EU swerves away from taxing car pollution
(IPS) EU governments look set to reject calls for taxing cars based on their contribution to climate change.
At a Dec 4 meeting, finance ministers from the EU's 27 member states are scheduled to discuss a proposal for reshaping taxes imposed on cars so that they take account of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main climate-changing gas, they emit.
But Portugal, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, has conceded that a breakthrough on this plan is unlikely.
This is despite a pledge made by the EU governments earlier this year that they would lead international efforts to fight climate change.
In an internal paper, seen by IPS, the Lisbon government says there is "opposition from a considerable number" of EU countries to "an obligation to introduce a CO2 element into national car taxes."
23 Nov 2007