Botswana edges closer to carbon tax introduction
Lewanika Timothy | Wednesday September 10, 2025 13:18
Technocrats at the Ministry of Environment and Tourism have revealed that they are wary of the European Union’s plans to heavily tax commodities from carbon gas-emitting countries, which could affect the country’s trade. Thus, the country is working on a framework to guide the introduction of a carbon tax in the country.
Speaking recently during an RMB roundtable event, Balisi Gopolang, Climate Change officer at the Ministry, said that the government was internally working on opening up Botswana to the carbon trade market, alongside working on a framework for carbon tax introduction.
“Currently, there is no legislation around carbon tax, but we are actively working on a framework that will guide opening up Botswana to the carbon trade market alongside introducing a carbon tax,” he said
A carbon tax is a fee imposed by governments on the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and gas) based on how much carbon dioxide (CO₂) they release into the atmosphere. The goal is to make polluting activities more expensive and encourage businesses, industries, and consumers to shift towards cleaner energy and more efficient practices.
Globally, there has been a push for efforts to combat the adverse effects of climate change, with these efforts propelled from the promulgation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its related implementation mechanisms, including the Kyoto Protocol (KP), Paris Agreement, and Conference of the Parties (COP) decisions, which Botswana is party to.
But the current efforts by government towards introducing a carbon tax are not new. In 2022, technocrats at the Finance ministry and BURS said they were finalising consultations and preparations to introduce digital and carbon taxes, with the former targeting the global 'Big Tech' and the latter aimed at environmental polluters such as second-hand vehicles.
The carbon tax was first mooted in the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan approved by Parliament in September 2020, whilst the digital tax was proposed in the Budget Strategy Paper of October 2020.
But even before that, the green energy transition had been targeted in NDP8, but later deferred to NDP9 through plans for renewable energy projects. However, the country grew comfortable in importing cheap electricity from South Africa before being hit by massive power shortages starting from 2008 and worsened by South Africa’s hosting of the football World Cup in 2010.
Experts from Rand Merchant Bank shared that studies indicate a probable increase in daily temperatures and an increase in the frequency of droughts in the country, which will exacerbate poverty levels, especially amongst rainfed small-scale farmers.