxes annually had they imposed taxes on end-use energy products at the same rate as their general sales tax. Many existing taxes and tax provisions encourage energy consumption and the use of polluting energy resources. Contains state-by-state comparisons of taxation and laws, and other information.

Item #d94sep72

Prices, Regulation and Energy Conservation (Discussion Paper No. 94-07), A.B. Jaffe, R.N. Stavins, 1994. Distributional and Environmental Consequences of Taxes on Energy: A Partial Equilibrium Model of U.S. Household Energy Demand (Discussion Paper No. 94-19), H. Dowlatabadi, R.J. Kopp, F.T. Tschang, 1994 (RFF). Each costs $3.

Item #d94sep73

Energy and Carbon Taxes--Reform Options and Impacts, S. Terry Assoc. et al., 1994, NZ$40. Available from R. Sapsford, Environ. Ministry, POB 10-362, Wellington, New Zealand.

Examined the environmental and economic effects of shifting from the current taxation pattern towards one based more on the carbon or energy content of fuels. If some existing taxes were replaced, CO2 emissions could be reduced and energy efficiency could improve, with a small increase in GDP and employment. Only the iron and steel industry would face contraction under the model's 10-year period.

Item #d94sep74

Carbon Taxes: Norwegian Experiences, Norway Environ. Ministry, 3 pp., 1993. Contact Norwegian Ministry of Environ., Myntgaten 2, POB 8013, Dep., N-0030 Oslo, Norway.

Submitted to the secretariat of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Norwegian tax, introduced in Jan. 1991, is high compared to that considered by the European Union. Its impact is difficult to gauge; carbon emissions have declined in some sectors and not others. But the negative effects on Norwegian industry in the Ministry's view have not been dramatic even in the short term.