Distributional impacts of climate policies in Europe

Eurofound published the Distributional impacts of climate policies in Europe report in July 2021. Considering the European Green Deal, the EU is setting in motion a set of policies and measures aimed at preventing and alleviating the effects of climate change.

The main objective is to embark on the transition to a climate-neutral economy. These much needed climate policies, however, may have undesirable distributional effects on individuals and companies. As well as their intended effects, some measures, such as carbon taxes, can have associated regressive effects, negatively impacting on people with lower income levels, and hence lowering their acceptability.

Based on the most recent national experiences, this report identifies those climate policies having significant distributional effects and explores how these are being addressed in the various Member States. In addition, the report identifies and describes the main issues and players in the ongoing public debate on the socioeconomic impacts of climate policies.

Find the full report (in English) here.