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Sweden Reviewing Its Tax Exemptions for Biofuels

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The Swedish National Audit Office (Riksrevisionen) has begun a review of the tax exemption for biofuels, with the results to be published in 2011. Sweden has striven to increase the share of biofuels in transport, and liquid biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are currently exempt from energy and carbon tax.

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Perspective: The Role of Offsets in Climate Change Legislation

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This article shows that including offsets in climate change legislation would likely make an emissions program more cost-effective by: (a) providing an incentive for non-regulated sources to generate emission reductions; and (b) expanding emission compliance opportunities for regulated entities. 3) Measurement. CONCLUSION.

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Study Finds that US Subsidies for Fossil Fuels Are Almost 2.5x Those for Renewables

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billion—are attributable to corn-based ethanol, the climate effects of which are disputed. Most of the largest subsidies to fossil fuels were written into the US Tax Code as permanent provisions. The vast majority of subsidy dollars to fossil fuels can be attributed to just a handful of tax breaks, such as the Foreign Tax Credit ($15.3

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EEA says industrial air pollution cost Europe up to €169 billion in 2009; some 37% attributed to CO2

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Air pollution from the 10,000 largest polluting facilities in Europe cost citizens between €102–169 billion (US$135–224 billion) in 2009, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) which analyzed the costs of harm to health and the environment caused by air pollution. Source: EEA. Click to enlarge.

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UK Government Pre-Budget Report Offers Tax Exemptions for EVs, £30M in Additional Support for Low-Carbon Vehicles; Annual Fuel Tax Increases and End of Duty Differential for Biofuels

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In the Pre-Budget Report (PBR) released on 9 December, UK Chancellor Alistair Darling announced that all electric cars will be exempt from Company Car Tax (CCT) for 5 years and electric vans will be exempt from Van Benefit Charge (VBC) for the same period. The PBR also has news of an additional £30 million (US$48.5 Earlier post.).

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U Chicago, MIT study suggests ongoing use of fossil fuels absent new carbon taxes

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A paper by a team from the University of Chicago and MIT suggests that technology-driven cost reductions in fossil fuels will lead to the continued use of fossil fuels—oil, gas, and coal—unless governments pass new taxes on carbon emissions. We need both a policy like a carbon tax and to put more R&D money into renewables.

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UK DfT Report Finds That While a Majority of the Public Still Thinks Individuals Should Limit Car Use to Benefit Environment, Support for Measures Drops

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It found that 65% of respondents spontaneously selected emissions from road transport as a cause of climate change. Most respondents said they think cars or aeroplanes are the transport modes mainly responsible for climate changing emissions. Click to enlarge. Almost exactly the same proportion disagreed with this.