Carbon Tax in France : €32 per tonne CO2
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, created a commision some time ago to study the form that a carbon tax might take in France. That commission, led by former prime-minister Michel Rocard, presented its recommendations to the French government on July 27th.
The heart of the matter is the introduction of a tax on all fossil fuels and electricity, which in France is 80% nuclear.
The recommended price is €32 per tonne of CO2 in 2010 rising to €100 per tonne in 2030. This breaks down to an increase of 6~7c per litre of petrol/diesel ans a 10% increase in the price of gas.
The government will face great difficulty in the implementation such as tax as it is wide open to claims of taxing the poor more heavily than the well-off. To counter this, the government is considering the concept of a "green cheque" where families will receive an annual cheque accoridng to their revenues. Obviously the idea is that they can use this cheque to invest in less energy-intensive products, insulating their homes, buying more efficient cars etc.
Interestingly, the commission also recommended that the tax be applied also to electricity even though 80% of France's electricity is from nuclear power which is considered a low-emissions source of power. Rocard indicated that he believes that the tax should serve to increase overall energy efficiency, not merely the use of fossil fuels.
Going back to a previous post the impact on flying would be minimal, with the price of a Dublin-Paris return flight increasing by just over €4.