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Environmental tax��.. Can this work out for cutting CO2 down

The proposal of environmenatal tax system which was summed up by the Environmental Council of Japan is going to be discussed by people. This tax system plan is to impose a tax of 3400 yen a ton of CO2 on fossile energy at the time of importing or shipping. It is calculated to be 2 yen a litter of gassolin and 5500 yen a family in a year. Environmental ministry is aiming at introducing it in 2005, at the time to revise the measures against global warming in 2004.

Russia is in the process of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and Japan have to have a outlook for its plan to cut down the amount of the discharged greenhouse gas by 6 % to one in 1990. In 2001, it increased by 5.2% to 1990 and Japan have to cut down it by 14% to one in 2001.

It is difficult to go over the hurdle only with tradditinal countermeasurements and companys' independent efforts. Consequently it is expexted to make use of an economical measure, taxation.

The taxation for preventing the global warming has been introduced in Nerdelland or North Eulopean countries since from 1980s to early of 1990s. In Japan also, it has been studied since the early 1990s. In that sence it can be said to be too late decision.

Companies are still strongly against the taxation. But it is widely recognized internationally that keeping environment is indispensable in order to smoothen the economic activities.

But Japanese plan still has any problem to solve.

First, rearranging or making use of existing taxations in the field of energy and autos is still not enough. It is not too late. The government have to hundle with this problem.

First, present tax system should be changed to accelerate using public traffic system instead of their own autos or or to accelerate developing and introducing fuel-cell-autos. The amount of emitted CO2 from transportation has increased by 22% to 90s. Reexamining the source of highway revenue, traffic system itself should be transformed.

Second, the tax burden of 3400 yen a ton is not enough for the advancement of technology such as saving energy or repressing the fossile energy consumption. According to the Environmental Council, spending 9500 billion yen of tax revenue on the measures for global warming can be expected as effective as spending 45000 yen a ton only on purpose of regulating. But if it is economical measure, tax system should be the system that it is possible to cut down or repress the amount of comsumption on fossile energy.

Third problem is the relationship to other measures. To strengthen the effectiveness of the independent reduction goal of the industry, it should be upgaraded to the agreement with the government. And the measure to cut down the environmental tax if the goal is achieved is possible. It is unclear about its relationship with the reduction plan in each household.

In the sence, the possiblility of wider taxation for global warming should be examined. The governmental taxation council is going to grapple with the environmental tax system. The environmental ministry is requested to show the truly effective tax system for preventing from the global warming. The tax is not effective only if it is newly founded.