Carbon-Energy Taxation: Lessons from Europe

by Mikael Skou Andersen (Editor), Paul Ekins (Editor)

Overview

When taxes are introduced on carbon and energy, and the revenue is used to reduce other taxes, will a positive effect be achieved both for the environment and for the economy? In 1990 Finland was the first country to introduce a tax on CO2. Later, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Slovenia, Germany and the UK followed suit with tax reforms that shifted taxation from labour to carbon and energy. Over the years, CO2 and energy taxes have gradually been raised, so that in Europe taxes of more than 25 billion Euros a year have been shifted. This book examines carbon-energy taxation in detail and looks at tax shifting programmes for lowering other taxes. It offers extensive analysis on the basis of historical data and seeks to answer important questions for policy-making, such as: What was the impact of tax shifting for economic performance and competitiveness? By how much were emissions of CO2 reduced? Could energy-intensive industries cut further down on their fuel demand or did they loose market shares? To what extent was there 'leakage' from Europe, so that production and CO2 emissions were shifted to other countries or regions without CO2-abatement policy? The use of unique and original data, including sector-specific energy prices and taxes, as well as the use of advanced statistical techniques, such as co-integration analysis and panel-regression techniques along with the time-series estimated macro-economic model E3ME, make this a truly comprehensive volume. On the basis of the lessons learned in Europe, this volume indicates how carbon-energy taxation could usefully be combined with emissions trading, and discusses implications for future international climate policy, including how the IPCC recommendations for a gradual escalation in carbon price could be accomplished while preventing carbon leakage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191610080
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	10/29/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Mikael Skou Andersen is Professor in Policy Analysis at Denmark's National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University. His PhD and Master's degrees were obtained from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Aarhus University, where he was previously also a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Head of the Policy Analysis section. He also holds a degree in Environmental Studies from the Faculty of Natural Sciences. He was a member of the Danish Minister of Taxation's Working Group on CO2 and since 2005 has been a member of the European Commission's High-level Network of Environmental Economists. He was a co-founder of the Centre for Social Science Research on the Environment (CESAM) 1992-2001, and has been scientific coordinator for several EU research projects, including COMETR. Paul Ekins has a PhD in economics from Birkbeck College, and a BSc in electrical engineering from Imperial College. He joined King's College London as Professor of Energy and Environment Policy in January 2008, having been Head of the Environment Group at the Policy Studies Institute and Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Westminster since 2002. He was a Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution from 2002-2008 and, from 2003-2007, was on the UK Government's Sustainable Energy Policy Advisory Board. He is a Co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre, in charge of its Energy Systems and Modelling theme, and leads King's College's involvement in large research consortia on Bioenergy and Hydrogen. He is also Chairman of the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP), the UK's most effective initiative at promoting resource efficiency in industry.