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Masterclass on climate taxes in Germany

Review of the sixth Masterclass on 2 November 2021

Photo: studio v-zwoelf | Adobe Stock

Climate taxes are subject to high expectations. But what exactly is the concept behind taxes and levies with a climate policy effect? How are they applied and what experience has Germany made with their application? As part of the Governance Fund’s Masterclass series, Dr. Hans-Jochen Luhmann of the Wuppertal Institute addressed these and other questions in his presentation on November 2, 2021. About 30 people participated in the event, which again took place online and was translated into English and French. The topic was of particular interest to partner organizations from Benin.

After a brief welcome by Jannis Ludwig of the Governance Fund and moderator Kah Walla, Dr. Luhmann began his presentation with a review of the historical development of consumption taxes in Germany. Using the areas of transportation, building heating, and electricity generation and consumption as examples, he showed where the starting points for climate taxes are to be found. In addition to the CO₂ tax, he discussed, among others, the energy tax, the motor vehicle tax, the electricity tax and the levy resulting from the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG). Dr. Luhmann stated that in the area of agriculture Germany is not suitable as a role model, since the climate effect of agriculture consists largely of greenhouse gas emissions that are not combustion-related and have hardly been taken into account to date.

The presentation was followed by several questions from participants. It became clear that the topic of climate taxes is very complex and may require further study.

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