Climate-counterproductive Subsidies in Austria – An Economic and Legal Assessment of the Status quo and Reform Options
in: Alberto Comelli, Janet E. Milne, Mikael Skou Anderson, Hope Ashiabor, Taxation and the Green Growth Challenge
Book chapters, contributions to collected volumes, Edward Elgar Publishing, August 2023, pp.99-112
Discussions about the reform of subsidies with negative climate impacts have been going on for decades in policy and research.
Such subsidies counteract climate protection efforts, contradict the polluter-pays principle, and reinforce market distortions
and the carbon lock-in. Based on a literature review, the paper summarises the results of a comprehensive bottom-up analysis
of direct subsidies and fiscal measures (indirect subsidies) that are granted on the federal level in Austria. The analysis
considers energy generation and use, transport, and agriculture and assesses the subsidies' legal foundations and original
motivations, the subsidy volumes and identifies the beneficiary groups. The quantification of the subsidies results in a range
of 4.1 to 5.7 billion € p.a. In addition, relevant regulatory provisions that have a subsidy character are examined. Considering
the environmental effectiveness, economic criteria (like distributional impacts) and potential legal constraints reform suggestions
are developed for the support measures.
Research group:Climate, Environmental and Resource Economics