China announced that it would not institute a carbon tax this year, backing away from previous statements. Though the government is moving forward with carbon trading pilot programs in seven major cities, the head of research at the Ministry of Finance said that the carbon tax is "still in internal discussions" as there is "obvious opposition." Though he said the nation eventually expects to introduce a levy of $.80 to $1.61 per ton of carbon, the announcement revises a previous five year plan. China first announced in 2011 that it would implement a carbon tax as part of a list of policies to be carried out by 2015. A 2009 paper from researchers at the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning and the Energy Research Institute indicated that a tax of around $3.22 was the minimum needed to help reduce emissions. The delayed tax comes as the National Development and Reform Commission raised its goal for emissions cutting from 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent. For the full story, see http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-06/china-backing-away-from-carbon-tax-start-in-2013-official-says.html. For the story on the pilot projects, see http://elr.info/international/international-update/china-orders-provinces-set-greenhouse-gas-caps.