The coal industry is destroying the climate, yet banks keep financing it. We must call on banks to stop bankrolling climate change, cutting ties with the coal sector is an important first step. It is high time to keep coal, and all fossil fuels, in the ground. Support the call at: http://dotheparispledge.org
Luxembourg, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, is responsible for the EU’s highest per-capita level of fossil fuel subsidies. At €3,415 per person every year, Luxembourg’s fossil fuel subsidies are nearly one thousand euro higher than the next worst country, Bulgaria, at €2,479 per person, according to a recent IMF study [1]. €3,415 a year: Luxembourg’s level of fossil fuel subsidies per person Drawing attention to the data, Green Budget […]
Green Budget Europe, in collaboration with Climate Strategy & Partners in Madrid, calls for the implementation of Environmental Fiscal Reform in Spain. This paper outlines the potential benefits, in terms of both fiscal consolidation and environmental protection, of a greener Spanish economy that is based on emission reductions and energy efficiency. Download (in Spanish)
Green Budget Europe Director James Nix writes in EU Observer: The G7 leaders’ meeting in Germany agreed on Monday to “decarbonise the global economy in the course of this century”. For Germany, the US and the UK, the commitment follows on from their existing pledges to cut emissions 70 – 95% by mid-century. But for Canada and Japan, the G7 statement signals significant change. For the last decade or more, […]
Green Budget Europe Director James Nix writes in today’s Financial Times: On June 1, six of Europe’s largest oil and gas companies (BG, BP, Eni, Shell, Statoil and Total) wrote to the UN calling for carbon taxation. This is a welcome development, signifying that many major fossil fuel companies now acknowledge the damage their products do to the world’s climate and, by extension, its inhabitants, present and future. Many commentators […]
Green Budget Europe Director James Nix writes in Euractiv: There is a growing global awareness of the real cost of fossil fuels. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that global fossil fuels subsidies will reach $5.3 trillion in 2015 (6.5% of the global GDP). The IMF study shows coal and oil to be the most heavily subsidised energy sources. In addition to encouraging CO2 emissions, these subsidies raise air […]
Green Budget Europe’s board members and experts met in Brussels with representatives from the European Commission and civil society organisations to discuss the current state of Environmental Fiscal Reform within the European Semester. Below are some background information, along with the objectives of the meeting and target audience. Download the event’s agenda. The European Semester On 28 November 2014, the new European Commission kicked off the 5th round of the European Semester […]
A fuel tax agreement operates in the US and Canada which is known as the International Fuel Tax Agreement, or IFTA. Under the IFTA, truck operators (hauliers) record distance travelled and fuel consumed within each state/province (jurisdiction). Tax paid where fuel is purchased is later reconciled against actual use. Thanks to this reconciliation process, hauliers obtain a rebate from some jurisdictions and pay additional taxes to others. Significant differences in […]
Given the high potential benefits of Environmental Fiscal Reform and better EU spending by Member States to achieve the Europe 2020 Strategy targets and foster innovative low carbon investments for sustainable economies, we urge the Commission and the Member States to strongly embed in the European Semester process and reflect in Country-Specific Recommendations: To phase-out all market-distorting environmentally harmful subsidies as soon as possible and by 2020 at the latest; To […]
European Commission DG Environment, Brussels Organised by Green Budget Europe and hosted by the European Commission, this side-event to the Greening the European Semester expert group brought together 33 representatives of 11 EU-Member States, NGOs and the European Commission to exchange knowledge about the potential of environmental fiscal reform in very open, in-depth and fruitful discussions. The event started off with an introduction by Paul Ekins, director of the UCL Institute […]