title: Paul Waaktaar-Savoy

text: He met American filmmaker and musician Lauren Savoy in 1984, and they married in a civil ceremony on 21 December 1991, officiated by the Norwegian Bar Association leader Merete Smith, with family and his bandmates in attendance. The couple combined surnames to create Waaktaar-Savoy. They have one child together, True August Waaktaar-Savoy, born in 1999. The family divides its time between New York City and Oslo. After years of fighting the Anglophone media to correct the spelling of his first name, in 1994 he settled on a spelling of "Paul".


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: The Most Hated Woman in America is an American biographical drama film directed by Tommy O'Haver and written by O'Haver and Irene Turner. It stars Melissa Leo as Madalyn Murray O'Hair.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 14, 2017. The film was released on March 24, 2017, by Netflix.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: In 1995, Madalyn Murray O'Hair is kidnapped along with her son Garth and granddaughter Robin by three men: David Waters, Gary Karr and Danny Fry. The three abductees recognize Waters.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: The scene shifts to the early 1960s. Madalyn has become a single mother of two sons, Garth and the older William J. "Billy Boy" Murray, Jr., and is a proud atheist, which outrages her Christian parents. Madalyn is outraged to learn that Billy is being forced to recite the Lord's Prayer in school, so she launches a campaign to ban school prayer, ultimately resulting in a Supreme Court ruling making mandatory prayer in schools illegal. She quickly becomes labeled one of the most hated figures in America.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: She forms the atheist advocacy group American Atheists, recruiting Garth and Billy. Billy's devotion to his mother destroys his relationship with his wife, and he becomes a bitter alcoholic after she divorces him. He eventually quits drinking and becomes a born-again Christian, causing a deep rift with Madalyn.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: Madalyn begins profiting from spirited debates with a local pastor, putting the money in offshore accounts. She hires Waters to manage the American Atheists branch; he becomes her trusted ally, especially after he confides in her about having murdered someone as a young man. Eventually, Waters has a falling out with Madalyn and is fired from American Atheists. In 1995, he demands one million dollars from Madalyn, which she refuses. Waters devises the kidnapping as a way to get the money he feels she owes him.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: Reporter Jack Ferguson begins covering the kidnapping and questions Billy. He gets a sketch artist to draw a picture of Fry. Ferguson joins forces with Madalyn's assistant and they slowly unravel the plot.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: Back at the safe house, Karr kills Robin after she refuses his sexual advances. Panicked, Waters and Karr then kill Garth and Madalyn. Finally, Karr kills Fry after forcing him to dismember the bodies.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: Ferguson finally catches Waters and gets him to confess to the triple murder. Waters and Karr are both arrested and tried.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: Closing text reports that Karr received a life sentence; Waters received 68 years but died in prison in 2003. Billy now chairs the Religious Freedom Coalition and works to return prayer to public schools, and the American Atheists continues to exist.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: On July 8, 2015, it was reported that Netflix would finance and release "The Most Hated Woman in America", a film dramatizing the life of Madalyn Murray O'Hair. It would be directed by Tommy O'Haver from his own script and star Melissa Leo as O'Hair. In March 2016, Peter Fonda, Sally Kirkland, Rory Cochrane, Josh Lucas, Adam Scott, Juno Temple, Vincent Kartheiser, Anna Camp, Michael Chernus, and Alex Frost joined the cast.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: On March 24, 2016, it was reported that "The Most Hated Woman in America" had begun filming in Los Angeles the previous week.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2017. It was released on March 24, 2017, by Netflix.


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: "The Most Hated Woman in America" received mixed reviews from film critics. It holds a 36% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.62/10. On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 41 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: The Most Hated Woman in America

text: Peter Debruge of "Variety" gave the film a negative review, writing: "Seems to fall right where you'd expect: slightly better than your average TV movie, while not as good as your typical theatrical release."


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Bulgarian Army () is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in the hands of the Defense Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defense. There are three main branches of the Bulgarian military, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces (the term "Bulgarian Army" refers to them encompassed all together).


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Throughout history, the Army has played a major role in defending the country's sovereignty. Only several years after its inception in 1878, Bulgaria became a regional military power and was involved in several major wars – Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885), First Balkan War (1912–13), Second Balkan War (1913), First World War (1915–1918) and Second World War (1941–1945), during which the Army gained considerable combat experience. During the Cold War, the People's Republic of Bulgaria maintained one of the largest militaries in the Warsaw Pact, numbering an estimated 152,000 troops in 1988. Since the Fall of Communism, the political leadership has decided to pursue a pro-NATO policy, thus reducing military personnel and weaponry. Bulgaria joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on 29 March 2004.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The patron saint of the Bulgarian Army is St. George. The Armed Forces Day or St. George's Day (6 May) is an official holiday in Bulgaria.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The modern Bulgarian military dates back to 1878. On 22 July 1878 (10 July O.S.) a total of 12 battalions of "opalchentsi" who participated in the Liberation war, formed the Bulgarian armed forces. According to the Tarnovo Constitution, all men between 21 and 40 years of age were eligible for military service. In 1883 the military was reorganised in four infantry brigades (in Sofia, Pleven, Ruse and Shumen) and one cavalry brigade.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Serbo-Bulgarian War was the first armed conflict after Bulgaria's liberation. It was a result of the unification with Eastern Rumelia, which happened on 6 September 1885. The unification was not completely recognised, however, and one of the countries that refused to recognise the act was the Kingdom of Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had been expanding its influence in the Balkans and was particularly opposed. Serbia also feared this would diminish its dominance in the region. In addition, Serbian ruler Milan Obrenović IV was annoyed that Serbian opposition leaders like Nikola Pašić, who had escaped persecution after the Timok Rebellion, had found asylum in Bulgaria. Lured by Austria-Hungary's promises of territorial gains from Bulgaria (in return for concessions in the western Balkans), Milan IV declared war on Bulgaria on 14 November 1885.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Military strategy relied largely on surprise, as Bulgaria had moved most of its troops near the border with the Ottoman Empire, in the southeast. As it happened, the Ottomans did not intervene and the Serbian army's advance was stopped after the Battle of Slivnitsa. The main body of the Bulgarian army travelled from the Ottoman border in the southeast to the Serbian border in the northwest to defend the capital, Sofia. After the defensive battles at Slivnitsa and Vidin, Bulgaria began an offensive that took the city of Pirot. At this point the Austro-Hungarian Empire stepped in, threatening to join the war on Serbia's side if Bulgarian troops did not retreat. Fighting lasted for only 14 days, from 14–28 November. A peace treaty was signed in Bucharest on 19 February 1886. No territorial changes were made to either country, but Bulgarian unification was recognised by the Great Powers.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Instability in the Balkan region in the early 1900s quickly became a precondition for a new war. Serbia's aspirations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were thwarted by the Austrian annexation of the province in October 1908, so the Serbs focused their attention onto Kosovo, and to the south for expansion. Greek officers, revolting in August 1909, had secured the appointment of a progressive government under Eleftherios Venizelos, which they hoped would resolve the Cretan issue in Greece's favor and reverse their defeat of 1897 by the Ottomans. Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of its independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia for expansion.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In March 1910 an Albanian insurrection broke out in Kosovo. In August Montenegro followed Bulgaria's precedent by becoming a kingdom. In 1911 Italy launched an invasion of Tripolitania, which was quickly followed by the occupation of the Dodecanese Islands. The Italians' decisive military victories over the Ottoman Empire greatly influenced the Balkan states to prepare for war against Turkey. Thus, in the spring of 1912 consultations among the various Christian Balkan nations resulted in a network of military alliances that became known as the Balkan League. The Great Powers, most notably France and Austria-Hungary, reacted to this diplomatic sensation by trying to dissuade the League from going to war, but failed.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In late September both the League and the Ottoman Empire mobilised their armies. Montenegro was the first to declare war, on 25 September (O.S.)/ 8 October. The other three states, after issuing an impossible ultimatum to the Porte on 13 October, declared war on Turkey on 17 October. The Balkan League relied on 700,000 troops, 370,000 of whom were Bulgarians. Bulgaria, often dubbed "the Prussia of the Balkans", was militarily the most powerful of the four states, with a large, well-trained and well-equipped army. The peacetime army of 60,000 troops was expanded during the war to 370,000, with almost 600,000 men mobilized in total out of a population of 4,300,000. The Bulgarian field army consisted of nine infantry divisions, one cavalry division and 1,116 artillery units. Commander-in-Chief was Tsar Ferdinand, while the actual command was in the hands of his deputy, Gen. Mikhail Savov. The Bulgarians also possessed a small navy of six torpedo boats, which were restricted to operations along the country's Black Sea coast.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Bulgaria's war aims were focused on Thrace and Macedonia. For the latter, Bulgaria had a secret agreement with Serbia to divide it between them, signed on 13 March 1912 during the negotiations that led to the establishment of the Balkan League. However, it was not a secret that Bulgaria's target was the fulfillment of the never-materialized Treaty of San Stefano, signed after the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78. They deployed their main force in Thrace, forming three armies. The First Army, under Gen. Vasil Kutinchev with three infantry divisions, was deployed to the south of Yambol, with direction of operations along the Tundzha River. The Second Army, under Gen. Nikola Ivanov with two infantry divisions and one infantry brigade, was deployed west of the First and was assigned to capture the strong fortress of Adrianople (now Edirne). According to the plans, the Third Army, under Gen. Radko Dimitriev, was deployed east of and behind the First and was covered by the cavalry division hiding it from the Turkish view. The Third Army had three infantry divisions and was assigned to cross the Stranja mountain and to take the fortress of Lozengrad (Kirk Kilisse). The 2nd and 7th divisions were assigned independent roles, operating in western Thrace and eastern Macedonia, respectively.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The first great battles were at the Adrianople–Kirk Kilisse defensive line, where the Bulgarian 1st and 3rd Armies (together 110,000 men) defeated the Ottoman East Army (130,000 men) near Gechkenli, Seliolu and Petra. The fortress of Adrianople was besieged and Kirk Kilisse was taken without resistance under the pressure of the Bulgarian Third Army. The initial Bulgarian attack by First and Third Army defeated the Turkish forces, numbering some 130,000, and reached the Sea of Marmara. However, the Turks, with the aid of fresh reinforcements from the Asian provinces, established their third and strongest defensive position at the Chataldja Line, across the peninsula where Constantinople is located. New Turkish forces landed at Bulair and Şarköy, but after heavy fighting they were crushed by the newly formed 4th Bulgarian Army under the command of Gen Stiliyan Kovachev. The offensive at Chataldja failed, too. On 11 March the final Bulgarian assault on Adrianople began. Under the command of Gen. Georgi Vazov the Bulgarians, reinforced with two Serb divisions, conquered the "untakeable" city. On 17/30 May a peace treaty was signed between Turkey and the Balkan Alliance. The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912-May 1913, strengthened Bulgaria's position as a regional military power, significantly reduced Ottoman influence over the Balkans and resulted in the formation of an independent Albanian state.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The peace settlement of the First Balkan War proved unsatisfactory for both Serbia and Bulgaria. Serbia refused to cede a part of the territories in Macedonia, which it occupied and promised to give to Bulgaria according to a secret agreement. Serbia, on its side, was not satisfied with the independence of Albania and sought a secret alliance with Greece. Armed skirmishes between Serbian and Bulgarian troops occurred.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: On 16 June 1913, just a few months after the end of the first war, the Bulgarian government ordered an attack on Serbian and Greek positions in Macedonia, without declaring war. Almost all of Bulgaria's 500,000-man standing army was positioned against these two countries, on two fronts—western and southern—while the borders with Romania and the Ottoman Empire were left almost unguarded. Montenegro sent a 12,000-strong force to assist the Serbs. Exhausted from the previous war, which took the highest toll on Bulgaria, the Bulgarian army soon turned to the defensive. Romania attacked from the north and northeast and the Ottoman Empire also intervened in Thrace. Allied numerical superiority was almost 2:1. After a month and two days of fighting, the war ended as a moral disaster for Bulgaria, and at the same time its economy was ruined and its military demoralised.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers between 15 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia, and 29 September 1918, when the Armistice of Thessalonica was signed. In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Bulgarian opinion turned against Russia and the western powers, whom the Bulgarians felt had done nothing to help them. The government of Vasil Radoslavov aligned the country with Germany and Austria-Hungary, even though this meant also becoming an ally of the Ottomans, Bulgaria's traditional enemy. However, Bulgaria now had no claims against the Ottomans, whereas Serbia, Greece and Romania (allies of Britain and France) were all in possession of lands perceived in Bulgaria as its own.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In 1915 Germany promised to restore the boundaries according to the Treaty of San Stefano and Bulgaria, which had the largest army in the Balkans, declared war on Serbia in October of that year. In the First World War Bulgaria decisively asserted its military capabilities. The second Battle of Doiran, with Gen. Vladimir Vazov as commander, inflicted a heavy blow on the numerically superior British army, which suffered 12,000 casualties against 2,000 from the opposite side. One year later, during the third battle of Doiran, the United Kingdom, supported by Greece, once again suffered a humiliating defeat, losing 3,155 men against just about 500 on the Bulgarian side. The reputation of the French army also suffered badly. The Battle of the Red Wall was marked by the total defeat of the French forces, with 5,700 out of 6,000 men killed. The 261 Frenchmen who survived were captured by Bulgarian soldiers.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Despite the outstanding victories, Germany was near defeat, which meant that Bulgaria would be left without its most powerful ally. The Russian Revolution of February 1917 had a great effect in Bulgaria, spreading antiwar and anti-monarchist sentiment among the troops and in the cities. In June Radoslavov's government resigned. In 1919 Bulgaria officially left the war with the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine proved to be a severe blow to Bulgaria's military. According to the treaty, the country had no right to organize a conscription-based military. The professional army was to be no more than 20,000 men, including internal forces and border guards. Equipping the army with tanks, submarines, bombers and heavy artillery was strictly prohibited, although Bulgaria managed to get around some of these prohibitions. Nevertheless, on the eve of World War II the Bulgarian army was still well-trained and well-equipped. In fact, the Bulgarian Army had been expanded in 1935.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The government of the Kingdom of Bulgaria under Prime Minister Bogdan Filov declared a position of neutrality upon the outbreak of World War II. Bulgaria was determined to observe it until the end of the war but it hoped for bloodless territorial gains, especially in the lands with a significant Bulgarian population occupied by neighbouring countries after the Second Balkan War and World War I. However, it was clear that the central geopolitical position of Bulgaria in the Balkans would inevitably lead to strong external pressure by both World War II factions. Turkey had a non-aggression pact with Bulgaria. On 7 September 1940 Bulgaria succeeded in negotiating a recovery of Southern Dobruja with the Treaty of Craiova (see Second Vienna Award). Southern Dobruja had been part of Romania since 1913. This recovery of territory reinforced hopes for resolving other territorial problems without direct involvement in the war. The country joined the Axis Powers in 1941, when German troops preparing to invade Yugoslavia and Greece reached the Bulgarian borders and demanded permission to pass through its territory.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: On 1 March 1941, Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact and officially joined the Axis bloc. After a short period of inaction, the army launched an operation against Yugoslavia and Greece. The goal of reaching the shores of the Aegean Sea and completely occupying the region of Macedonia was successful. Even though Bulgaria did not send any troops to support the German invasion of the Soviet Union, its navy was involved in a number of skirmishes with the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, which attacked Bulgarian shipping. Besides this, Bulgarian armed forces garrisoned in the Balkans battled various resistance groups. The Bulgarian government declared a token war on the United Kingdom and the United States near the end of 1941, an act that resulted in the bombing of Sofia and other Bulgarian cities by Allied aircraft.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Some communist activists managed to begin a guerrilla movement, headed by the underground Bulgarian Communist Party. A resistance movement called Otechestven front (Fatherland front, Bulgarian: Отечествен фронт) was set up in August 1942 by the Communist Party, the Zveno movement and a number of other parties to oppose the elected government, after a number of Allied victories indicated that the Axis might lose the War. In 1943 Tsar Boris III died suddenly. In the summer of 1944, after having crushed the Nazi defense around Iaşi and Chişinău, the Soviet Army was approaching the Balkans and Bulgaria. On 23 August 1944 Romania quit the Axis Powers, declared war on Germany and allowed Soviet forces to cross its territory to reach Bulgaria. On 26 August 1944 the Fatherland Front made the decision to incite an armed rebellion against the government, which led to the appointment of a new government on 2 September. Support for the government was withheld by the Fatherland Front, since it was composed of pro-Nazi elements, in a desperate attempt to hold on to power. On 5 September 1944 the Soviet Union declared war and invaded Bulgaria. On 8 September 1944 the Bulgarian army joined the Soviet Union in its war against Germany.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: As the Red Army invaded Bulgaria in 1944 and installed a communist government, the armed forces were rapidly forced to reorganise following the Soviet model, and were renamed the Bulgarian People's Army ("Bohlgarska Narodna Armija, BNA"). Moscow quickly supplied Bulgaria with T-34-85 tanks, SU-100 guns, Il-2 attack planes and other new combat machinery. As the country was a Soviet satellite, it was a part of the Eastern Bloc and entered the Warsaw Pact as one of its founders. By this time the army had expanded to over 200,000 men with hundreds of thousands of more reserve troops. Military service was obligatory. A special defensive line, known as the Krali Marko defensive line, was constructed along the entire border with Turkey. It was heavily fortified with concrete walls and turrets of T-34, Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The army was involved in a number of border skirmishes from 1948 to 1952, repulsing several Greek attacks, and took part in the suppression of the Prague Spring events. In the meantime, during the rule of Todor Zhivkov, a significant military-industrial complex was established, capable of producing armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, small arms and ammunition, as well as aircraft engines and spare parts. Bulgaria provided weapons and military expertise to Algeria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Nicaragua, Egypt and Syria. Some military and medical aid was also supplied to North Korea and North Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1970s the Air Force was at the apogee of its power, possessing at least 500 modern combat aircraft in its inventory. Training in the Bulgarian People's Army was exhaustive even by Soviet standards; however, it was never seen as a major force within the Warsaw Pact. In 1989, when the Cold War was coming to its end, the army (the combined number of ground, air and naval forces) numbered about 120,000 men, most of them conscripts. There were, however, a number of services which, while falling outside of Ministry of Defense jurisdiction in peacetime, were considered part of the armed forces. These were foremost the Labour Troops (construction forces), the People's Militia (the police forces of the country, which fell under Ministry of the Interior jurisdiction, but the ministry was itself a militarized structure) and, more importantly, its Interior Troops, the Border Troops—which in different periods fell under either Ministry of Defense or Ministry of the Interior control—Civil Defense Service, the Signals Troops (government communications) and the Transport Troops (mostly railway infrastructure maintenance), which were two separate services under the Postal and Communications Committee (a ministry), etc. The combined strength of the Bulgarian People's Army and all those services reached well over 325,000 troops.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: With the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Cold War, Bulgaria could no longer support a vast military. A rapid reduction in personnel and active equipment was to be carried out in parallel with a general re-alignment of strategic interests. In 1990, Bulgaria had a total of more than 2,400 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles, 2,500 large caliber artillery systems, 300 fighter and bomber aircraft, 100 trainer aircraft, more than 40 combat and 40 transport helicopters, 4 submarines, 6 fast missile craft, 2 frigates, 5 corvettes, 6 torpedo boats, 9 patrol craft, 30 minesweepers and 21 transport vessels. Due to the economic crisis that affected most former Eastern bloc countries, a steady reform in the military could not be carried out; much of the equipment fell into disrepair and some of it was smuggled and sold to the international black market. Inadequate payments, fuel and spare part shortages and the disbandment of many capable units led to an overall drop in combat readiness, morale and discipline.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: After partially recovering from the 1990s crisis, the Bulgarian military became a part of NATO. Even before that, Bulgaria sent a total of 485 soldiers to Iraq (2003–2008) as a participant in the Iraq War, and maintained a 608-men strong force in Afghanistan as part of ISAF. Bulgaria had a significant missile arsenal, including 67 SCUD-B, 50 FROG-7 and 24 SS-23 ballistic missiles. In 2002, Bulgaria disbanded the Rocket Forces despite nationwide protests, and has disbanded its submarine component. Bulgaria is to have 27,000 standing troops by 2014, consisting of 14,310 troops in the land forces, 6,750 in the air force, 3,510 in the navy and 2,420 in the joint command. In 2018, the Bulgarian Armed Forces numbers around 33,150 soldiers, 73 aircraft, 2234 vehicles including 531 tanks, and 29 naval assets.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Bulgarian Armed Forces are headquartered in Sofia, where most of the Defence staff is based. Until recently the supreme military institution was the General Staff and the most senior military officer was known as the Chief of the General Staff. After the latest military reform has been implemented the General Staff became a department within the Ministry of Defence and for that matter its name had to be changed to match the new situation. For that reason the former GS became the Defence Staff and the supreme military commander became the Chief of Defence. Currently headed by Chief of Defence admiral Emil Eftimov, the Defence Staff is responsible for operational command of the Bulgarian Army and its three major branches. Deputies: Vice Admiral Petar Petrov, General Atanas Zaprianov, General Dimitar Zekhtinov.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In addition to the aforementioned positions, there are general rank positions in the National Intelligence Service and the National Close Protection Service (the bodyguard service to high-ranking officials and visiting dignitaries). These two services are considered part of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria, but are directly subordinated to the President of Bulgaria and fall out of the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: With the establishment of the State Agency for National Security - SANS (Bulgarian: Darzhavna Agentsiya za Natsionalna Sigurnost - DANS, Държавна агенция за национална сигурност - ДАНС) part of the military security personnel came under its authority. Before that the security aspects of the armed forces were handled by a unified organisation under the General Staff - the "Military Service of Security and Military Police". After the formation of SANS the service was split, with the military counter-intelligence personnel entering the newly formed structure and the military police personnel staying under Ministry of Defense subordination. While technically civilian servants not part of the armed forces, the military counter-intelligence personnel of the State Agency of National Security retain their military ranks.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Defence Staff, formerly called the General Staff of the Bulgarian Army, is the supreme professional institution for military expertise and command and supervision of the armed forces under the Ministry of Defence umbrella. It includes:


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In 2010 the Ministry of Defence completed a thorough study of the defence policy and issued a "White Book", or a "White Paper on Defence", calling for a major overhaul of the structure of Defence Forces. According to the document the military of the Republic of Bulgaria should include two mechanized brigades, four regiments (Logistics, Artillery, Engineering, SpecOps), four battalions (Reconnaissance, Mechanized, NBC, psychological operations) in the Land Forces; two air bases, SAM air defense base and Air force training base in the Air Force; and one naval base consisting of two homeports in the Navy. There are seven brigade level formations, including the two mechanised brigades and the special forces brigade of the army, the two air bases of the air force, the naval base and the logistical brigade of the JOC. Currently deployed units are as follows:


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The three armed services of the Bulgarian Army - the Land, Air and Naval Forces are subordinated to the recently formed Joint Forces Command:


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The previous 62nd Signals Brigade at Gorna Malina was responsible for maintaining the higher military communication lines. Next to the functions of the Signals Regiment in the Sofia suburb of Suhodol, the brigade had at least three dispersed "signals regiments for government communications", such as the 75th Signals Regiment (Lovech), the 65th Signals Regiment (Nova Zagora) and at least one additional unknown Signals Regiment in the Rila-Pirin mountain massif. The modern successor of the 62nd Signals Brigade are the Stationary Communication and Information System ("Стационарна Комуникационна Информационна Система" ("СКИС")) of the Defence Staff (which fulfills also the tasks of SIGINT and Cyber Defence next to its strategic communications mission) and the Mobile Communication and Information System ("Мобилна Комуникационна Информационна Система" ("МКИС")) of the Joint Forces Command.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The 68th Special Forces Brigade was removed from the Land Forces' ORBAT on 1 February 2017, de facto becoming the country's fourth combat service. Unlike Bulgaria's Land, Air and Naval Forces however it fell outside of the Joint Forces Command structure, having been assigned directly under the authority of the Chief of Defence. The brigade was transformed into the JSOC, taking effect on November 1, 2019 and its commander, Brigade General Yavor Mateev was promoted to a major general as the chief of the new command.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Bulgaria's total military personnel as of 2014 is 37,100, of which 30,400 (80.1%) are active military personnel and 8,100 (11.9%) are civilian personnel. The Land Forces are the largest branch, with at least 18,000 men serving there. In terms of percentage, 53% of all Army personnel are in the Land Forces, 25% are in the Air Force, 13% are in the Navy and 9% are in the Joint Forces Command. Annual spending per soldier amounts to 30,000 leva (~ 15,000 euro) and is scheduled to increase to 43,600 leva by 2014.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Unlike many former Soviet bloc militaries, discipline and morale problems are not common. During the Communist era, the army members enjoyed extensive social privileges. After the fall of Communism and Bulgaria's transition to a market economy, wages fell severely. For almost a decade social benefits were virtually non-existent, and some of them have been restored but recently. Nikolai Tsonev, defence minister under the 2005–2009 cabinet, undertook steps to provide the members of the military and their families with certain privileges in terms of healthcare and education, and to improve living conditions.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Military education in Bulgaria is provided in military universities and academies. Due to cuts in spending and manpower some universities have been disbanded and their campuses were included as faculties of other, larger educational entities. The largest institutions of military education in Bulgaria are:


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Land Forces practice extensive year-round military training in various conditions. Cooperative drills with the United States are very common, the last series of them conducted in 2008. Bulgaria's most recent full-scale exercise simulating a foreign invasion was carried out in 2009. It was conducted at the Koren range, and included some 1,700 personnel with tanks, ATGMs, attack aircraft, AA guns and armored vehicles. The combat skills of individual soldiers are on a very high level, on par with troops of the U.S. Army.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Until recent years the Air Force suffered somewhat from fuel shortages; a problem which was overcome in 2008. Fighter pilots have year-round flights, but gunship pilots do not fly often due to the yet unfulfilled modernization of the Mi-24 gunships. Due to financial difficulties fighter pilots have 60 hours of flying time per year, only a third of the national norm of 180 hours.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Navy also has some fuel shortage problems, but military training is still effective. The most recent overseas operation of the Navy was along the coast of Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: After the collapse of the Warsaw pact, Bulgaria lost the ability to acquire cheap fuel and spares for its military. A large portion of its nearly 2,000 T-55 tanks fell into disrepair, and eventually almost all of them were scrapped or sold to other countries. In the early 1990s the budget was so small, that regulars only received token-value payments. Many educated and well-trained officers lost the opportunity to educate younger soldiers, as the necessary equipment and basis lacked adequate funding. Military spending increased gradually, especially in the last 10 years. As of 2005, the budget was no more than $400 mln., while military spending for 2009 amounted to more than $1.3 bln. – almost a triple increase for 4 years. Despite this growth, the military still does not receive sufficient funds for modernisation. An example of bad spending plans is the large-scale purchasing of transport aircraft, while the Air Force has a severe need of new fighters (the MiG-29s, even though modernised, are nearing their operational limits). The planned procurement of 2–4 Gowind class corvettes has been cancelled. As of 2009, military spending was about 1.98% of GDP. In 2010 the budget is to be only 1.3% due to the international financial crisis.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Land Forces are functionally divided into Deployable and Reserve Forces. Their main functions include deterrence, defence, peace support and crisis management, humanitarian and rescue missions, as well as social functions within Bulgarian society. Active troops in the land forces number about 18,000 men, and reserve troops number about 13,000.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The equipment of the land forces is impressive in terms of numbers, but most of it is nonoperational and scheduled to be scrapped or refurbished and exported to other nations. Bulgaria has a military stockpile of about 5,000,000 small arms, models ranging from World War II-era MP 40 machine pistols to modern Steyr AUG, AK-74, HK MP5, HK416 and AR-M12F assault rifles.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The National Guard of Bulgaria, founded in 1879, is the successor to the personal guards of Knyaz Alexander I. On 12 July of that year, the guards escorted the Bulgarian knyaz for the first time; today the official holiday of the National Guard is celebrated on 12 July. Throughout the years the structure of the guards has evolved, going from convoy to squadron, to regiment and, subsequent to 1942, to division. Today it includes military units for army salute and wind orchestra duties.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In 2001, the National Guard unit was designated an official military unit of the Bulgarian army and one of the symbols of state authority, along with the flag, the coat of arms and the national anthem. It is a formation, directly subordinate to the Minister of Defence and while legally part of the armed forces, it is totally independent from the Defence Staff.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In 2019 what remained from the scrapping of the previous new equipment some but not all of the T-72 Main battle tanks were sent for mechanical service for the first time in years.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Most of the equipment that should be battle ready is in dire condition, old, rusty or non-functional, the rest about 50,000 tons of what was sold as scrap" can be found in some of the scrap depots near the railroad in Sofia including battle tanks, artillery, and other battle soviet era equipment.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Navy has traditionally been the smallest component of the Bulgarian military. Established almost simultaneously with the Ground forces in 1879, initially it consisted of a small fleet of boats on the Danube river. Bulgaria has a coastline of about 354 kilometres – thus, naval warfare is not considered a priority.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: After the downturn in 1990, the Navy was largely overlooked and received almost no funding. No projects for modernisation were carried out until 2005, when a Wielingen class frigate (F912 Wandelaar) was acquired from Belgium. By 2009, Bulgaria acquired two more frigates of the same class. The first of them was renamed "41 Drazki" and took part in several operations and exercises, most notably the UNIFIL Maritime Patrol along the coast of Lebanon in 2006, and Operation Active Endeavour. It also participated in the enforcement of the naval blockade against Muammar Gaddafi's regime off the coast of Libya from 2011 until 2012.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The equipment is typical for a small navy, consisting mostly of light multi-purpose vessels – four frigates, three corvettes, five minesweepers, three fast missile craft and two landing ships. Other equipment includes a coastal defence missile battalion armed with locally modified P-15 Termit missiles, a coastal artillery battery, a naval helicopter airbase and a marine special forces unit.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: In the past decade Bulgaria has been trying actively to restructure its army as a whole and a lot of attention has been placed on keeping the aging Russian aircraft operational. Currently the attack and defence branches of the Bulgarian air force are mainly MiG-29s and Su-25s. About 15 MiG-29 fighters have been modernised in order to meet NATO standards. The first aircraft arrived on 29 November 2007 and final delivery was due in 03/09. In 2006 the Bulgarian government signed a contract with Alenia Aeronautica for the delivery of five C-27J Spartan transport aircraft in order to replace the Soviet made An-24 and An-26, although the contract was later changed to only three aircraft. Modern EU-made transport helicopters were purchased in 2005 and a total of 12 Eurocopter Cougar have been delivered (eight transport and four CSAR).Three Eurocopter AS565 Panther for the Bulgarian Navy in 2016.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Branches of the Air Force include: fighter aviation, assault aviation, intelligence aviation and transportation aviation, aid defence troops, radio-technical troops, communications troops, radio-technical support troops, logistics and medical troops.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense has announced plans to withdraw and replace the MiG-29 fighters with new F-16V Fighting Falcon by 2025–2026.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: With the exception of the Navy's small helicopter fleet, the Air Forces are responsible for all military aircraft in Bulgaria. The Air Forces' inventory numbers <50 aircraft, including combat jets and helicopters. Aircraft of western origin have only begun to enter the fleet, numbering of the total in service.Most is unusable, old and inactive


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: The Bulgarian-American Joint Military Facilities were established by a Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the United States and Bulgaria in April 2006. Under the agreement, U.S. forces can conduct training at several bases in the country, which remain under Bulgarian command and under the Bulgarian flag. Under the agreement, no more than 2,500 U.S. military personnel can be located at the joint military facilities.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: "Foreign Policy" magazine lists Bezmer Air Base as one of the six most important overseas facilities used by the USAF.


title: Bulgarian Armed Forces

text: Both during Communist rule and after, Bulgaria has deployed troops with different tasks in various countries. The table below lists Bulgarian military deployments in foreign countries. Active missions are shown in bold.


title: Carbon tax

text: A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more severe weather events. In this way, they are designed to reduce carbon dioxide () emissions by increasing prices of the fossil fuels that emit them when burned. This both decreases demand for goods and services that produce high emissions and incentivizes making them less carbon-intensive. In its simplest form, a carbon tax covers only CO emissions; however, it could also cover other greenhouse gases, such as methane or nitrous oxide, by taxing such emissions based on their CO-equivalent global warming potential. When a hydrocarbon fuel such as coal, petroleum, or natural gas is burned, most or all of its carbon is converted to . Greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change, which damages the environment and human health. This negative externality can be reduced by taxing carbon content at any point in the product cycle. Carbon taxes are thus a type of Pigovian tax.


title: Carbon tax

text: Research shows that carbon taxes effectively reduce emissions. Many economists argue that carbon taxes are the most efficient (lowest cost) way to tackle climate change. Seventy-seven countries and over 100 cities have committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. , carbon taxes have been implemented or scheduled for implementation in 25 countries, while 46 countries put some form of price on carbon, either through carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes.


title: Carbon tax

text: On their own, carbon taxes are usually regressive, since lower-income households tend to spend a greater proportion of their income on emissions-heavy goods and services like transportation than higher-income households. To make them more progressive, policymakers can try to redistribute the revenue generated from carbon taxes to low-income groups by lowering income taxes or offering rebates, then as part of the politics of climate change the overall policy initiative can be referred to as a carbon fee and dividend, rather than a tax.


title: Carbon tax

text: Carbon dioxide is one of several heat-trapping greenhouse gases (others include methane and water vapor) emitted as a result of human activities. The scientific consensus is that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of global warming, and that carbon dioxide is the most important of the anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Worldwide, 27 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are produced by human activity annually. The physical effect of in the atmosphere can be measured as a change in the Earth-atmosphere system's energy balance – the radiative forcing of .


title: Carbon tax

text: David Gordon Wilson first proposed a carbon tax in 1973. A series of treaties and other agreements have focused attention on climate change. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions over the ensuing decades.


title: Carbon tax

text: Different greenhouse gases have different physical properties: the global warming potential is an internationally accepted scale of equivalence for other greenhouse gases in units of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.


title: Carbon tax

text: A carbon tax is a form of pollution tax. Unlike classic command and control regulations, which explicitly limit or prohibit emissions by each individual polluter, a carbon tax aims to allow market forces to determine the most efficient way to reduce pollution. A carbon tax is an indirect tax—a tax on a transaction—as opposed to a direct tax, which taxes income. Carbon taxes are price instruments since they set a price rather than an emission limit. In addition to creating incentives for energy conservation, a carbon tax puts renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal on a more competitive footing.


title: Carbon tax

text: In economic theory, pollution is considered a negative externality, a negative effect on a third party not directly involved in a transaction, and is a type of market failure. To confront the issue, economist Arthur Pigou proposed taxing the goods (in this case hydrocarbon fuels), that were the source of the externality () so as to accurately reflect the cost of the goods to society, thereby internalizing the production costs. A tax on a negative externality is called a Pigovian tax, which should equal the cost.


title: Carbon tax

text: Within Pigou's framework, the changes involved are marginal, and the size of the externality is assumed to be small enough not to distort the economy. Climate change is claimed to result in catastrophe (non-marginal) changes. "Non-marginal" means that the impact could significantly reduce the growth rate in income and welfare. The amount of resources that should be devoted to climate change mitigation is controversial. Policies designed to reduce carbon emissions could have a non-marginal impact, but are asserted to not be catastrophic.


title: Carbon tax

text: Carbon leakage happens when the regulation of emissions in one country/sector pushes those emissions to other places that with less regulation. Leakage effects can be both negative (i.e., increasing the effectiveness of reducing overall emissions) and positive (reducing the effectiveness of reducing overall emissions). Negative leakages, which are desirable, can be referred to as "spill-over".


title: Carbon tax

text: According to one study, short-term leakage effects need to be judged against long-term effects. A policy that, for example, establishes carbon taxes only in developed countries might leak emissions to developing countries. However, a desirable negative leakage could occur due to reduced demand for coal, oil, and gas in developed countries, lowering prices. This could allow developing countries to substitute oil or gas for coal, lowering emissions. In the long-run, however, if less polluting technologies are delayed, this substitution might have no long-term benefit.


title: Carbon tax

text: Carbon leakage is central to climate policy, given the 2030 Energy and Climate Framework and the review of the European Union's third carbon leakage list.


title: Carbon tax

text: Policies have been suggested to address concerns over competitive losses experienced by countries that introduce a carbon tax versus countries that do not. Border tax adjustments, tariffs and trade bans have been proposed to encourage countries to introduce carbon taxes.


title: Carbon tax

text: Border tax adjustments compensate for emissions attributable to imports from nations without a carbon price. An alternative would be trade bans or tariffs applied to such countries. Such approaches could be inadmissible at the World Trade Organization. Case law there has not provided specific rulings on climate-related taxes. The administrative aspects of border tax adjustments have been discussed.


title: Carbon tax

text: Two related taxes are emissions taxes and energy taxes. An emissions tax on greenhouse gas emissions requires individual emitters to pay a fee, charge, or tax for every tonne of greenhouse gas, while an energy tax is applied to the fuels themselves.


title: Carbon tax

text: In terms of climate change mitigation, a carbon tax is not a perfect substitute for an emissions tax. For example, a carbon tax encourages reduced fuel use, but it does not encourage emissions reduction such as carbon capture and storage.


title: Carbon tax

text: Energy taxes increase the price of energy regardless of emissions. An "ad valorem" energy tax is levied according to the energy content of a fuel or the value of an energy product, which may or may not be consistent with the emitted greenhouse gas amounts and their respective global warming potentials. Studies indicate that to reduce emissions by a certain amount, "ad valorem" energy taxes would be more costly than carbon taxes. However, although greenhouse gas emissions are an externality, using energy services may result in other negative externalities, e.g., air pollution not covered by the carbon tax (such as ammonia or fine particles). A combined carbon-energy tax may therefore be better at reducing air pollution than a carbon tax alone.


title: Carbon tax

text: Any of these taxes can be combined with a rebate, where the money collected by the tax is returned to qualifying parties, taxing heavy emitters and subsidizing those that emit less carbon.


title: Carbon tax

text: Embodied carbon emissions, or upfront carbon emissions (UCE), are the result of creating and maintaining the materials that form a building. As of 2018, "Embodied carbon is responsible 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 28% of global building sector emissions ... Embodied carbon will be responsible for almost half of total new construction emissions between now and 2050."


title: Carbon tax

text: Steve Webb, co-founder of Webb Yates Engineers, has suggested that buildings with "high carbon frames should be taxed like cigarettes," to create a presumption in favour of timber, stone, and other zero-carbon architectural design techniques."


title: Carbon tax

text: Fuel taxes and carbon taxes encourage carpooling. Carpools offer the added benefits of helping to reduce commute time, reduce car accident rates, increase personal savings, and improve quality of life. Drawbacks include the cost of enforcement, increased police stops, and political resistance from increased government involvement in daily life.


title: Carbon tax

text: Many countries tax fuel directly; for example, the UK imposes a hydrocarbon oil duty directly on vehicle hydrocarbon oils, including petrol and diesel fuel.


title: Carbon tax

text: While a direct tax sends a clear signal to the consumer, its efficiency at influencing consumers' fuel use has been challenged for reasons including:


title: Carbon tax

text: Vehicle fuel taxes may reduce the "rebound effect" that occurs when vehicle efficiency improves. Consumers may make additional journeys or purchase heavier and more powerful vehicles, offsetting the efficiency gains.


title: Carbon tax

text: The design of a carbon tax involves two primary factors: the level of the tax, and the use of the revenue. The former is based on the social cost of carbon (SCC), which attempts to calculate the numeric cost of the externalities of carbon pollution. The precise number is the subject of debate in environmental and policy circles. A higher SCC corresponds with a higher evaluation of the costs of carbon pollution on society. Stanford University scientists have estimated the social cost of carbon to be upwards of $200 per ton. More conservative estimates pin the cost at around $50.


title: Carbon tax

text: The use of the revenue is another subject of debate in carbon tax proposals. A government may use revenue to increase its discretionary spending, or address deficits. However, such proposals often run the risk of being regressive, and sparking backlash among the public due to an increased cost of energy associated with such taxes. To avoid this and increase the popularity of a carbon tax, a government may make the carbon tax revenue-neutral. This can be done by reducing income tax proportionate to the level of the carbon tax, or by returning carbon tax revenues to citizens as a dividend.


title: Carbon tax

text: Research shows that carbon taxes effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Most economists assert that carbon taxes are the most efficient and effective way to curb climate change, with the least adverse economic effects.


title: Carbon tax

text: One study found that Sweden's carbon tax successfully reduced carbon dioxide emissions from transport by 11%. A 2015 British Columbia study found that the taxes reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 5–15% while having negligible overall economic effects. A 2017 British Columbia study found that industries on the whole benefited from the tax and "small but statistically significant 0.74 percent annual increases in employment" but that carbon-intensive and trade-sensitive industries were adversely affected. A 2020 study of carbon taxes in wealthy democracies showed that carbon taxes had not limited economic growth.


title: Carbon tax

text: A number of studies have found that in the absence of an increase in social benefits and tax credits, a carbon tax would hit poor households harder than rich households. Gilbert E. Metcalf disputed that carbon taxes would be regressive in the US.


title: Carbon tax

text: Both energy and carbon taxes have been implemented in response to commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In most cases the tax is implemented in combination with exemptions.


title: Carbon tax

text: South Africa Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan first announced a carbon tax in 2010 that was to begin in 2015. After numerous delays, the tax was finally passed in 2019 and is due to come into effect in 2022. The tax is set at a base rate per tonne of CO equivalent, with an effective rate of R6–48 (US$0.42–3.32) after accounting for tax breaks. The National Treasury has proposed to increase the carbon tax rate by a minimum of US$1 from 2023 to 2025 with gradual increment to US$20 (~R350) by 2026 and to US$30 (~R530) by 2030.


title: Carbon tax

text: Although a tax the Zimbabwean government calls "carbon tax" exists, it only taxes certain imported fuels and more closely resembles a tariff or fuel tax.


title: Carbon tax

text: The Chinese Ministry of Finance originally proposed a carbon tax in 2010, to come into effect in 2012 or 2013. The tax was never passed; in February 2021 the government instead set up a carbon trading scheme.


title: Carbon tax

text: Carbon tax provisions are regulated in Article 13 of the Law 7/2021 in which carbon tax will be imposed on entities producing carbon emissions that have a negative impact on the environment. Based on the Law 7/2021, the imposition of carbon tax will be carried out by focusing on two specific schemes i.e., the carbon tax scheme (cap and tax) and the carbon trade scheme (cap and trade).


title: Carbon tax

text: In the carbon trade scheme, individual or company ("entities") that produce emissions exceeding the cap are required to purchase for an emission permit certificate ("Sertifikat Izin Emisi"/SIE) from other entities that produce emissions below the cap.


title: Carbon tax

text: In addition, entities can also purchase emission reduction certificates ("Sertifikat Penurunan Emisi"/SPE). However, if the entity is unable to purchase SIE or SPE in full for the resulting emissions, the cap and tax scheme will apply where entities producing residual emissions that exceed the cap will be subject to carbon tax.


title: Carbon tax

text: India does not tax carbon emissions directly, but since 2010 the country has had a tax on both domestically produced and imported coal, which powers more than half of its electricity generation. Originally set at per tonne of coal, it was raised to ₹100 in 2014 and ₹200 in 2015. As of 2020 the coal tax stands at per tonne.


title: Carbon tax

text: Although Japan does not tax carbon emissions directly, since 2012 the country has levied a "Tax for Climate Change Mitigation" on petroleum, coal and natural gas at per nominal tonne of carbon they emit when burned. In addition, Tokyo has had a local carbon emissions trading system since 2010 in which carbon permits are valued at approximately US$50.


title: Carbon tax

text: In December 2009, nine industry groupings opposed a carbon tax at the opening day of the COP-15 Copenhagen climate conference stating, "Japan should not consider a carbon tax as it would damage the economy which is already among the world's most energy-efficient." The industry groupings represented the oil, cement, paper, chemical, gas, electric power, auto manufacturing and electronics, and information technology sectors.


title: Carbon tax

text: On 20 February 2017, Singapore proposed a carbon tax. The proposal was refined to tax large emitters at per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions. The Carbon Pricing Act was passed on 20 March 2018 and came into force on 1 January 2019.


title: Carbon tax

text: Taiwan does not currently have any form of carbon tax. In 2009, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), which had been commissioned by the government to advise on its plan to overhaul the nation's taxes, recommended a levy of (, £37.6) per tonne of CO emissions. As a result, vice finance minister Chang Sheng-ho announced a plan for a carbon tax in starting 2011, with the revenues funding low-income families and public transport. However, Premier Wu Den-yih opposed implementing the tax, arguing it would increase public suffering during the then ongoing recession. The carbon tax was never implemented.


title: Carbon tax

text: As opposed to the commonly adopted carbon tax, Taiwan's Climate Change Response Act has proposed implementation of a carbon fee. This would require local companies emitting more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon per year to pay a fee. The carbon fee would come into effect from 2024 or 2025 and would start with large emitters, while other carbon emitting groups would be added subsequently after the initial law is passed.


title: Carbon tax

text: On 1 July 2012, the Australian Federal government introduced a carbon price of per tonne on selected fossil fuels consumed by major industrial emitters and government bodies such as councils. To offset the tax, the government reduced income tax (by increasing the tax-free threshold) and increased pensions and welfare payments slightly, while introducing compensation for some affected industries. On 17 July 2014, a report by the Australian National University estimated that the Australian scheme had cut carbon emissions by as much as 17 million tonnes. The tax notably helped reduce pollution from the electricity sector.


title: Carbon tax

text: On 17 July 2014, the Abbott Government passed repeal legislation through the Senate, and Australia became the first nation to abolish a carbon tax. In its place, the government set up the Emission Reduction Fund.


title: Carbon tax

text: New Zealand does not have a carbon tax. Instead, the country prices carbon via the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, which was enacted by the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2005, the Fifth Labour Government had proposed a carbon tax of NZ$15 per tonne of CO equivalent (US$14.47 after adjusting for inflation in 2021) to meet obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. The tax was scheduled to take effect from April 2007 and apply across most economic sectors, with an exemption for methane emissions from farming and provisions for special exemptions from carbon-intensive businesses if they adopted best-practice standards. After the 2005 election, some of the minor parties supporting the Fifth Labour Government (NZ First and United Future) opposed the proposed tax, and it was abandoned in December 2005.


title: Carbon tax

text: In Europe, many countries have imposed energy taxes or energy taxes based partly on carbon content. These include Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. None of these countries has been able to introduce a uniform carbon tax for fuels in all sectors.


title: Carbon tax

text: During the 1990s, a carbon/energy tax was proposed at the EU level but failed due to industrial lobbying. In 2010, the European Commission considered implementing a pan-European minimum tax on pollution permits purchased under the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in which the proposed new tax would be calculated in terms of carbon content. The suggested rate of €4 to €30 per tonne of CO.


title: Carbon tax

text: As of 2002, the standard carbon tax rate since 1996 amounted to per tonne of , equivalent to approximately €13 or . The rate varies between per tonne of oil to per tonne of natural gas and 0 for non-combustible renewables. The rate for electricity is per tonne or 10 øre per kWh, equivalent to or per kWh. The tax applies to all energy users. Industrial companies can be taxed differently according to the process the energy is used for, and whether or not the company has entered into a voluntary agreement to apply energy efficiency measures.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 1992, Denmark issued a carbon tax, charging about for business and for households, per ton of . However, Denmark offers a tax refund for energy efficient changes. Most of the money collected would be put into research for alternative energy resources.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2022 Denmark approved a carbon tax that will reach 159 dollars per ton of by the year 2030 for companies that are part of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This is the highest carbon tax in Europe.


title: Carbon tax

text: Finland was the first country in the 1990s to introduce a CO tax, initially with exemptions for specific fuels or sectors. Energy taxation was changed many times. These changes were related to the opening of the Nordic electricity market. Other Nordic countries exempted energy-intensive industries, and Finnish industries felt disadvantaged by this. Finland placed a border tax on imported electricity, but this was found to be out of line with EU single market legislation. Changes were then made to the carbon tax to partially exclude energy-intensive firms. This had the effect of increasing the costs of reducing CO emissions.


title: Carbon tax

text: Vourc'h and Jimenez proposed that arguments based on competitive losses be viewed with caution. For example, they suggested that carbon tax revenues could be used to reduce labour taxes, which would favour non-energy-intensive industries.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2009, France detailed a carbon tax with a levy on oil, gas, and coal consumption by households and businesses that was supposed to come into effect on 1 January 2010. The tax would affect households and businesses, which would have raised the cost of a litre of unleaded fuel by about four euro cents (25 US cents per gallon). The total estimated income from the carbon tax would have been between €3–4.5 billion annually, with 55 percent from households and 45 percent from businesses. The tax would not have applied to electricity, which in France comes mostly from nuclear power.


title: Carbon tax

text: On 30 December 2009, the bill was blocked by the French Constitutional Council, which said it included too many exceptions. Among those exceptions, certain industries were excluded that would have made the taxes unequal and inefficient. They included exemptions for agriculture, fishing, trucking, and farming. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, although he vowed to "lead the fight to save the human race from global warming", was forced to back down after mass social protests led to strikes. He wanted support from the rest of the European Union before proceeding.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2014, a carbon tax was implemented. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced the new Climate Energy Contribution (CEC) on 21 September 2013. The tax would apply at a rate of €7/tonne in 2014, €14.50 in 2015 and rising to €22 in 2016. As of 2018, the carbon tax was at €44.60/tonne. and was due to increase every year to reach €65.40/tonne in 2020 and €86.20/tonne in 2022.


title: Carbon tax

text: After weeks of protests by the "Gilets Jaunes" (yellow vests) against the rise of gas prices, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on 4 December 2018, the tax would not be increased in 2019 as planned.


title: Carbon tax

text: The German ecological tax reform was adopted in 1999. After that, the law was amended in 2000 and in 2003. The law grew taxes on fuel and fossil fuels and laid the foundation for the tax for energy. In December 2019, the German Government agreed on a carbon tax of 25 Euros per tonne of on oil and gas companies. The law came into effect in January 2021. The tax will increase to 55 Euros per tonne by 2025. From 2026 onwards, the price will be decided at auction.


title: Carbon tax

text: The Netherlands initiated a carbon tax in 1990. However, in 1992, it was replaced with a 50/50 carbon/energy tax called the Environmental Tax on Fuels. The taxes are assessed partly on carbon content and partly on energy content. The charge was transformed into a tax and became part of general tax revenues. The general fuel tax is collected on all hydrocarbon fuels. Fuels used as raw materials are not subject to the tax.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 1996, the Regulatory Tax on Energy, another 50/50 carbon/energy tax, was implemented. The environmental tax and the regulatory tax are 5.16 Dutch guilder, or NLG (~$3.13), or per tonne of CO and 27.00 NLG (~$16.40) per tonne CO respectively. Under the general fuel tax, electricity is not taxed, though fuels used to produce electricity are taxable. Energy-intensive industries initially benefited from preferential rates under this tax, but the benefit was canceled in January 1997. Since 1997, nuclear power has been taxed under the general fuel tax at the rate of NLG 31.95 per gram of uranium-235.38


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2007, the Netherlands introduced a Waste Fund that is funded by a carbon-based packaging tax. This tax was both used to finance government spending and to finance activities to help reach the goals of recycling 65% of used packaging by 2012. The organization Nedvang (Nederland van afval naar grondstof or The Netherlands from waste to value) was set up in 2005. It supports producers and importers of packaged goods. This decree was signed in 2005 and states that producers and importers of packaged goods are responsible for the collection and recycling of related waste and that at least 65% of that waste has to be recycled. Producers and importers can choose to reach the goals on an individual basis or by joining an organization like Nedvang.


title: Carbon tax

text: The Carbon-Based Tax on Packaging was found to be ineffective by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. It was therefore abolished. Producer responsibility activities for packaging are now financed based on legally binding contracts.


title: Carbon tax

text: Norway introduced a CO tax on fuels in 1991. The tax started at a rate of per tonne of on gasoline, with an average tax of US$21 per tonne. The tax applied to diesel, mineral oil, oil and gas used in North Sea extraction activities. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) in 2001 stated that "since 1991 a carbon dioxide tax has applied in addition to excise taxes on fuel." It is among the highest rates in OECD. The applies to offshore oil and gas production. IEA estimates for revenue generated by the tax in 2004 were 7,808 million NOK (about in 2010 dollars).


title: Carbon tax

text: According to IEA's 2005 Review, Norway's CO tax is its most important climate policy instrument, and covers about 64% of Norwegian CO emissions and 52% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Some industry sectors were exempted to preserve their competitive position. Various studies in the 1990s, and an economic analysis by Statistics Norway, estimated the effect to be a reduction of 2.5–11% of Norwegian emissions compared to (untaxed) business-as-usual. However, Norway's per capita emissions still rose by 15% as of 2008.


title: Carbon tax

text: In attempt to reduce emissions by a larger amount, Norway implemented an Emissions Trading Scheme in 2005 and joined the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in 2008. As of 2013, roughly 55% of emissions in Norway were taxed and exempt emissions are included in the EU ETS. Certain taxes are applied to emissions that result from petroleum activities on the continental shelf. This tax is charged per liter of oil and natural gas liquids produced, as well as per standard cubic meter of gas flared or otherwise emitted. However, this carbon tax is a tax deductible operating cost for petroleum production. In 2013, carbon tax rates were doubled to 0.96 NOK per liter/standard cubic meter of mineral oil and natural gas. As of 2016, the rate increased to 1,02 NOK. The Norwegian Ministry of the Environment described taxes as the most important tool for reducing emissions.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2004, following a policy review, the Irish Government rejected a carbon tax option. In 2007 a Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition government was formed, and promised to reconsider the matter. In 2010 the country's carbon tax was introduced at €15 per tonne of CO emissions (approx. US$20 per tonne).


title: Carbon tax

text: The tax applies to kerosene, marked gas oil, liquid petroleum gas, fuel oil, and natural gas. The tax does not apply to electricity because the cost of electricity is already included in pricing under the Single Electricity Market (SEM). Similarly, natural gas users are exempt if they can prove they are using the gas to "generate electricity, for chemical reduction, or for electrolytic or metallurgical processes". Partial relief is granted for natural gas covered by a greenhouse gas emissions permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. Such gas will be taxed at the minimum rate specified in the EU Energy Tax Directive, which is €0.54 per megawatt-hour at gross calorific value." Pure biofuels are also exempt. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) estimated costs between €2 and €3 a week per household: a survey from the Central Statistics Office reports that Ireland's average disposable income was almost €48,000 in 2007.


title: Carbon tax

text: Activist group Active Retirement Ireland proposed a pensioner's allowance of €4 per week for the 30 weeks currently covered by the fuel allowance and that home heating oil be covered under the Household Benefit Package.


title: Carbon tax

text: The tax is paid by companies. Payment for the first accounting period was due in July 2010. Fraudulent violation is punishable by jail or a fine.


title: Carbon tax

text: The NGO Irish Rural Link noted that according to ESRI a carbon tax would weigh more heavily on rural households. They claim that other countries have shown that carbon taxation succeeds only if it is part of a comprehensive package that includes reducing other taxes.


title: Carbon tax

text: Carbon Tax was introduced in Ireland in the 2010 budget by the Green Party/Fianna Fáil coalition government at a rate of €15/tonne . It was applied to motor gasoline and diesel and to home heating oil (diesel).


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2011, the coalition government of Fine Gael and Labour raised the tax to €20/tonne. Farmers were granted tax relief.


title: Carbon tax

text: In January 1991, Sweden enacted a CO tax of SEK 250 per 1000 kg ($40 at the time, or EUR 27 at current rates) on the use of oil, coal, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, petrol, and aviation fuel used in domestic travel. Industrial users paid half the rate (between 1993 and 1997, 25%), and preferred industries such as commercial horticulture, mining, manufacturing, and pulp and paper were exempted entirely. As a result, the tax only covers around 40% of Sweden's carbon emissions. The rate was raised to SEK 365 ($60) in 1997 and SEK 930 in 2007.


title: Carbon tax

text: According to a 2019 study, the tax was instrumental in substantially reducing Sweden's carbon dioxide emissions. The tax is also credited by Swedish Society for Nature Conservation climate change expert Emma Lindberg and University of Lund Professor Thomas Johansson with spurring a significant move from hydrocarbon fuels to biomass. Lindberg said, "It was the one major reason that steered society towards climate-friendly solutions. It made polluting more expensive and focused people on finding energy-efficient solutions."


title: Carbon tax

text: In January 2008, Switzerland implemented a incentive tax on all hydrocarbon fuels, unless are used for energy. Gasoline and diesel fuels are not affected. It is an incentive tax because it is designed to promote the economic use of hydrocarbon fuels. The tax amounts to per tonne , the equivalent of per litre of heating oil ( per gallon) and per m of natural gas ( per m). Switzerland prefers to rely on voluntary actions and measures to reduce emissions. The law mandated a CO tax if voluntary measures proved to be insufficient. In 2005, the federal government decided that additional measures were needed to meet Kyoto Protocol commitments of an 8% reduction in emissions below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. In 2007, the tax was approved by the Swiss Federal Council, coming into effect in 2008. In 2010, the highest tax rate was to be CHF 36 per tonne of (US$34.20 per tonne ).


title: Carbon tax

text: Companies are allowed to escape the tax by participating in emissions trading where they voluntarily commit to legally binding reduction targets. Emission allowances are given to companies for free, and each year emission allowances equal to the amount of additional CO emitted must be surrendered by the company. Companies are allowed to sell or trade excess permits. However, a company that fails to surrender sufficient allowances must pay the tax retroactively for each tonne emitted since the exemption was granted. As of 2009 some 400 companies operated under this program. In 2008 and 2009 the companies returned enough credits to the Swiss government to cover their CO emissions. The companies emitted about , well below the limit of . Switzerland issued so many allowances that few emissions permits were traded.


title: Carbon tax

text: The tax is revenue-neutral because revenues are redistributed to companies and to the Swiss population. For example, if the population bears 60% of the tax burden, it receives 60% of the rebate. Revenues are redistributed to all payers, except those who exempt themselves from the tax through the cap-and-trade program. The revenue is given to companies in proportion to payroll. Tax revenues that were paid by the population are redistributed equally to all residents. In June 2009, the Swiss Parliament allocated about one-third of the carbon tax revenue to a 10-year construction initiative. This program promotes building renovations, renewable energies, waste heat reruse, and building engineering.


title: Carbon tax

text: Tax revenue from 2008 to 2010 were distributed in 2010. In 2008, the tax raised around CHF 220 million () in revenue. As of 16 June 2010, a total of around () had become available for distribution. The 2010 revenue was about (). () was to be allocated for the building program, while the remaining () was to be redistributed to the population. IEA commended Switzerland's tax for its design and that tax revenues would be recycled as "sound fiscal practice".


title: Carbon tax

text: Since 2005, transport fuels in Switzerland have been subjected to the Climate Cent Initiative surcharge—a surcharge of per liter on gasoline and diesel ( per gallon). However, this surcharge was supplemented with a CO tax on transport fuels if emissions reductions are not satisfactory. In their 2007 review, IEA recommended that Switzerland implement a CO tax on transport fuels or increase the Climate Cent surcharge to better balance the costs of meeting emissions reductions targets across sectors.


title: Carbon tax

text: The United Kingdom currently does not have a carbon tax. Instead, various fuel taxes and energy taxes have been implemented over the years, such as the fuel duty escalator (1993) and the Climate Change Levy (2001). The UK was also a member of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme until it left the EU. It has since implemented its own carbon trading scheme.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 1997, Costa Rica imposed a 3.5 percent carbon tax on hydrocarbon fuels. A portion of the proceeds go to the "Payment for Environmental Services" (PSA) program which gives incentives to property owners to practice sustainable development and forest conservation. Approximately 11% of Costa Rica's national territory is protected by the plan. The program now pays out roughly $15 million a year to around 8,000 property owners.


title: Carbon tax

text: In the 2008 Canadian federal election, a carbon tax proposed by Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion, known as the Green Shift, became a central issue. It would have been revenue-neutral, balancing increased taxation on carbon with rebates. However, it proved to be unpopular and contributed to the Liberal Party's defeat, earning the lowest vote share since Confederation. The Conservative party won the election by promising to "develop and implement a North American-wide cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases and air pollution, with implementation to occur between 2012 and 2015".


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2018, Canada enacted a revenue-neutral carbon levy starting in 2019, fulfilling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's campaign pledge. The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act applies only to provinces without provincial adequate carbon pricing.


title: Carbon tax

text: As of September 2020, seven of thirteen Canadian provinces and territories use the federal carbon tax while three have developed their own carbon tax programs.


title: Carbon tax

text: In December 2020, the Federal Government released an updated plan with a per tonne per year increase in the carbon pricing, reaching per tonne in 2025 and per tonne in 2030.


title: Carbon tax

text: Quebec became the first province to introduce a carbon tax. The tax was to be imposed on energy producers starting 1 October 2007, with revenue collected used for energy-efficiency programs. The tax rate for gasoline is $CDN0.008 per liter, or about per tonne of equivalent.


title: Carbon tax

text: On 19 February 2008, British Columbia announced its intention to implement a carbon tax of $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (COe) emissions (2.41 cents per litre on gasoline) beginning 1 July 2008, the first North American jurisdiction to implement such a tax. The tax was to increase until 2012, reaching a final price of $30 per tonne (7.2 cents per litre at the pumps). The tax was to be revenue neutral by reducing corporate and income taxes accordingly. The government was to reduce other taxes by $481 million over three years. In January 2010, the carbon tax was applied to biodiesel. Before the tax went into effect, the government of British Columbia sent out "rebate cheques" from expected revenues to all residents. In January 2013, the tax was collecting about $1 billion/year, which was rebated"."


title: Carbon tax

text: Many Canadians concluded that the carbon tax generally benefitted the British Columbian economy, in large part because its revenue neutral feature reduced personal income taxes. However some industries complained loudly that the tax had harmed them, notably cement manufacturers and farmers. Nevertheless, the tax attracted attention in the United States and elsewhere from those seeking an economically efficient way of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases without hurting economic growth.


title: Carbon tax

text: In July 2007, Alberta enacted the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation, Alta. Reg. 139/2007, (SGER). This tax exacts a $15/tonne contribution by companies that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas annually that do not reduce their CO emissions per barrel by 12 percent, or buy an offset. In January 2016, the contribution required by large emitters increased to $20/tonne. The tax fell heavily on oil companies and coal-fired electricity plants. It was intended to encourage companies to lower emissions while fostering new technology. The plan only covered the largest emitters, who produced 70% of Alberta's emissions. Critics charged that the smallest energy producers are often the most casual about emissions and pollution. The carbon tax is currently $20 per tonne. Because Alberta's economy is dependent on oil extraction, the majority of Albertans opposed a nationwide carbon tax. Alberta also opposed a national cap and trade system. The local tax retains the proceeds within Alberta.


title: Carbon tax

text: On 23 November 2015, the Alberta government announced a carbon tax scheme similar to British Columbia's in that it would apply to the entire economy. All businesses and residents paid tax based upon equivalent emissions, including the burning of wood and biofuels. The tax came into force in 2017 at $20 per tonne.


title: Carbon tax

text: A national carbon tax in the U.S. has been repeatedly proposed, but never enacted. For instance, on 23 July 2018, Representative Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) introduced H.R. 6463, the "MARKET CHOICE Act", a proposal for a carbon tax in which revenue is used to bolster American infrastructure and environmental solutions. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives, but did not become law.


title: Carbon tax

text: A number of organizations are currently advancing national carbon tax proposals. To address concerns from conservatives that a carbon tax would grow government and increase cost of living, recent proposals have centered around revenue-neutrality. The Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), republicEn (formerly E&EI), the Climate Leadership Council (CLC), and Americans for Carbon Dividends (AFCD) support a revenue-neutral carbon tax with a border adjustment. The latter two organizations advocate for a specific framework called the Baker-Shultz Carbon Dividends Plan, which has gained national bipartisan traction since its announcement in 2017. The central principle is a gradually rising carbon tax in which all revenues are rebated as equal dividends to the American people. This plan is co-authored by (and named after) Republican elder-statesmen James Baker and George Shultz. It is also supported by companies including Microsoft, Pepsico, First Solar, American Wind Energy Association, Exxon Mobil, BP, and General Motors.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2006, the state of California passed AB-32 (Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006), which requires California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To implement AB-32, the California Air Resources Board proposed a carbon tax but this was not enacted.


title: Carbon tax

text: In May 2008, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which covers nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, passed a carbon tax on businesses of 4.4 cents per ton of CO.


title: Carbon tax

text: In November 2006, voters in Boulder, Colorado, passed what is said to be the first municipal carbon tax. It covers electricity consumption with deductions for using electricity from renewable sources (primarily Xcel's WindSource program). The goal is to reduce their emissions by 7% below 1990 levels by 2012. Tax revenues are collected by Xcel Energy and are directed to the city's Office of Environmental Affairs to fund programs to reduce emissions.


title: Carbon tax

text: Boulder's Climate Action Plan (CAP) tax was expected to raise $1.6 million in 2010. The tax was increased to a maximum allowable rate by voters in 2009 to meet CAP goals. As of 2017 the tax was set at for residential users (avg. $21 per year), for commercial (avg. $94 per year), and for industrial (avg. $9,600 per year). Tax revenues were expected to decrease over time as conservation and renewable energy expand. The tax was renewed by voters on 6 November 2012.


title: Carbon tax

text: As of 2015, the Boulder carbon tax was estimated to reduce carbon output by over 100,000 tons per year and provided in revenue. This revenue is invested in bike lanes, energy-efficient solutions, rebates, and community programs. The surcharge has been generally well received.


title: Carbon tax

text: In May 2010, Montgomery County, Maryland, passed the nation's first county-level carbon tax. The legislation required payments of $5 per ton of CO emitted from any stationary source emitting more than a million tons of carbon dioxide per year. The only source of emissions fitting the criteria is an 850 megawatt coal-fired power plant then owned by Mirant Corporation. The tax was expected to raise between and for the county, which faced a nearly budget gap. The law directed half of tax revenues toward low interest loans for county residents to invest in residential energy efficiency. The county's energy supplier buys its energy at auction, requiring the plant owner to sell its energy at market value, preventing any increase in energy costs. In June 2010, Mirant sued the county to stop the tax. In June 2011 the Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the tax was a fee imposed "for regulatory or punitive purposes" rather than a tax, and therefore could be challenged in court. The County Council repealed the fee in July 2012.


title: Carbon tax

text: Many corporations calculate an "internal price on carbon". Companies use this internal price to assess the risk of future projects into their investment decisions. Companies usually assess a higher internal price when the company a) emits large amounts of , and b) projects further into the future. Oil company have assets (factories, refineries) with a long lifespan that can be affected by future energy policies.


title: Carbon tax

text: Greg Mankiw, head of the Council of Economic Advisers under the George W. Bush administration, economic adviser to Mitt Romney for his 2012 presidential campaign and economics professor at Harvard University since 1985, has been advocating for increased carbon/oil taxation since at least 1999.


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2006, he founded the Pigou Club of economists advocating for Pigovian taxes, a carbon tax among them. The club's manifesto states "[h]igher gasoline taxes, perhaps as part of a broader carbon tax, would be the most direct and least invasive policy to address environmental concerns."


title: Carbon tax

text: In 1979, economist Milton Friedman expressed support for ecotaxes in general in an interview on "The Phil Donahue Show", saying "...the best way to [deal with pollution] is to impose a tax on the cost of the pollutants emitted by a car and make an incentive for car manufacturers and for consumers to keep down the amount of pollution." In "Free to Choose" (1980), Friedman reiterated his support ecotaxes especially as compared with increased environmental regulation, stating "The preservation of the environment and the avoidance of undue pollution are real problems and they are problems concerning which the government has an important role to play. ... Most economists agree that a far better way to control pollution than the present method of specific regulation and supervision is to introduce market discipline by imposing effluent charges."


title: Carbon tax

text: In 2001, environmental scientist Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute and founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, outlined a detailed "tax shifting" structure that would not lead to an overall higher tax level: "It means reducing income taxes and offsetting them with taxes on environmentally destructive activities such as carbon emissions, the generation of toxic waste, the use of virgin raw materials, the use of non-refillable beverage containers, mercury emissions, the generation of garbage, the use of pesticides, and the use of throwaway products... activities that should be discouraged by taxing."


title: Carbon tax

text: Former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker suggested (6 February 2007) that "it would be wiser to impose a tax on oil, for example, than wait for the market to drive up oil prices. A tax would give the government 'some leverage that you can use for other things., supporting a carbon tax.


title: Carbon tax

text: Citizens' Climate Lobby advocates for carbon tax legislation (specifically a progressive fee and dividend model). The organization has about 165 chapters in the United States, Canada, and several other countries including Bangladesh and Sweden.


title: Carbon tax

text: Monica Prasad, a Northwestern University sociologist, wrote about Denmark's carbon tax in "The New York Times" in 2008. Prasad argued that a critical component for Denmark's success was that the revenues subsidized firms to switch to renewable energy.


title: Carbon tax

text: According to economist Laura D'Andrea Tyson, "The beauty of a carbon tax is its market-based simplicity. Economists since Adam Smith have insisted that prices are by far the most efficient way to guide the decisions of producers and consumers. Carbon emissions have an 'unpriced' societal cost in terms of their deleterious effects on the earth's climate. A tax on carbon would reflect these costs and send a powerful price signal that would discourage carbon emissions."


title: Carbon tax

text: The American Enterprise Institute, Environmental economist Jack Pezzey, economist Jeffrey Sachs (director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University), Yale economist William Nordhaus support carbon taxes.


title: Carbon tax

text: In January 2019, economists published a statement in the "Wall Street Journal" calling for a carbon tax, describing it as "the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary." In October 2021, the statement had been signed by more than 3,600 U.S. economists, including 28 Nobel Laureates.


title: Carbon tax

text: As of 2015, developing countries were responsible for 63% of carbon emissions. Various barriers stand in the way of developing countries from adopting plans to slow carbon emissions, including a carbon tax. Developing countries often prioritize economic growth over lower emissions. Nuclear power is under development in multiple countries as an emissions-free energy source.


title: Carbon tax

text: Wind energy and solar energy are other alternatives to fossil fuels. Wind turbines are a sustainable and renewable source of power.


title: Carbon tax

text: Cap and trade is another approach. Emission levels are limited and emission permits traded among emitters. The permits can be issued via government auctions or by offered without charge based on existing emissions (grandfathering). Auctions raise revenues that can be used to reduce other taxes or to fund government programs. Variations include setting price-floor and/or price-ceiling for permits. A carbon tax can combined with trading.


title: Carbon tax

text: A cap with grandfathered permits can have an efficiency advantage since it applies to all industries. Cap and trade provides an equal incentive for all producers at the margin to reduce their emissions. This is an advantage over a tax that exempts or has reduced rates for certain sectors.


title: Carbon tax

text: Both carbon taxes and trading systems aim to reduce emissions by creating a price for emitting . In the absence of uncertainty both systems will result in the efficient market quantity and price of . When the environmental damage and therefore the appropriate tax of each unit of cannot be accurately calculated, a permit system may be more advantageous. In the case of uncertainty regarding the costs of abatement for firms, a tax is preferable.


title: Carbon tax

text: Permit systems regulate total emissions. In practice the limit has often been set so high that permit prices are not significant. In the first phase of the European Union Emissions Trading System, firms reduced their emissions to their allotted quantity without the purchase of any additional permits. This drove permit prices to nearly zero two years later, crashing the system and requiring reforms that would eventually appear in EUETS Phase 3.


title: Carbon tax

text: The distinction between carbon taxes and permit systems can get blurred when hybrid systems are allowed. A hybrid sets limits on price movements, potentially softening the cap. When the price gets too high, the issuing authority issues additional permits at that price. A price floor may be breached when emissions are so low that no one needs to buy a permit. Economist Gilbert Metcalf has proposed such a system, the Emissions Assurance Mechanism, and the idea, in principle, has been adopted by the Climate Leadership Council.


title: Carbon tax

text: A 2018 survey of leading economists found that 58% of the surveyed economists agreed with the assertion, "Carbon taxes are a better way to implement climate policy than cap-and-trade," 31% stated that they had no opinion or that it was uncertain, but none of the respondents disagreed.


title: Carbon tax

text: In a review study Fisher "et al." concluded that the choice between an international quota (cap) system, or an international carbon tax, remained ambiguous. Lu "et al". (2012) compared a carbon tax, emissions trading, and command-and-control regulation at the industry level, concluding that market-based mechanisms would perform better than emission standards in achieving emission targets without affecting industrial production.


title: Carbon tax

text: James E. Hansen argued in "Storms of My Grandchildren" and in an open letter to then President Barack Obama that emissions trading would only make money for banks and hedge funds and allow 'business-as-usual' for the chief carbon-emitting industries.


title: Champagne socialist

text: Champagne socialist is a political term commonly used in the United Kingdom. It is a popular epithet that implies a degree of hypocrisy, and it is closely related to the concept of the liberal elite. The phrase is used to describe self-identified socialists whose luxurious upper class or "preppy" lifestyles, metonymically including consumption of champagne, are ostensibly in conflict with their political beliefs.


title: Champagne socialist

text: The term has been used by left-wing commentators to criticise centrist views. Some traditional left-wingers regard the first Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald as a "champagne socialist" who betrayed the Labour movement. MacDonald's lavish lifestyle and his mingling with high society is supposed to have been a corrupting influence that led to the end of the Labour Government in 1931 and the eventual formation of the National Government. More recently, the epithet has been levelled at supporters of the New Labour movement which brought Tony Blair to power in 1997.


title: Champagne socialist

text: In an article about Oscar Wilde's 1891 essay "The Soul of Man under Socialism", political commentator Will Self expressed the view that Wilde could be considered an early champagne socialist because of his aesthetic lifestyle and socialist leanings.


title: Champagne socialist

text: The writer and Labour supporter John Mortimer, when accused of being a champagne socialist, said that he preferred to be thought of as "more a Bollinger Bolshevik".


title: Champagne socialist

text: In the fourth series of the British television comedy "Absolutely Fabulous", Saffron is offered a job with New Labour. While she is at pains to avoid being seen as a champagne socialist, her grandmother considers the family to be "Bolly Bolsheviks".


title: Champagne socialist

text: The label has also been applied to the Labour politician Geoffrey Robinson MP on account of his large personal fortune. Singer Charlotte Church has described herself as a "prosecco socialist", referring to the increasing popularity and lower price range of non-champagne sparkling wines such as prosecco and cava.


title: Champagne socialist

text: In the UK, the term is often used by critics to disparage people with a leftwing political view. This argument claims that the champagne socialist espouses leftist views while enjoying a luxurious lifestyle; one example might include Labour Party supporters who stereotypically live in Inner London and consume highbrow media.


title: Champagne socialist

text: This usage of the term has been criticised by Caitlin Moran as a fallacious argument, because she claims it assumes that only those who are poor can express an opinion about social inequality.


title: Champagne socialist

text: In Australia and New Zealand, the variant "Chardonnay socialist" was used, as Chardonnay was seen as a drink of affluent people. By the late 1990s, chardonnay had become more readily available and generally consumed in Australia; today it is the most dominant white wine variety produced in the country. As a result, the drink's association with elitism has faded.


title: Champagne socialist

text: Staunch Australian right-wingers also used the term to deride those who supported what they considered "middle-class welfare"—government funding for the arts, free tertiary education, and the ABC.


title: Champagne socialist

text: "Current Affairs" ran a lighthearted article featuring a political cartoon of guests at a Marxist gathering dressed in fancy attire and sipping on champagne. The central argument was that conspicuous consumption was not inherently antithetical to leftist values so long as luxuries were shared equally. As the magazine put it, "When we say let them eat cake, we are serious: there must be cake, it must be good cake, and it must be had by all. The reason Marie Antoinette needed beheading was not that she wished cake on the poor, but that she never actually gave them any."