Nina Renshaw EESC Seminar, Liège, 25 November 2010€¦ · Nina Renshaw EESC Seminar, Liège, 25...
Transcript of Nina Renshaw EESC Seminar, Liège, 25 November 2010€¦ · Nina Renshaw EESC Seminar, Liège, 25...
Beyond Eurovignette
Nina RenshawEESC Seminar, Liège,
25 November 2010
www.transportenvironment.org
Beyond Eurovignette
Where are we now?
-In theory
-In practice
-Real world
How far from full internalisation?
Top 3 next steps
In theory: Road freight price elasticities
• Road freight very elastic• vkm-to-vkm -0.9• tkm-to-tkm -1.0
Source: Significance/CE ‘Price Sensitivity of European road freight transport’ for T&E
In practice: How and why road charging
works
Major effect = more efficient road transport
Minor effect = modal shift
In practice: German Maut effect on transport distances
Before Maut: avg distance +4% / yrAfter: slight decline
• Distance-based Charging(Green): AT, DE, CZ
• Time-based Eurovignette(Orange): SE, DK; BE, NL, LUX
• National Vignettes (Yellow): RO, BG, PO, LT
• Toll collection with physicalbarriers (pink): GR, SI, IT, FR, SP, PT
• No charges (purple): UK, IE, FI, EE, LV
• nb. Switzerland – non-EU, ownrules: distance-based charges with external cost internalisation on all national road network.
Charging schemes 2009
Update 2010 – National progress faster than EU
• SK: 1 Jan 2010• PT: 2010-11• PL: 1 July 2011• FR: 2012• HU: 2013, incl Cars• BE: agreement 2010,
start in 2013?• DE – more
Bundesstrassen
Road: miles away from full internalisation
• Air & noise – artificially low caps, esp sensitive regions
• Congestion – an external cost• Accidents• Climate change• Biodiversity / Habitat impacts• Soil, Water
• Commercial transport is the logical first step (EU internal market) – Will it encourage national-level road user charging for cars?
Top 3 next steps
1. Tax-free aviation
Flying: the cheapest
and fastest route to climate change!
ETS is not a serious incentive
• €4/tonne CO2 = €0.01/litre kerosene
• Vs. Minimum petrol / diesel taxes €0.36 / 0.33 per litre
• ETS cuts aviation emissions by max 3%
VAT exemption: Ticket taxes as a first step
• UK is only country with serious ticket tax• Others following: DE, AT (IE, FR)• EC should take lead in closing loophole• National governments should
– not brand ticket taxes as environmental taxes but clarify VAT exemption
– Work together the close the loopholes
Fuel / emissions taxationnecessary and possible
• UK to transform its ticket tax into emission-based charge
• Again EU should show the way
• And EU national governments should work together in establishing joint approaches
• Fuel tourism can be avoided by charging route-based fuel / emissions
2. Cheap diesel
Diesel prices June 2010
Importance of fuel taxation requires only little illustration
Changes in fuel taxes since Nov 2009
-12
-9
-6
-3
0
3
6
9
12
15
18
21
24
27
Austri
aBelg
iumBulg
aria
Cypru
s
Czech
Rep
ublic
Denm
ark
Estonia
Finla
ndFr
ance
Germ
any
Greec
eHun
gary
Irelan
dIta
lyLa
tvia
Lithu
ania
Luxe
mbo
urg
Malt
aNet
herla
nds
Poland
Portu
gal
Roman
iaSlov
akia
Sloven
iaSpa
inSwed
en
United
King
dom
EU27 a
vera
gechan
ges
in E
UR
cts
per
litre
petrol
diesel
French ‘taxe carbone’ failure more exception than rule
EC likely to propose to level petrol and diesel minimum rates, PER GJ
‘diesels in Europe may provide significant fuel savings to individual drivers, but probably do not provide significant national energy or CO2 savings on average across the 8
countries studied. Almost certainly, taxing diesel fuel lightly relative to gasoline is counterproductive from an
energy savings and CO2 point of view since it contributes to a higher rebound effect (by lowering the
cost per km of driving diesels).’(IEA/Berkeley)
Good idea!
Cheap diesel FUEL is not needed to give diesel CARS a chance
UK SW
ESPT
NL
LUX
IT
IRL
GR
DE
FR
FIDK
BE
AT
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
petrol tax minus diesel tax Oct 09 (cents / litre)
die
sel s
har
e in
new
car
s sa
les
2009
(%
)
Avoiding commercial diesel tourism
1. Put pressure on laggards to raise tax levels and to accept higher EU minimum rates
2. Introduce km charging for trucks
3. EU border checks to limit cheap diesel imports into EU
3 Private benefits of company cars
Favourable tax regime
• Per car €4000-8000 purchase subsidy • Total indirect subsidy (:tax on private use of co. cars +
company subsidies vs. normal tax rate): €54bn (0.5% of EU GDP)
• Belgium: 1.2% of GDP; Germany 0.9%; Hungary 0.8%.• 21-43 MT CO2 induced! = 4-8% CO2 from ALL cars in
Europe• Eq. 8-21 million extra cars on the road
Recommendations• 1) Reduce indirect purchase price subsidies• 2) Increase rates for benefit-in-kind;• 3) Tackle free fuel etc. for private trips
Policy conclusions: EurovignetteRoad freight more price sensitive than often
assumed= efficiency gains: full trucks, shorter distances= even if there is no rail or water alternative
Megatrucks do not cut emissions= Lower emissions per tkm fully mitigated by
increased vkm (rebound)
Still a long way to go to internalise road freight costs: Hungarian Presidency, next steps from EC, and Energy Tax proposal
To do list• Close aviation tax loopholes
– VAT and CO2 based taxes– member states and EC cooperation
• Fuel taxes based on energy and emissions– Level playing field for diesel– Reduce ‘tank tourism’
• Company cars– Cut harmful subsidies (EC WP?)