A vehicle transporter carrying trucks as emissions rise beyond from the Jaenschwalde lignite fired power plant, operated by Lausitz Energie Bergbau AG, in Barenbrueck, Germany. — Bloomberg
BERLIN: Germany's federal government and states have agreed to raise the price for carbon emissions to €25 (RM116) per tonne from 2021, from the €10 (RM47) originally planned, government sources said today.
The lower house of parliament last month approved a major climate protection package to help Germany achieve its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 55 percent of their 1990 level by 2030.
It envisaged a price of 10 euros a tonne for carbon dioxide emissions from heating and transport, but the opposition Greens, economists, business groups and activists criticised the amount, saying it was far too low.
The government sources said the carbon price would now increase annually, hitting €55 (RM254) in 2025.
All the revenue from the higher carbon price will be used to reduce the fee consumers have to pay to support the country's shift towards renewable energy, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported, citing the German dpa news agency.
Other German media said that the agreement paved the way for VAT on state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn's train tickets to be reduced from Jan. 1, 2020. The government wants to make railway trips cheaper to discourage people from taking domestic flights.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the entire climate package could be passed by the Bundesrat upper house of parliament on Friday.
