ACEA loves CO₂ taxing schemes, with conditions

The ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturer's Association) recently published a statement that calls EU members' tendency to tax vehicles according to CO₂ production figures a positive step. The ACEA recognizes that it's an effective and wise measure to make motorists choices more fuel-efficient vehicles. They do not, however, think that a Registration Tax (such as Spain) is adequate or that most of the work is done, since current schemes still rely on power, cylinder capacity or a combination of the two.
Only 11 EU members have CO₂ emissions-based tax schemes. ACEA says that the 27 state members should have similar rules, because it would not only limit carbon emissions but would also help automakers adapt to EU tax systems.

The main points for their proposal are:

• All car duties should be substituted by a circulation tax based on CO₂ production figures.
• The targets for CO₂ reduction should be technology-neutral (Austria got some criticism for not doing that).
• The taxing scheme should be independent of vehicle class (SUVs anyone?)
• The taxing scheme should be linear, simply based on a tax per gram of CO₂.

There's also a complete section related not only to what cars produce but the fuels they use. Of course, ACEA's idea is to tax fuels according to CO₂, so:

• Fuel tax systems should prioritize production reduction.
• Fossil fuels would have the highest rate possible. Other fuels would get tax reductions according to the CO₂ advantage of the alternative fuel in question.
• Alternative fuels should be certified stating their CO₂ performance.

[Source: ACEA]