The Commission has just launched a broad public consultation on advancing the use of market-based instruments for environment and energy related policy purposes in the Community. Market-based instruments, such as taxes, charges and tradable permit schemes provide a flexible and cost-efficient means for reaching given policy objectives. In the Green Paper, the Commission explores a wide range of areas where the use of market-based instruments including taxation could be promoted further, such as energy consumption, environmental impact of transport and other areas of environment policy.
More in particular the green paper explores possible ways forward with the Energy Taxation Directive to make it more supportive of the EU energy and environmental policies in line with the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. The green paper also addresses broader issues such as environmental tax reforms and role of taxation and fiscal instruments in general in the context of the integrated energy and climate change agenda of the EU.
All interested parties are welcome to comment on the paper and/or send responses to all or selected questions raised in the green paper to the following e-mail address:
Green-paper-mbi
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (Green-paper-mbi[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
The public consultation is open until 31 July 2007.
The responses will allow the Commission to decide on appropriate follow-up and will also be reflected in the upcoming review of the Energy Taxation Directive.
Press release (IP/07/430 )
Green Paper (COM(2007) 140 )
The Commission's staff working document accompanying the green paper (SEC(2007) 388 )
This green paper is a joint project of Commissioners Dimas and Kovács. It is therefore equally accessible from the website of the Directorate General for Environment.