Finance Minister Brown Backs Taxes On Air Travel And Gas Guzzlers

ENERGY TECH

British finance minister Gordon Brown. Photo courtesy of AFP.

by Staff Writers
London (AFP) Nov 24, 2006
British finance minister Gordon Brown backs substantially increasing taxes on air travel, and gas guzzling cars, the Financial Times reported on Friday. Citing unnamed British civil service sources, the newspaper said that Chancellor of the Exchequer Brown supports indirect taxation on some of the biggest carbon emitters as a way to change behaviour.

His pre-budget report, due in early December, is likely to increase the top rate of duty for the most polluting cars, and to raise air passenger duty, which currently ranges from five pounds (9.6 dollars, 7.4 euros) for short-haul flights to 40 pounds for long-haul trips.

Brown's decisions on so-called "green taxes" come in the wake of a report commissioned by the British government that said that inaction on global warming could cost the world up to a fifth of its gross domestic product.

The report, authored by former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern, also recommended an expansion of carbon trading schemes, which Brown will use the pre-budget report to support -- he will back moves to link the EU's scheme with similar ones operated by certain American states.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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ENERGY TECH

Russian Regulators Seek To Withdraw 140 Oil And Gas Licenses

Moscow (AFP) Nov 23, 2006
Russia's environmental regulator proposes stripping by the end of the year about 140 licenses held by foreign and Russian energy companies, a supervisory official said Thursday. "Our service has proposed the withdrawal of about 140 licenses," said Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environmental monitoring agency Rosprirodnadzor. A final decision depends on Russia's subsoil agency Rosnedr, he told AFP.

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