Variable national oil taxes obstruct an effective carbon tax

Large differences in the selling price of energy in the industrialised countries present a major obstacle to international attempts to control carbon dioxide emissions, according to a report by the Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES).¹ For a carbon tax to be effective, the report warns, it must be levied at higher levels in those countries which already have high fuel taxes - and the absolute level must be considerably higher than the European Commission's proposed tax of $10 per barrel.