The Danish government is instituting Europe’s first tax on PVC. A voluntary
agreement with industry in 1991 failed to achieve its goals. The government wants
to keep the products out of incinerators, where 40 percent of Denmark’s municipal waste goes. Other measures call for: use of alternative products when PVC products can’t be recycled; development of PVC recycling technologies; a ban on lead in PVC; and boosting PVC recycling where the products do not contain heavy metals.
In a separate policy proposal, the amount of phthalates would be cut in half over
the next ten years. This group of chemicals is on Denmark’s official list of 100 “undesirable” chemicals.
The French Ministries of the Environment, Economy and Industry are calling for a
tax on industrial carbon emissions, dubbed the pollu-tax. It would will be tied
to Frances existing green tax, the General Tax on Polluting Activities. The ministries argue an energy tax will raise about $2 billion and reduce emissions through lower energy consumption. The French government is consulting with key industries and other stakeholders until October 31 to determine an implementation scheme.
In UK, 30 top companies agreed to pilot a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme that may running by the end of the year. The firms hope to demonstrate that trading can cut emissions more cost-effectively than the energy tax plan (the Climate Change Levy) the government outlined in March.
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