China studying tax on greenhouse gas emissions: report

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese government agencies were studying a proposal to tax greenhouse gas emissions at some point in the future, the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Wednesday.

Such a tax, as suggested by analysts from the Energy Research Institute (ERI) of the National Development and Reform Commission, should not be put in place until China launches a resources tax, according to the newspaper.

Several government ministries, including the Tax Administration, the Finance Ministry and the Environmental Protection Ministry, were studying the plan, the report said, citing unnamed government officials.

It would take at least 4-5 years for China to formally launch the emissions tax, Jiang Kejun, a researcher at the ERI, told the paper.

He suggested a tax rate of 10-20 yuan ($1.5-3) per metric ton of carbon dioxide at the initial stage, then a gradual rise to 300-400 yuan per metric ton.

Chinese President Hu Jintao told a special United Nations climate change summit on Tuesday in the United States that China had laid out a plan to tackle domestic emissions, tying them to economic growth. He did not include specific figures, however. A Chinese official said those would be ready soon.

(Reporting by Eadie Chen and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Chris Lewis)