PARIS: A French government advisory committee has recommended that France increase taxation on coal-fired power plants, or set stiffer carbon emissions standards, to encourage a shift to gas-fired plants to reduce carbon emissions.
The proposal was included in a report handed to French Environment Minister Segolene Royal on Monday by the committee, which was appointed in March to review European carbon pricing and make recommendations to the French government.
France currently chairs the United Nations climate negotiations COP21 and is looking to introduce measures that will strengthen carbon pricing within the European Union.
The report also includes a proposal announced last month that the EU introduce a carbon price corridor mechanism with floor and ceiling prices, and an auction system, which could help fix the European Emissions Trading System (ETS), which saw prices tumble due to a glut of permits.
The three-man advisory committee is headed by the chairman of French energy company Engie, Gerard Mestrallet, who is also the company's former CEO.
The committee proposed setting a European carbon floor price of between 20 euros ($22.08) and 30 euros in 2020 with an annual increase of between 5 and 10 percent to exceed 50 euros by 2030.
It said this would accelerate a shift to lower carbon emissions.
The report did not specify how tax on coal-fired plants in France should be increased.
-Reuters
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