CESCo commends govt for increasing carbon tax by 20% in the 2020 National Budget

Citizens Environmental and Social Concern [CESCo] Executive Director, Conwell Hakapya has commended the Government for increasing carbon tax by 20% in the 2020 National Budget for all vehicles entering Zambia.

And Mr. Hakapya has urged government to make sure that the money realized from this tax is prudently used to mitigate climate change and not diverted to other expenses and projects unrelated to climate change.

He has told QTV News that the decision to zero rate the supply of gas appliances is a very good move, but will have very little impact as long as Liquefied Petroleum Gas remains expensive.

Mr Hakapya says it will be very difficult for people to switch from being dependent on charcoal which is very cheap and easy to access to the expensive and scarce Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

He states that only when both the gas appliances and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas are zero rated or subsidized will Zambia see a massive change which will subsequently result in reduced deforestation.