A Carbon Tax to Regulate CO2 Emissions: the EU´s Road to an Environmental Taxation System

Abstract

Among the proposals of the European Commission, expressed in the “Fit for 55”, in addition to the extension of the ETS-EU to other highly energy-intensive sectors and the rewriting of the ETD Directive, one aims at setting a “price” on carbon through a tax to be levied on imports of products incorporating it, embarking on a far-reaching reform of the EU’s public finances with actions to promote ecological transition, and at the same time, limit negative externalities due to the use of fossil fuels. An alternative to this measure could be the introduction of a carbon tax not only at the borders but this, just like the previous one, brings out more application complications. With regard to a global tax on CO2 emissions, this is a proposal which appears at the moment unrealistic.