Germany joins EU in taxing CO2 emissions
by Jonathon Ramsey on Jan 29th 2009 at 8:01AM 
European car ads are always mentioning how many grams of CO2 a car emits because more than twelve European countries tax drivers based on those emissions. Germany, home to a cadre of automakers for which CO2 parsimony is not a prime consideration, has held out from the carbon dioxide taxation scheme, until now. The leading government coalition has finally agreed on a plan to tax CO2 output. The only problem is that it doesn't really change much of the scheme already in place, and it's hit-and-miss. This, naturally, has Germany's environmental parties calling foul, yet the nation's domestic producers like VW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW initially gotten the government to consider lowering the taxes on gas guzzlers. In that light, the new taxation proposal could be seen as a victory, albeit a small one.
As it stands, the yearly tax will be calculated based on engine size and emissions, and smaller-engined, cleaner vehicles will pay less tax. An Opel Agila owner with a 1.2-liter engine and 120 gm/km would save €75, nearly a 40% discount from the current system. The owner of a V12 Audi Q7 wouldn't pay any more under the new regulations; however, someone buying a Mercedes GLK -- with a 3.5-liter V6, the biggest option available -- would pay 4.7% more.
The new taxing system will go into effect July 1 of this year. Although it now brings Germany into line with a majority of its European partners, if the greens have anything to say about it the issue is nowhere near being put to rest.
[Source: Der Spiegel via Automotive NewsWire]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
MTU 5.0 8:25AM (1/29/2009)
There's a European import that I hope is not offered in the U.S.
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Dude 8:35AM (1/29/2009)
So how much do they tax people and animals for expelling CO2? Give it another 10 years and the Socialist Environuts will try to tax or ban athletes.
CO2 is not a pollutant. It's all around us. We exhale it. Plants love it.
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Sea Urchin 8:48AM (1/29/2009)
What do you care. This is a European law affecting Europeans.
Sea Urchin 8:52AM (1/29/2009)
Dude don't tell me that you are offended by clean air even if it is in Europe.
Look, i am like you in many ways, i enjoy breathing harmful particle, i enjoy swimming in lakes that are diluted with raw sewage, heck i even feel nauseous when i see a tree.
But some people are not into that stuff, some actually want clean air.
Dude 9:02AM (1/29/2009)
The reduction of CO2 doesn't "make the air clean". The earth needs CO2. If you care about trees you would too.
It's ironic that Europe goes after CO2, yet forces their populace to drive around in diesel cars that spit out harmful carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur oxides and hydrocarbons willy nilly.
Joce03 8:10PM (1/29/2009)
Carbon dioxide IS a pollutant when it is man-made. And we man-make a sh@t load of it. And as for the plants that love it, we've cut most of them down which means that we have destroyed (or gravely damaged) nature's way of taking in CO2. The result is an increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which leads to global warming. Those are facts.
And while some of the world's biggest producers of carbon dioxide (North America) are busy trying to justify their ignorance of this problem, the EU is actually trying to do something to reduce the emission of CO2. And, in most countries that implement a carbon tax, that tax is "revenue neutral", meaning that the money they get from the carbon tax is given back to the population through social services or income tax cuts.
Kumar 8:37AM (1/29/2009)
In case anyone else was wondering the diesel/gas comparo....so I guess a smaller gas engine like the VW twincharger (turbo and super), and small diesels would still be the cheapest, since it's about size AND co2 output.
CO2 emissions from a gallon of gasoline = 2,421 grams x 0.99 x (44/12) = 8,788 grams = 8.8 kg/gallon = 19.4 pounds/gallon
CO2 emissions from a gallon of diesel = 2,778 grams x 0.99 x (44/12) = 10,084 grams = 10.1 kg/gallon = 22.2 pounds/gallon
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indyogb 8:46AM (1/29/2009)
How is that possible? A gallon of gas, itself, only weighs ~6 lbs.
indyogb 8:46AM (1/29/2009)
Nevermind, forgot about the oxygen in the air. Doh!
Eric 8:51AM (1/29/2009)
It would benefit anyone that hasn't seen it, to watch The Great Global Warming Swindle, if only to give you the opinions on the other side. There is so much money involved in this topic there is no way you can trust any reporting as being 100% factual.
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Kingus 11:32PM (1/29/2009)
It is a good movie to watch as long as you research the facts after. If you research the facts then then you'll see what a bunch of crap it is. Though I admit they almost had me at the whole CO2 lags warming part (which is true!), until i looked up the reasons behind it.
Oh and they said volcanoes emit more CO2 then man. OOPS! looks like the director/writer or whatever didn't do any research and just put in any skeptical crap he could find.
Matt 8:52AM (1/29/2009)
I just don't understand this tax?
-Do cars magically emit a set amount of carbon dioxide while they sit in the garage?
-Has Porsche invented a special motor that somehow creates more carbon dioxide per litre of fuel consumed?
Conservation of mass dictates that CO2 is directly tied to fuel consumption. You burn more fuel, you create more CO2. Why are we taxing VEHICLES, and not including this tax in the cost of PETROL????
This bothers me to no end... Such a poorly devised tax that is only loosely tied to its stated purpose. Why do we let politicians think? WHERE ARE THE ECONOMISTS AND OTHER LEARNED PEOPLE?
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Scorch 9:16AM (1/29/2009)
I don't think they want the sciententists and economists around when they're devising underhanded taxes. A lot of people are speculating as to the efficacy of these taxes - many Europeans see the "green" movement as a new engine for taxing the people and providing little in the way of tangible benefits.
DasBoese 10:35AM (1/29/2009)
Gas taxes in Germany are some of the highest in Europe.
We largely have the green party to thank for for that. Now, I wouldn't really mind it all that much IF the money was actually spent on improving our road, rail and water infrastructure. But it isn't, because we have the same problem that the USA have: Decades of deficit spending, meaning that that money is used to stuff other financial holes.
We have one of the most complicated, bloated tax systems in the world. Even our leaders don't understand it, that's why or 30 years every single administration has failed to reform it.
delow24 8:54AM (1/29/2009)
This story is all you need to see that the CO2 and global warming alarmism is really about increasing governmental power. What are they going to do next? Tax every breath we exhale? Tax our flatulence? Socialism and Communisim is still alive and rampant in the globalwarmingsavethepolarbearsclimatechange propoganda movement.
Be afriad, very afraid!
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jv2k 12:37PM (1/29/2009)
It's called the carbon cycle. Look it up.
In a nutshell when you breath you are essentially recycling carbon that is already in the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels is putting carbon into the air that has been buried under ground for millions of years.
david 2:42PM (1/29/2009)
jv2k,
hate to point it out to you, but technically, burning fossil fuels is still within "the carbon cycle" that you speak of. There is no time dictating the carbon cycle. We pump oil out, burn it, produce CO2, the carbon is then taken up by plants, and the plants decompose or eaten, the left over carbon then eventually becomes oil again.
As far as this issue goes, does no one believe in freedom anymore? Does anyone not see how this is starting to go beyond reasonable control. Europe can do what ever they want, but I'll fight it here in the States. It's a money and power grab in the name of the environment to get people to go along with it.
Do the environuts really think that people questioning these things really want to live in a barren wasteland? No, I tend to like the forest, clean air, etc, but I like to approach it from a scientific stand point, not feel good taxes, and especially not when people are told to not question what has been stated.
“When the search for truth is confused with political advocacy, the pursuit of knowledge is reduced to the quest for power” - Alston Chase
jv2k 5:22PM (1/29/2009)
david,
That CO2 is additional Carbon that was taken out of the cycle millions of years ago.
Kingus 11:53PM (1/29/2009)
@david
Yes it is technically part of the carbon cycle on a timescale of millions of years. Too bad humans don't live that long. If you were to jump into a 80C (~176F) tub of water, would you just be like: "whatever it'll cool off eventually"? (yes my analogy is horrible)
@delow24
As for the point of carbon tax is to "correct" the cost of fossil fuels. When paying for gas the cost to the environment is not taken into account. Hopefully those taxes would go towards preventative measures, while also encouraging some conservation.
Of course the whole thing could be a conspiracy of elite scientists and democrat politicians, to enslave us! They have managed to fool the rest of the world! But not Americans! They know it's communist conspiracy!
ps. sorry for the sweeping generalization, hugs and kisses from Canada :)
Dazza 9:06AM (1/29/2009)
Given that Americans emit a third of the world's pollutants from 5% of the world's population, and that this is a system which they themselves haven't devised, then it's hardly surprising they're going to be critical.
The CO2 registration system isn't perfect but it's a big step in the right direction, along with more stringent Euro V emissions standards. Almost all EU countries now adopt it and it means we get to enjoy the world's most efficient engine technology. In the UK, these cars - such as Ford's Fiesta EcoNetic diesel - attract low or zero annual registration/road tax charges.
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