Protektionismus schadet der Umwelt: der Markt für Bioethanol sollte liberalisiert werden

The Swiss authorities plan to reduce the currently excessively high taxes on bioethanol. We argue that a fair tax treatment of ecological fuels could lead to a rapid development in their use in the next few years. For this to be the case, Switzerland would however have to open up its market to international competition. Instead the authorities plan to protect domestic producers. Domestically produced ethanol is 4 times more expensive than imports from Brazil. Brazilian ethanol also has a much superior balance in terms of greenhouses gases. The plans of the Swiss government are thus uneconomical, unethical and unecological.