Environmenttaxes-theUnitedNations.docVIP

Environment taxes Stig Sollund Director General Tax Law Department Ministry of Finance Norway Introductory presentation on Agenda 2 of IFAD meeting of United Nations Group of Experts on Domestic Resource Mobilisation – A discussion of Enduring and Emerging Issues Rome, 4-5 September 2007 INTRODUCTION The global community is facing immense challenges in dealing with environmental issues. Problems of pollution and ecological degradation are not confined to national states –severe as they may be regionally and locally- but they impact on living conditions on the earth as a whole. The urgency of reducing greenhouse gases to curb climate change has been documented by the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change and is underlined i.a. by the Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, which sums up the situation with the statement that “The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response.” The conclusions of the Stern Review give strong messages on the economic impacts: Climate change could have very serious impacts on growth and development The costs of stabilising the climate are significant but manageable; delay would be dangerous and much more costly Actions on climate change is required across all countries, and it need not cap the aspirations for growth of rich or poor countries The situation is, however, not yet hopeless if appropriate measures are put in action on the international level: There is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, if we take strong action now A range of options exist to cut emissions; strong, deliberate policy action is required to motivate their take up Climate change demands an international response, based on shared understanding of long-term goals and agreement on frameworks for actions Imposition of (traditional) taxes to curb emission of greenhouse gases can only play a contributing role in the overall solutions. Other forms of taxation bas