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Catalonia legislates to reduce emissions by 100% by 2050

The Catalonian government within Spain has approved legislation that will see the region reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% on 2005 levels by 2030, and by 100% by 2050. The approval of the ‘Law on Climate Change’ in the autonomous community’s Parliament will see the implementation of a tax on emissions, and was supported by all Catalan political groups – with the exception of the People’s Party.

The Catalan Government’s Minister of Territory and Sustainability Josep Rull announced that a new suite of taxes will be introduced by December this year, with the law taking effect in 2019.

The Climate Change Bill will initially establish a tax of €10 per tonne of carbon dioxide for businesses, refineries and industry which will increase every two years to a total of €30 per tonne in 2025. The legislation will also bolster an existing carbon tax on vehicles, and the government says that large ships will be taxed €1,000 for each tonne of nitrogen oxide emitted when in ports.

Revenue gained from the tax will be funnelled into building new renewables capacity as well as aiding energy efficiency. It will also go to various climate funds promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Catalonia has been voluntarily disclosing its emissions and climate targets on an annual basis since 2014 as part of the Climate Group and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)’s Annual Disclosure initiative. CDP data indicates Catalonia reduced its emissions by 26% between 2005 and 2014.

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