China will introduce carbon tax

[wtmusic]

"BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- China will proactively introduce a set of new taxation policies designed to preserve the environment, including a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

The government will collect the environmental protection tax instead of pollutant discharge fees, as well as levy a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, Jia Chen, head of the ministry's tax policy division, wrote in an article published on the MOF's website.

It will be the local taxation authority, rather than the environmental protection department, that will collect the taxes."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-02/19/c_132178898.htm

You know things are bad when policies from the People's Republic are more progressive than our own.

[wtmusic]

4. I'm skeptical too, but the suggestion is encouraging.

Maybe the party officials have started hacking up black phlegm, and we'll see a shift in policy.

[kristopher]

5. It's worse than that but there is a silver lining

A point often lost is that the new coal plants in China are built with the stipulation that older, dirtier, less efficient plants owned by the company be shut down. The downside is that this investment locks in the use of coal for the lifetime of the new plants. They are supposed to be building plants that can capture carbon but so far, to my knowledge that is not happening yet.

They imposed a national cap on total coal consumption last year but total number are hard to find so I don't know the impact of that cap on the future growth that has been projected.

They are expanding renewables at breakneck speed with ambitious goals being discarded within months of being established because the rate of installation is streaking past expectations.

Everything you read shows that China and other developing nations turn to coal for one reason only - its low cost. That, however, is changing rapidly as the costs associated with renewables continues to fall in tandem with the expansion of manufacturing capacity.

The imposition of a carbon tax could significantly alter the cost calculations that underpin the future growth of coal in China. Given their efforts in the area of low carbon generation, I believe they mean this tax to have a real impact - I don't believe it is window dressing.

[FBaggins]

7. Not much of a silver lining.

Their coal consumption continues to climb at an incredible rate (double digits last time I checked).

Yes, they claim they're going to cap coal usage to four billion "standard coal equivalent tonnes"... and that sounds like a cap at current consumption (4.05 billion tons last year). But it isn't.

This is because China's "standard coal equivalent tonne" is 7,000kcal/ton... but the thermal coal they actually use is closer to the 5,000-5,500 range. Which means that they can continue to grow coal usage by 10%/year through that 2015 target.

[kristopher]

8. Do you have any references for that?

Finding good information is difficult, so don't be bashful about sharing.

The cap and the carbon tax are still unequivocally good news.

[FBaggins]

9. Sure!

Took 20 seconds on Google... you should try it some time.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/too-late-for-china-to-cap-coal-use-at-4b-tonnes-20130206-2dy8k.html

It's also interesting to note that this isn't the first cap they've announced. Less than a year ago it was going to be 3.65 billion tonnes.

I also note that they're reportedly (http://www.chinaoiltrader.com/?p=364) guidelines... not legally binding targets.

The cap and the carbon tax are still unequivocally good news.

Absolutely!

They will add fuel to the fire (pun intended) for even more rapid expansions of wind/solar/nuclear/hydro generation.

[GliderGuider]

2. Here's an explanation

China is forging ahead of the USA (and the world) industrially, so they can afford to put on a tax and still maintain their dominance.
The USA is starting to fall back in the global power race, so they can't afford to put any more drag on their remaining heavy industries.

[wtmusic]

3. +1

[joshcryer]

11. I'll be flabergasted if this tax amounts to any significant reductions.

I expect in the end that they will actually result in nothing of consequence.

[quadrature]

6. c'mon, its a sham

the Chinese want the stupid westerners
to turn off industry so they
have it all

[joshcryer]

10. Translation: China will introduce new bribe fees

[wtmusic]

12. Sure, it's a crumb...

but it's also an acknowledgement of the problem.

And hey, if they want bigger bribes from coal companies that works for me, too.