isramart : Finance ministry for carbon tax on polluting industries

Isramart news:
New Delhi: The finance ministry has recommended imposing a carbon tax on companies with high carbon emission levels, despite the government opposing the same in international negotiations on climate change.

Among other suggestions made in a working paper, ‘Climate Change and India—Some Major Issues and Policy Implications’, authored by finance ministry officials H.A.C. Prasad and J.S. Kochher, the report says that “companies/industries whose carbon emissions are high should be penalized and those with energy savings as certified by a market mechanism need to be rewarded”.

In critical international negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India has opposed such a carbon-taxation regime under a new global climate deal.

The working paper also seeks to introduce a number of green financial products. These include carbon bonds, which companies having less carbon emission can encash; a carbon fund, which can help assist companies using green technology; and low carbon technology stocks and bonds, which can be traded in exchanges.

“Such financial products are there in the US and Western Europe and companies using green technology are benefiting from them. We should introduce these products in a phased manner in India too. This initiative will also enhance India’s commitments towards a policy for climate change,” said a finance ministry official who did not want to be identified.