It is these scenarios that the politicians will deal with, among other things, when they soon have to negotiate a new CO2 tax.
A higher CO2 tax must be an incentive for Danish companies to reduce their emissions of CO2 to an even greater extent than today.
What is a CO2 tax?
Simply explained, a CO2 tax will make it more expensive to emit greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane and nitrous oxide, which are responsible for global warming.
In the end, this will mean that the more CO2 a product has emitted, the more expensive it will be.
Conversely, the goods that have emitted less become cheaper.
The hope is that the higher price will make both producers and consumers choose more green energy.
What do companies pay today?
In Denmark, companies can be divided into two categories when it comes to CO2 emissions:
Companies that are in the quota sector and companies that are not.
Companies in the quota sector are those that emit the most CO2. They are currently paying the market price for CO2 quotas, which the expert group expects will be approximately DKK 750 in 2030.
The five largest emitters in Denmark account for 44 percent of the total emissions from industry.
The vast majority of companies in Denmark are not in the quota sector. They therefore only pay a Danish CO2 tax of DKK 180 per tonne of CO2 emitted.
In the first model, a CO2 tax of DKK 750 per tonne of CO2 emitted is imposed on all companies.
This will be the price for the vast majority of companies in Denmark.
However, companies in the quota sector get a 'discount' so that they only have to pay an extra DKK 350, as they also pay a CO2 quota price in the EU, which is expected to cost around DKK 750 in 2030.
This means that companies in the quota sector - and thus those that emit the most CO2 - will pay DKK 1,125 per tonne of CO2, while other companies pay DKK 750 per tonne.
Tax fees should be decided now
It has not been decided when a higher CO2 tax will come into effect, but the expert group proposes at today's press conference that a tax be phased in from 2025 and fully phased in by 2030.
Lars Gårn Hansen is an environmental economist and professor at the University of Copenhagen. He believes it is important that the tax be decided quickly.
- If the tax in 2030 is decided now, companies can plan and invest in greener solutions and technologies already now. Therefore, we also believe that the tax must be set as soon as possible, so that companies know what to expect in 2030, says Lars Gårn Hansen.
DKK 1,125 per tonne of CO2.💦There is a good reason to call Hydrogenerous, for a solution.