Carbon tax plan crumbles
The European Commission's (EC) attempt to devise a common carbon energy tax has fallen apart. At a meeting in Brussels in mid-December 1994, European environment ministers gave their assent to the adoption of individual measures by member-states to cut down carbon dioxide emissions. uk environment minister John Gummer said that he was "very pleased" with the decision. European businessmen, too, are elated. They feared that the tax would blunt their competitive edge.
However, the EC is likely to show up with a red face at an international conference in March 1995 in Berlin, where further steps to reduce CO2 emissions will be discussed.