Border carbon tax could cut emissions

(Eco Business, 25 Oct 2016) Major trading countries are urged to make a big contribution to the battle against climate change by introducing a carbon tax on imports.

The US, China and the European Union (EU) should bring in border taxes on carbon emissions contained in imported products not already taxed in their countries of origin, according to a former New Zealand cabinet minister.

It would mean that if China, for example, includes rice in its emissions trading scheme, any rice it then imports − and which had not been subject to an emissions tax in its country of origin − would incur a border carbon tax.

Peter Neilson, an economist who served as minister of revenue and customs in the 1980s, puts forward the idea in a study of carbon pricing and international trade .

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Eco Business, 25 Oct 2016: Border carbon tax could cut emissions