The European Commission has announced a proposal to raise the minimum level of diesel tax for commercial vehicles and bring it into line with taxes on petrol.
[mailchimp_signup][/mailchimp_signup]
Nina Renshaw of Transport and Environment (T&E), the sustainable transport campaign group said:
“Raising the minimum level of tax on diesel is a step in the right direction. Fuel tax increases lead to improved
operational efficiencies and therefore lower CO2 emissions, it’s that simple. CO2 emissions from road transport shot up by 20% in Europe between 1995 and 2003. But in Germany where the fuel price increased by 36%, emissions actually decreased by 3%.”
Higher diesel taxes would bring the road freight transport sector a step closer to covering its full costs, according to T&E.
The full cost of road freight transport in Europe including infrastructure, congestion, accidents, air and noise pollution and climate change is some €200 billion a year. Only one quarter of that figure is currently recovered through commercial diesel fuel taxes, approximately €50 billion per year in Europe.
T&E is also calling for diesel to be taxed at a higher rate than petrol to reflect higher CO2 emissions per litre of fuel.
“A litre of diesel burned releases 12 per cent more CO2 into the atmosphere than a litre of petrol so the minimum tax should also be 12% higher than that on petrol. Cheap diesel is a historical anomaly” said Renshaw.
T&E's annual overview of key transport trends, challenges and achievements
European transport is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but electric vehicles are on the charge as the EU’s green policies start to bite. Powerin...
State of European Transport report shows that transport emissions are starting to fall as the EV market grows, but carbon savings are being undermined...
The EU needs to be more strategic in its choice of partners, while balancing its own strengths with the partner countries’ needs.