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Denmark Passes the World’s 1st ‘Burp Tax’—But This Is No Laughing Matter

Denmark Passes the World’s 1st ‘Burp Tax’—But This Is No Laughing Matter
Cows graze in a field near a wind turbine in the village of Hjolderup, Denmark, on May 8, 2023. Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images
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Denmark, according to The New York Times, is going ahead with its livestock “burp tax.” Though hotly contested, the Danish government has nevertheless finally settled on levying farmers 300 kroners (about $43) per ton for carbon dioxide emissions, ramping to $106 per ton by 2035. As is the case with many of these farm-targeted green interventions, the action is ludicrously ineffectual at addressing the trumped-up problem, while remarkably effective at further cementing state controls over economic production.

Paul Schwennesen
Paul Schwennesen
Author
Paul Schwennesen is an environmental historian. He holds a doctorate from the University of Kansas, a master’s in government from Harvard University, and degrees in history and science from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
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