BERLIN (Reuters) - German government officials are discussing the introduction of a carbon emission price of roughly 30 euros (£26.4) a tonne for the transport and housing sectors, three people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters on Thursday.
The German government is bracing for all-night talks on a new climate policy that will determine whether Berlin is serious about engineering a paradigm shift in Europe's largest economy or simply wants to make a token show of going green.
The ruling coalition has set itself a Friday deadline to present a package of measures that are likely to include a carbon-pricing initiative to cap the use of fossil fuels in Germany, where the Greens party is enjoying a surge in support.
The starting price for carbon emissions in transportation and housing should be roughly 30 euro per tonne and put it on the same level as the already existing price that industrial companies and power stations have to pay via the European Union certificate trading scheme, three people familiar with the talks told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
For car drivers, such a CO2 price in transportation would translate into a surcharge of some 10 euro cents per litre gasoline or diesel, including VAT, the sources said.
The head of Germany's Environment Agency, Dirk Messner, said earlier this week that an ambitious climate protection package should include a starting carbon price of 40 euros a tonne, rising to between 150 and 180 euros over the next decade.
(Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)