The GCC is looking at a proposal that could see a “green tax” levied on goods that are not environmentally friendly, it was reported on Wednesday.The plan was mooted at a meeting of environment undersecretaries from the GCC member states in Muscat on Tuesday.
It would mirror similar tax systems in the EU and the Far East, according to Ali Al Kiyumi, the Director General of Nature Conservation.
“We are discussing a proposal to introduce green tax in the region which would be modelled on the lines of similar system in some of the EU and Far Eastern countries,” he told UAE daily Gulf News.
Green taxes discouraged people from buying or using anything that could harm the environment, Kiyumi added.
“We would impose these taxes on goods arriving at all the entry points, airports and harbours,” he said.
Meanwhile, in his keynote address Oman’s Undersecretary for Environment, Mohammad Al Araimi, announced said that top GCC environment officials would also discuss setting up a regional centre for monitoring natural disasters.
Follow us on
