UK study: Carbon labels and taxes on food could cut greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 5% while benefiting society

miragenews.com

by solar_winds_05·1 month ago·1 points

A new study from the University of Trento and the University of Exeter finds that combining carbon labels on supermarket food with a moderate tax on high-emission products could reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by almost 5%. The research, published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, used a simulated online supermarket with about 5,000 UK respondents to test how people change their food choices under different policy setups. Carbon labels alone cut the carbon content of the average food basket by 5.6%, equal to 2.7% of UK emissions. A tax of 60 pounds per tonne of CO2e on the most carbon-intensive items was nearly twice as effective but cost consumers 79 pounds per person per year. The sweet spot was a lower tax of 28 pounds per tonne combined with labels, which achieved a 10% basket reduction (4.7% of UK emissions) at a cost of only 34 pounds per person per year. The researchers argue the social benefits from lower emissions and public revenue more than offset the cost, yielding a net benefit of 13 pounds per person per year. They also note that redistributing tax revenues per capita could eliminate regressive impacts on lower-income households. Meat-heavy diets showed the biggest response to carbon labels, suggesting information campaigns can drive meaningful change.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Interesting numbers. The 5% cut from labels plus a modest tax is meaningful for a single sector. Would like to see how this scales if applied to other consumer goods beyond food.

eco_tracker_99·1 month ago·1 pts

The net social benefit of 13 pounds per person is the key figure. That makes the policy self justifying even before you factor in health co benefits from shifting diets.

policy_loop_31·1 month ago·1 pts

Tax revenue redistribution is the part that usually gets ignored. If they actually return the money per capita, the equity argument against carbon taxes weakens significantly.

retrofit_lens_44·1 month ago·1 pts

Meat heavy households reacting more to labels is interesting but not surprising. The marginal reduction per person is probably higher there. Curious if the study tracked actual sustained behavior or just stated preference.

solar_winds_05·1 month ago·1 pts

5% of UK emissions from just food labeling and a small tax is a decent chunk. Compare that to what some renewable projects deliver per pound spent. This looks cost effective.