Carbon tax seen as climate funds boost

The government should help quickly create rules on global carbon tax to support climate efforts, including the government-issued sustainability bonds worth $7.5 billion.

Asian Consulting Group founder and chief executive officer Mon Abrea said over 140 countries now support the global minimum carbon tax on corporations.

“In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, it’s only the Philippines which has yet to adopt the global minimum carbon tax,” he said in a recent media conference in Taguig City.

To implement the carbon tax, the government must set a price per metric ton of carbon emissions while companies must pay in forcing them to shift to cleaner energy and other environment-friendly resources.

The Philippine Climate Change Commission warns the country could lose P645 billion each year in damaged resources if weather conditions become extreme.

Through the carbon tax, the World Bank reported governments have collected a total of $95 billion in additional revenues in 2022. This was after the world’s seven richest nations announced their proposal for a global minimum carbon tax of 15 percent in 2021.

Computation must be accurate

However, Abrea said government must carefully calculate the carbon tax rate to ensure sustainable economic growth.

“It might shy away foreign investors if the Philippines start implementing carbon tax and our competitors will not impose the same carbon tax,” he said.

For example, Singapore, which became the first ASEAN member that adopted carbon pricing in 2019, currently imposes 25 Singaporean dollars per metric ton of carbon emissions covering 80 percent of the country’s carbon emissions. The environmental charge is targeted to rise to 80 Singaporean dollars by 2030. 

The Department of Finance said the government has created a technical working group to determine the sufficient carbon pricing.