The newly introduced carbon tax policy is one of the urgent public policy responses that will assist the country in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint by 34 percent by 2020 and 42 percent by 2025 experts say.
The introduction of the tax, which came into effect on 1 September, also aims to ensure that the country's growth is directed towards a more sustainable path.
As of 1 September passenger cars and double cabs (as of 1 March 2011) that cannot produce certified CO2 vehicle emissions data will be subject to a tax based on a proxy CO2 emission calculation, largely based on engine size. Such a proxy tax will include a significant penalty provision. The intention of the tax is to deal with environmental changes by including regulatory interventions and environmental taxes.
Global Atmosphere Watch (a partnership involving 80 countries which provides reliable scientific data and information on the chemical composition of the atmosphere) scientist Katlego Ncongwane said while the debate on the carbon tax as a way of tackling climate change was not a new initiative, it was an alternative policy option that would increase the efficiency of carbon abatement locally. The motor industry is known to be responsible for one tenth of greenhouse gases.
Ncongwane said the idea was introduced in 2000 in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries such as Finland and Germany. The idea has also been introduced in developing nations like Indonesia and now in Zambia.
"Carbon tax policy in South Africa is one of the urgent public policy responses that will assist South Africa to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is imperative to South Africa which is the only African nation among the 20 countries emitting approximately 90 percent of the world's greenhouse gases," said Ncongwane.
National Treasury projects that the tax will contribute an estimated R450 million in 2010/11. This will go to the fiscus for funding general government priorities. - BuaNews
