Green fiscal systems: Their role in the European Green Deal

Fernandez Martin, Rosa Maria

Abstract

Environmental policies in Europe have progressively shifted the way in which resources are allocated towards more sustainable practices. The European Green Deal (EGD) aims to boost changes in this area to achieve EU climate and energy targets. The EGD Communication touches upon an uncomfortable topic on EU politics: taxation and fiscal systems.
This chapter will analyse if and how fiscal policies and instruments in EU member states have been used to direct resources towards the transition to greener economies. It will particularly assess the use of environmental taxes. The chapter thus contributes to answering the questions of which governance mechanisms are EU actors using to induce change, and which is the dominant logic to induce said change (consequentialism or appropriateness), in line with the aims of this edited book.
The purpose of this chapter is to assess the situation of the EU with regard to green fiscal policies to see how it fits into the EGD outlined plans, and to identify possible barriers for a successful progression towards a more sustainable future. In this regard, it attempts to answer a third research question in this edited volume, namely what the drivers and barriers of change in EU fiscal systems are.

• Acceptance Date: Jan 9, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Aug 25, 2023
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 18, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 26, 2025
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Pages: 29-44
• Series Title: Governance of Sustainability in Europe
• Series Number: 2
• Edition: 1
• Book Title: Making the European Green Deal Work: EU Sustainability Policies at Home and Abroad
• Chapter Number: 2
• ISBN: 978-1-032-16070-2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003246985-4
• Keywords: European Green Deal, energy taxes, environmental taxes, fiscal systems, governance, green fiscal reform.
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003246985-4/green-fiscal-systems-rosa-fernandez?context=ubx&refId=73e027b5-bcc2-4255-b888-20c4fb4d3100
• Related Public URLs: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003246985/making-european-green-deal-work-helene-dyrhauge-kristina-kurze?_ga=2127499231.1709115651&_gl=1*loy5o5*_ga*MjEyNzQ5OTIzMS4xNzA5MTE1NjUx*_ga_0HYE8YG0M6*MTcxMzUxMTk3NC43LjAuMTcxMzUxMTk3Ni4wLjAuMA..*_gcl_au*MTA4NTM1MDU2MC4xNzA5MTE1NjUw
• Additional Information: Accepted before I joined Keele. Publication once at Keele.