Tanzania is considering introducing a tax on charcoal with the aim of discouraging its use.
Charcoal is widely used in the East African country, but is a major contributor to deforestation.
Authorities in the country believe that making the product more expensive would significantly reduce its demand, hence reduce tree-cutting around the country.
Reuters reports the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Justus Ntalikwa, to say that the government hopes to present a bill in the next parliament in February, to institute the tax requirement, with the funds raised being directed to the financing of reforestation activities in district councils.
“The idea is to reduce destruction of forests,” Ntalikwa said. However, putting such a levy in place may be a complicated process because it involves a range of authorities, he said.
The proposed tax, which will be subject to parliamentary approval, would be payable at checkpoints set up in each district.
Although Tanzania has many energy sources, including natural gas and solar power, charcoal, firewood and other biomass sources still account for 85 percent of total cooking energy consumption, according to the country’s National Energy Policy 2015.
