The CATs project
Objectives of the CATs project
The project CATs focused on carbon taxes as a policy instrument for achieving emission reduction targets in sectors not covered by the EU ETS. A systematic review of carbon taxes in EU Member States (MS), including a quantitative assessment of carbon taxes on the one hand and a qualitative assessment of their implementation, (potential) barriers and legal and political science aspects related to carbon taxation on the other. Based on this appraisal and the identification of best practice examples a model-based analysis of the economic and emission effects of the introduction of different forms of carbon taxes in Austria was performed.
Carbon taxes are generally defined as "taxes levied on the carbon content of fuels" (Hoeller and Wallin, 1991). We generally rely upon the broad economic concept of taxes but draw upon legal concepts when assessing carbon tax implementation barriers. In the CATs project, we did not only take into account consumption taxes but also taxes on emission relevant capital stocks (i.e. cars) since taxes cannot only influence fuel use but do also affect investment decisions. Based on the assessment of carbon taxes in the EU and its Member States as well as on the modelling results, we developed policy recommendations for Austria and for the EU.
Work Packages
WP2: Assessment of Carbon Taxes in the EU
WP3: Implementation Issues and Barriers
