Nineteen economists, among which former European Prime Ministers and politicians, came forward with a proposal to plug the €15bn euro Brexit budget gap and at the same time meet the requirements to fulfil the Paris Agreement on climate change. The proposal calls for a higher minimum tax on road diesel, VAT on airline tickets for the first time and taxing aviation kerosene, as the transport sector is the main source of GHG (Green House Gas) emissions.

According to Reuters, “a “modest” price level of five euros per ton of carbon dioxide on coal, oil and gas burned in Europe would generate revenues of around 17 billion euros per year”.

These options will be discussed for the next EU 2021-2027 budget, while the European Commission has proposed a share of the revenue of carbon permits through national auctions under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).