by Agence France-Presse
PARIS—The French government decided Tuesday that a new carbon tax to fight global warming will go into force in July, a week after the constitutional court struck down a previous version of the measure.
President Nicolas Sarkozy told the council of ministers that the revamped tax would be presented to the cabinet later this month and that it would go into force on July 1, government spokesman Luc Chatel told reporters.
The Constitutional Council last Tuesday declared the tax illegal, just days before it was to kick in, dealing a severe blow to Sarkozy, who had championed the measure aimed at encouraging French consumers to stop wasting energy.
The court ruled that too many exemptions to the tax on carbon dioxide emissions created inequalities and unfairly placed the burden of cutting down wasteful energy use on a minority of consumers. The Council said more than 1,000 of France’s top polluters would have been able to dodge the tax and that the legislation did not apply to 93 percent of emissions from industrial sources.
Under the first law, the new levy on oil, gas, and coal consumption had been set at $25 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions.
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde suggested on Tuesday that industry could be subjected to the carbon tax, but at a separate rate, to ensure companies are not penalized with a heavy tax burden.
The new bill will be drafted following consultations with industry, which was exempt from the first version, and submitted to parliament, where Sarkozy’s party holds a majority, Chatel said.
“The president raised the issue of the carbon tax,” said Chatel during a press briefing after the cabinet meeting held at the Elysee palace. “The government reaffirmed its conviction that a carbon tax is necessary to change behavior toward the environment. I am announcing that a new carbon tax will go into force on July 1.”
The government had anticipated revenues of $5.9 billion from the tax in 2010, but the funds were earmarked for redistribution in the form of tax breaks and “green checks” to families that cut down consumption.
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