The Development of Global Carbon Taxes: Monthly Update

According to a yearly in-depth report from the World Bank in June 2019, 57 countries have committed to implementing or scheduling carbon pricing initiatives, including a carbon tax.  So far, 46 national and 28 subnational jurisdictions have adopted carbon pricing to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and keep in line with their 2030 objectives and the Paris Agreement.  And since last year’s report, 11 more countries have committed to scheduling carbon pricing for implementation.

“This consists of 28 emission trading systems (ETSs) in regional, national and subnational jurisdictions, and 29 carbon taxes, primarily applied on a national level. In total, these carbon pricing initiatives cover 11 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e), or about 20 percent of global GHG emissions, similar as compared to last year.”

The trend towards applying a carbon tax in order to help the move toward renewable energy has grown in popularity in the past decade.  Starting in 1990, Finland was the first country to introduce a carbon tax, with it currently resting at €62/tCO2e (for transport fuels).  Its Scandinavian neighbors followed suit in 1991 and 1992.  However it wasn’t until the 2000s that more countries began to view carbon pricing as a viable option in their campaigns for reduced GHG emissions.

While many of the new initiatives are at a subnational level, predominantly in the Americas, some new taxes have been introduced at a national level.

Read more at The Development of Global Carbon Taxes:  Monthly Update