The Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) has called on
Greece
to impose further taxes on fuel and abolish subsidies
for polluting manufacturers so it can raise funds for investment in the
environment.
An OECD report concedes that the
debt-ridden government has other priorities but claims green investment would
not be expensive. “The government’s fiscal situation restricts its ability to
fulfill environmental commitments, but the environment is not a great weight on
the budget,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, who met with Premier
George Papandreou in
Athens
yesterday.
According to the report, 25 percent of EU
subsidies earmarked for
Greece
for the 2007-13 period were intended for green investments. But
Greece
has only invested 1 percent of gross domestic product
in this sector. Meanwhile, revenues from environment-related taxes has fallen
to 2 percent of GDP, one of the lowest rates among OECD countries.
(from
E-Kathimerini)