opinion

Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston (On request for preliminary ruling from Gerechtshof ’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands)) - opinion

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

Filing Year For Action

Advocate General Sharpston was asked for guidance as to the meaning of the term ‘dual use’ in the second indent of Article 2(4)(b) in relation to sugar production and lime fertilizer, the by-product arising from that process, of the Directive 2003/96/EC, which introduced a regime imposing minimum harmonized levels of taxation on all energy products and electricity. The referring court also asked whether national legislators are constrained by an EU concept of what constitutes dual use if they choose to introduce domestic measures in order to tax such energy products. 

The Advocate General answered that ‘dual use’ within the meaning of Article 2(4)(b) refers to where coal is used as heating fuel in a lime-kiln in order to generate carbon dioxide for the production of lime-kiln gas, which is subsequently used for the purification of the raw juice obtained from sugar beets, that process giving rise to the by-product earth foam. The Advocate General found that Member States may apply a more restrictive definition of dual use and choose to tax dual use energy products, provided they exercise their competence consistently with EU law. If a Member State chooses to apply such a narrower definition, a taxpayer cannot invoke a broader EU concept of dual use in order to obtain exoneration from a charge to tax imposed under national law. 

Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston (On request for preliminary ruling from Gerechtshof ’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands))

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

A tax advantage is an economic benefit applied to certain accounts or investments that are, by law, tax-reduced, tax-deferred, or tax-free. This can apply to investments in areas such as green energy projects or the agricultural sector, where tax advantages can help manage financial risks.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston (On request for preliminary ruling from Gerechtshof ’s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands)) - opinion

Policy instrument

Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance