Download PowerPoint-Präsentation

Future Design of Economic
Instruments for Fair Energy
Pricing
Kai Schlegelmilch*
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation
and Nuclear Safety, Berlin/Germany
EP – GLOBE, NEEDS Forum 1: Accepting the Real Price for
Sustainable Energy, Belgian Parliament, Brussels 24th May 2005
* Though I normally represent government positions, this presentation is
made on my personal capacity.
Examples for Economic
Instruments
Present:
• Liability/Guarantee/Insurance Obligations
• Taxes and Charges
• Emissions Trading
Future:
• Liabilities for large scale damages such as
climate change
• Emissions Trading for SME/Transport/Private
Households
• Road Pricing for private cars
• Congestion Charge/City Toll
Requirements/Criteria for
Fair Energy Pricing
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Polluter Pays/Resource User Principle
competivity and equity concerns
Predictability
Good Rationale
Transparency i.a. of revenue use
Monitoring
Reporting
Task/Sector Sharing of Instruments
Liability/Guarantee/Insurance
Obligations
• Liabilities for large scale damages such
as climate change
• Full liability for all energy sources
• Set up reporting system on liability
schemes and how they affect
investment decisions (or how their nonexistence does so)
• Refer to insurance fees of the private
sector which are differentiated
according to risks
Taxes and Charges I
• Demonstrate tax relation to environmental
aspects (CO2, energy, other pollutants)
• Take competitiveness and equity concerns
into account
• Choose mid-term tax approach (e.g. UK-fuel
duty escalator-1993-2000, D-ETR-1999-2003, SETR-2000-2010)
• Transparency and Monitoring of Impacts and
Revenue Use by Reporting System
Taxes and Charges II
• Use of Revenues can be shown more clearly by provision on
the pay slip – as often not understood if used for labour cost
reduction
• Earmark smaller parts for environmental purposes or name
Ecological Tax Reform (ETR) differently
• Fiscal Driver may be required to ensure introduction and
continuation
• However, often schizophrenic attitude: Though market-based
instruments are introduced people prefer to ask the “good”
government when it comes to revenue spending
• People often dislike being “forced” to change behaviour
Emissions Trading
• Possibly extend Emissions Trading to
SME/Transport/Private – or communicate the
role of instrumental task sharing between
taxes and emissions trading for different
sectors like private households and transport
• Free allocation is economically not the best,
but may be required for competivity and equity
concerns
• Monitoring and Reporting is required which is
a good element
Road Pricing/Congestion
Charge/City Toll
• Allow for differentiation according to
environmental pollution//Euro norms/fuel
consumption
• Gain acceptance by first e.g. including the
haulier sector
• Transparency i.a. of revenue use by new
government, used for transport infrastructure
• Monitor progress and communicate benefits to
the society and various stakeholders
Conclusions
• Future Design of Economic Instruments
for Fair Energy Pricing may take
different forms; but it appears that
transparency (internalisation of external
costs), monitoring and thus reporting
are essential for better acceptance
building
Thank you very much for your
attention!
Contact:
• [email protected]
• Tel.: +49-1888-305-3664
• Fax: +49-1888-305-2349
• http://www.bmu.de
• http://www.bmu.de/oekologische-finanzreform
(information in D, E, FR, ESP)