Via CK at the CTC, I see that French president Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a carbon tax in France, as well a a levy on imports from countries that don’t participate in the Kyoto Protocol. Hm, who might those be?
U.S. right-wingers like to use Sarkozy as a rhetorical bludgeon, showing that Europe is moving toward the U.S. rather than vice versa. I wonder if this will cause any of their little pea brains to short-circuit.
If the tax issue doesn’t, this surely will:
"Today you become known as a great friend of the people of this planet," said [Al] Gore, 59, who won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to raise awareness about climate change.
Endorsed by Gore! The socialists are everywhere!
More on the green policies Sarkozy is proposing:
Sarkozy endorsed a raft of measures to slash France’s greenhouse-gas emissions, cut pollution and foster biodiversity, hammered out at a series of round tables over the last two days of the forum.
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Pledges ranged from a freeze on the building of new highways and airports, to a vast plan to shift freight traffic from road to rail, to a commitment to try to slash pesticide use by half within 10 years in Europe’s biggest farm producer.
Tramway and TGV high-speed train networks are to be extended, and drivers coaxed into buying cleaner cars through bonuses and penalties.
Sarkozy promised a nationwide push to improve the energy efficiency of all new and existing buildings.
Asked to rule on the divisive issue of a carbon tax, Sarkozy pledged to study the creation of a "climate-energy tax", "in exchange for an alleviation of labour taxes", but was careful to reassure French business leaders there would be no increase in overall taxation.
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On another explosive issue, genetically-modified (GMO) crops, Sarkozy ruled in favour of a temporary freeze on commercial GMO crops — a minute share of the total in France — pending new research on possible contamination risks.
