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Fiscal instruments are potentially among the most effective, and cost-effective, options for addressing externalities related to poor air quality, urban road congestion, and greenhouse gases. This paper takes a case study, focused on Mauritius (a pioneer in the use of green taxes) to illustrate how existing taxes, especially on fuels and vehicles, could be reformed to better address these externalities. We discuss, in particular, an explicit carbon tax; a variety of options for reforming vehicle taxes to meet environmental, equity, and revenue objectives; and a progressive transition to usage-

This paper draws on a number of recent studies to shed light on several policy issues raised by the impact of environmental policies on technological innovation. First, to what extent does induced innovation raise the overall net benefits to society from environmental policies? Second, how does induced innovation affect the appropriate choice among alternative environmental policy instruments? Third, how does it affect the optimal stringency of environmental regulations? Fourth, should environmental policies be supplemented with additional policies to promote innovation, such as research contracts or prizes for new technologies?

Cover -- Content -- Abstract -- I. Introduction -- II. Efficient Pricing of Fossil Fuels -- III. Spreadsheet Model -- IV. Results -- V. Conclusion -- Tables -- 1. Paris Mitigation Pledges, Emissions Intensity, and Emissions Per Capita, G20 Countries, 2013 -- 2. Sensitivity Analysis -- 3. Cost Increases for Selected Industries and Selected Policies, 2020 -- Figures -- 1. Outdoor Air Pollution Mortality Rates and Pollution Concentrations, Selected Countries, 2010 -- 2. Current and Efficient Energy Prices in G20 Countries, 2013 -- 3. Energy Use and CO2: Baseline Scenario -- 4. Primary Energy by Product: Baseline Scenario (Percent) -- 5. Primary Energy by Product: Baseline Scenario -- 6. CO2 Reductions Under Alternative Policies, 2020 and 2030 (Percent) -- 7. Percent CO2 Reductions Under Alternative Policies by Product and Sector, 2020 (Percent) -- 8. Reductions in Pollution-Related Deaths from Fuel Use, 2020 and 2030 (Percent) -- 9. Pollution-Related Deaths Avoided, 2017-30 -- 10. Fiscal Gains, 2020 and 2030 (Percent of GDP) -- 11. Domestic Welfare Benefits and Costs, 2030 (Percent GDP) -- 12. Burden of Moderate Coal Tax on Household Consumption Deciles, 2020 (Percent of household consumption) -- 13. Burden of Selected Policies on Household Consumption Quintiles, 2020 (Percent of household consumption) -- 14. Cumulative Average Industry Cost Increase for Moderate Coal Tax, 2020 (Average percent increase in industry cost) -- Appendices -- 1. Equations of Spreadsheet Model -- 2. Model Parameterization -- References

This paper calculates, for the top twenty emitting countries, how much pricing of carbondioxide (CO2) emissions is in their own national interests due to domestic co-benefits(leaving aside the global climate benefits). On average, nationally efficient prices aresubstantial, 57.5 per ton of CO2 (for year 2010), reflecting primarily health co-benefitsfrom reduced air pollution at coal plants and, in some cases, reductions in automobileexternalities (net of fuel taxes/subsidies). Pricing co-benefits reduces CO2 emissions fromthe top twenty emitters by 13.5 percent (a 10.8 percent reduction in glo

Issues of the Day provides an easy way for students, academics, journalists, policymakers, and the public to learn about a diverse range of policy issues affecting the environment, energy, transportation, and public health. Each commentary gives a short assessment of a topic, summarizing in a non-technical way the current state of analysis or evidence on the issue, along with selected recommendations for further reading. The essays are written by world renowned scholars, mostly economists, and provide useful insights on policy problems that are often complex and poorly understood. Some of the

Economic evaluations of pollution control policies have traditionally focused on pure efficiency effects either a comparison of their economic costs and environmental benefits, or a comparison of their costs relative to those of alternative control policies (e.g., Cropper and Oates 1992, Morgenstern 1997, Hahn 2005). However, the distribution of policy costs and benefits across households and firms is receiving increasing attention among researchers and policymakers.1 One reason is concern about whether a policy is ?fair? or not. Another is political feasibility a policy justifiable on efficiency grounds may be impractical if it imposes a disproportionate burden on a politically influential group. Often the two are critically related; for example, political opposition to higher fuel taxes, carbon taxes, or other emissions taxes in the United States is frequently based on the claim that such taxes fall most heavily on low-income groups. The purpose of this paper is to summarize what is actually known, and not known, about the incidence of benefits and costs from pollution taxes, and alternative emissions control measures, across household income groups.