Energy, Estonia, Legislation, Oil

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 10:52

Estonian PM: oil price, not environmental fees is the challenge of oil shale price

BC, Tallinn, 22.10.2014.Print version
Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas said in the parliament information hour on Wednesday that the main challenge of the oil shale industry is still the price of oil and Estonia cannot unfortunately influence that with environmental fees, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports.

The Estonian Chemical Industry Association launched a campaign recently, which emphasizes that the increase of environmental fees the state is planning starting 2016 is disproportionately big and economically unjustified and casts doubt on the sustainability of production of the entire oil shale sector and may cause companies to close down and employees being made redundant in the Ida-Virumaa County.

 

Rõivas said, however, that in his opinion, the main interest of the Estonian oil shale industry should be that environmental taxes would be known ahead a long period of time, that there would be a firm policy and that there wouldn’t be a risk that the fees could increase abruptly or unexpectedly.

 

"In this sector, investments are made a very long time in advance, and these investments are very large. Therefore I think that basically it is the right approach that the government has taken, and that the Ministry of Environment implements, to determine the environmental tax hikes for ten years," said Rõivas.

 

Rõivs said that the sector itself wants it since in the previous years, environmental fees have increased 4% –5% per year, but in three consecutive years also 20%.

 

"The current proposal, which is on the table, would prescribe an average of 3-6% per year, which is similar to the overall cost of living increase," Rõivas said.

 

"I definitely do not agree with the statement, that it somehow would make the oil shale industry uncompetitive. The main challenge of the oil shale industry is oil price and that unfortunately Estonia cannot influence with environmental fees," the prime minister stressed.






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