Although the future extent and effects of global climate change remain uncertain, the expected damages are not zero, and risks of serious environmental and macroeconomic consequences rise with increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Despite the uncertainties, reducing emissions now makes sense, and a carbon tax is the simplest, most effective, and least costly way to do this. At the same time, a carbon tax would provide substantial new revenues which may be badly needed, given historically high debt-to-GDP levels, pressures on social security and medical budgets, and calls to reform taxes on personal and corporate income. This book is about the practicalities of introducing a carbon tax, set against the broader fiscal context. It consists of thirteen chapters, written by leading experts, covering the full range of issues policymakers would need to understand, such as the revenue potential of a carbon tax, how the tax can be administered, the advantages of carbon taxes over other mitigation instruments and the environmental and macroeconomic impacts of the tax. A carbon tax can work in the United States. This volume shows how, by laying out sound design principles, opportunities for broader policy reforms, and feasible solutions to specific implementation challenges.

Although the future extent and effects of global climate change remain uncertain, the expected damages are not zero, and risks of serious environmental and macroeconomic consequences rise with increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Despite the uncertainties, reducing emissions now makes sense, and a carbon tax is the simplest, most effective, and least costly way to do this. At the same time, a carbon tax would provide substantial new revenues which may be badly needed, given historically high debt-to-GDP levels, pressures on social security and medical budgets, and calls to reform taxes on personal and corporate income. This book is about the practicalities of introducing a carbon tax, set against the broader fiscal context. It consists of thirteen chapters, written by leading experts, covering the full range of issues policymakers would need to understand, such as the revenue potential of a carbon tax, how the tax can be administered, the advantages of carbon taxes over other mitigation instruments and the environmental and macroeconomic impacts of the tax. A carbon tax can work in the United States. This volume shows how, by laying out sound design principles, opportunities for broader policy reforms, and feasible solutions to specific implementation challenges.

Concise introductions to the main issues in energy policy and their interaction with environmental policies in the EU. The European Union (EU) faces critical challenges in energy policy making, the most pressing of which are how to achieve the deep greenhouse gas reductions promised at the December 2015 UN Conference of the Parties in Paris, and how this effort can be coordinated with already existing policies. Energy policy is primarily a member state responsibility, and policy makers need an overarching view of the main issues in energy policy and their interaction with environmental policies. This volume aims to fill this need, offering concise introductions to some of the major issues as well as practical suggestions for policy making. The contributors discuss reforms to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the world's largest carbon market; ways to improve the operation and integration of the EU's power grids, in terms of both supply and demand; changes to the EU's Energy Tax Directive, which sets tax floors for fuels outside the ETS; the coordination of climate policies with policies to promote renewables and energy efficiency; research into clean technology; challenges to shale gas development; and transportation policy and the need for action on such externalities as traffic congestion. Finally, contributors consider obstacles to reform, including its potential effects on vulnerable households and energy-intensive industries. Contributors Mikael Skou Andersen, Niels Anger, Bruno De Borger, Antoine Dechezlepretre, Jos Delbeke, Ottmar Edenhofer, Christian Flachsland, Beatriz Gaitan, Polona Gregorin, Cameron Hepburn, Alan Krupnick, Andreas Loeschel, Claudio Marcantonini, Felix Christian Matthes, Paul Nahmmacher, Ian Parry, Karen Pittel, David Popp, Stef Proost, Christina Roolfs, Bert Saveyn, Oliver Schenker, Stephen Smith, Alexander Teytelboym, Kurt Van Dender, Herman Vollebergh, Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr, Zhongmin Wang, Georg Zachmann