However, in the meantime, the Swedish carbon tax continues not only to generate substantial revenue, but most importantly, contribute to decreased GHG emissions. That being said, and although Sweden is indeed a frontrunner and a positive example for other countries to look at, many challenges remain. However, in the long run, electrification is the key. In 2019, the carbon tax’s revenue was approximately 1 percent of its total tax revenues. Worryingly, there are signs that it could be increasingly difficult to find broad political support for further carbon tax increases – which previously has not been the case.
Washington, DC 20005, Tax Expenditures, Credits, and Deductions, Small Business, Pass-throughs, and Non-profits, Sources of Government Revenue in the OECD, Opportunities for Pro-Growth Tax Reform in Austria, Tax Proposals, Comparisons, and the Economy, https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/yearly-average-currency-exchange-rates, http://www.oecd.org/tax/taxing-energy-use-efde7a25-en.htm, https://carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org/map_data. In addition, the carbon tax increases have, typically, been combined with general tax reliefs in other areas to avoid an increase in the overall level of taxation and to make sure that the tax doesn’t disproportionately affect low-income households.
The Swedish energy taxation system is made up of a carbon tax and an energy tax.
Accessed July 4, 2020.
Looking at carbon prices in particular, the World Bank shows that less than five percent of the emissions covered by a carbon pricing initiative are priced at a level consistent with achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, ie.
Sweden.
USDA. 1325 G St NW Political parties to the right of the spectrum increasingly oppose raising the carbon tax amid growing public opposition, particularly in the countryside and in rural areas, against what is considered excessive motor fuel prices.
The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading independent tax policy nonprofit.
However, while the carbon tax has been instrumental to achieve these emissions reductions, it is evident that a steadily increasing carbon tax is only feasible if households and firms are provided with real alternatives to fossil fuels. Since then, 15 European countries have followed, implementing carbon taxes that range from less than €1 per ton of carbon emissions in Ukraine and Poland to over €100 in Sweden. In a nutshell, the introduction of the carbon tax was the result of two separate political processes: On the one hand, a demand for a drastic reduction in marginal income tax rates which had reached very high levels, and on the other hand, an increased interest in environmental issues, both politically and throughout the society.
Meanwhile, GHG emissions have declined by 27 percent between 1990 and 2018, with the largest emissions reductions in heating homes and industrial facilities.
As only fossil carbon emissions result in net increases of carbon in the atmosphere, sustainable biofuels are not subject to the carbon tax. In recent years, several countries have taken measures to reduce carbon emissions using environmental regulations, emissions trading systems (ETS), and carbon taxes.
Notes:
Sweden levies the highest carbon tax rate at €112.08 (US$ 132.17) per ton of carbon emissions, followed by Switzerland (€83.17, $98.08) and Finland (€62.00, $73.11). Net-Zero Commitments make Madrid Carbon Market Letdown more Critical, Carbon pricing is the way to rectify runaway climate change, High-Level Economic Commission on Carbon prices, High-Level Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness, Report of the high-level commission on carbon prices, Report of the High-Level Commission on Carbon Pricing and Competitiveness, cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions, less than five percent of the emissions covered by a carbon pricing initiative are priced at a level consistent with achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, ie. Economists believe that a well-designed carbon tax is the most economically efficient policy to incentivize carbon reductions. How is it working in practice? In 2019 Sweden moreover ranked 8th on the Global Competitive Index. Whether a kilometre tax will be a reality remains to be seen. In 2018 the Swedish carbon tax alone secured €2.43 billion ($2.65 billion) to the state treasury, which covers roughly half of the budget for the Swedish defence forces. Sweden is however one of the few countries with a carbon tax above these limits. Yet carbon pricing is, in the words of John Roome, Senior Director at the World Bank’s Climate Change Group, “nowhere near where it should be [as it] still covers only a small part of global emissions at prices too low to significantly reduce emissions”. “Sweden’s carbon tax rate is highest globally at €110 per metric ton of carbon in 2020.”, With minimal fossil fuel resources, Sweden relies on imported fossil energy and domestic supplies of renewable energy. © 2018 Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, All Rights Reserved.