China Studying Carbon Tax

Chinese officials have asked a state-run think tank to draft proposals for taxing coal, oil, and other fossil fuels, according to a report in China’s National Business Daily. The newspaper said that the ministries of finance and environmental protection have asked the think tank for proposals on a range of taxes on environmental damage, from a carbon tax to a levy on sulphur dioxide emissions, which cause acid rain. “At a time when calls for the globe to control emissions of carbon dioxide are growing louder… promotion of environmental taxes is much needed,” said Su Ming, deputy director of a think tank in the Ministry of Finance. The ministries asked the researchers to present the tax proposals within a month, but analysts cautioned that these proposals are preliminary and that China — the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases — is only now beginning to consider the ramifications of a carbon tax on its economy.