Economic growth and climate change — opportunities and challenges on the way to a zero-carbon society

Report

The international community has agreed to decarbonise the economy in order to avoid uncontrollable consequences of climate change. Cur- rently, there are many political measures underway to reach this goal, both on the global and national level. However, these actions are insuf- ficient and often inefficiently designed. This paper illustrates why pro- tecting the climate whilst maintaining economic growth is possible, al- beit highly challenging. We argue that a coherent regulatory framework is urgently required: Comprehensive carbon pricing is a necessary con- dition to achieve ambitious emission reductions in a growing economy. However, carbon pricing will not be sufficient in isolation – the EU emis- sions trading scheme needs to be supplemented with national policies in order to decarbonise Austria efficiently. Looking at the Austrian trans- port and agricultural sector, we highlight how well-designed climate policy creates opportunities for both the economy and the society as a whole.

Authors: Mattauch, L; Roesti, M; Schwarz, M; Siegmeier, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich)
• Host title: Wirtschaftspolitische Blaetter
• Journal: Wirtschaftspolitische Blätter
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 361-374
• Publication date: 2017-10-22
• EISSN: 1605-8704
• Paper number: 2017
• Keywords: SBTMR