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The debate over a price on CO鈧� emissions gathered pace over the Easter break, after Chancellor Angela Merkel said her new 鈥渃limate cabinet鈥� would discuss the idea over the coming months.
Environment Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) 鈥� who has been calling for a debate over CO鈧� pricing almost since she took office over a year ago 鈥� she will work out a proposal by summer that will not burden low-income households. 鈥淲e want to reimburse the people with the money from CO鈧� revenues, taking the burden off medium and low-income households,鈥� Schulze said. 鈥淭hose with a higher income, or big cars or houses will carry a greater burden because they can afford it.鈥� The minister did not suggest a definite price, but mentioned 20 euros per tonne of CO鈧�, as proposed by experts, as a first step.
In a guest commentary for Tagesspiegel Background, former Economy and Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) said 20 euros would be a 鈥渓ow-threshold opening offer鈥� but for Germany to reach its 2030 climate targets, it would need to rise to 200 euros per tonne. He argues that a CO鈧� tax would have 鈥渟ignificant advantages compared to emissions trading鈥�. Introducing a tax would be much faster than reforming the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), Gabriel writes. He says the revenue from such a tax should be paid out to citizens per capita, 鈥渢he same amount for everyone鈥� meaning that those on lower incomes who emit less CO2 receive back a higher proportion of the tax they pay or even more. Companies covered by the ETS would be exempt from the tax, Gabriel writes.
Wolfgang Sch盲uble (CDU), president of the German parliament and former finance minister, it would be better to reach an agreement at a European level. 鈥淢aking [CO鈧俔 allowances more expansive or introducing a tax, is the same general idea and should be examined by the responsible politicians,鈥� Sch盲uble said. He called for decisions on climate action to be made quickly, saying 鈥渨e cannot afford ten more years of discussions.鈥�