Ministry of Energy of Ukraine released for public discussion the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine regarding the establishment of a zero tax rate on carbon dioxide emissions for installations that make such emissions as a result of burning biofuels" ...
“It is proposed to establish a zero rate of environmental tax for installations that are included in the register of installations using exclusively biofuels. The creation and maintenance of a register of installations using biofuels as the only type of fuel will be carried out by the State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers, "the ministry's press service said.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the adoption of the bill will contribute to an increase in energy production from biofuels in Ukraine and the further transition of enterprises from fossil fuels (coal, gas, peat) to the use of this type of fuel produced from biologically renewable sources of organic origin.
According to the department, now enterprises and other business entities that burn biofuels at stationary sources of pollution also pay a tax for carbon dioxide emissions in the amount of 10 hryvnia per ton, just like other business entities that burn other energy sources and carry out emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air.
However, this state of affairs does not correspond to world practice. According to the Clean Development Mechanism Methodologies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, biofuels are considered CO 2 neutral fuels, as their combustion produces as much carbon dioxide as was absorbed by plants during growth.
The Ministry of Energy recalled that in all EU member states taxes on carbon dioxide emissions from energy production are also not applied. For example, Denmark levies taxes on the production, processing, storage of fossil fuels for heating, in particular, an energy tax on oil products, coal, lignite and coke, or a CO tax 2 on certain energy products, but biofuels are exempt from taxation .
