Fiscal Policies to Mitigate Climate Change

Taxation can play a fundamental role in climate change mitigation. While all countries have different approaches, they can act together and must do so urgently by prioritizing environmental objectives. In this regard, this is the first time that a book has brought together the climate fiscal policies of 30 countries, including Bhutan, which is currently the only country to be carbon neutral. The analysis of this data reveals a great diversity, which is due to the difficulty of reconciling two distinct objectives - environmental protection and budget preservation - and implementing economic environmental responsibility. Each country is thus setting up a variety of instruments that respond to two different types of logic: compel and/or incentivise. This situation reveals certain weaknesses. These fiscal policies are not coherent and are based on a choice to use revenue for specific purposes, in addition to producing insufficient effects. In this context, some proposals are made to rethink tomorrow's climate fiscal policies.