Skip to main content

2001 | Buch

Energy Policies in the European Union

Germany’s Ecological Tax Reform

verfasst von: Prof. Dr. Paul J. J. Welfens, Prof. Dr. Bernd Meyer, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Dr. Andre Jungmittag

Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg

insite
SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

Global warming is a serious threat to the stability of world climate and to economic prosperity in some regions. The book offers a theoretical analysis which focuses on double dividend issues. Moreover, the ecological tax reform in Germany and the options of modern energy policy are described and evaluated. The volume presents innovative model simulations and analyzes, in the context of the model, the benefits of a modified tax reform, based on a Schumpeterian approach. Finally, implications for the European Union and other countries are discussed.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Executive Summary
Abstract
Energy policy is an element of infrastructure policy and thus is important for competitiveness and growth, at the same time it is a crucial element of environmental policy since the generation and use of fossil and nuclear fuels goes along with negative national and international external effects. Following the EU electricity liberalization initiative Germany has not chosen to implement the minimum gradual liberalization required by the EU, rather it has fully liberalized the electricity market in April 1998 which will lead to falling electricity prices and industry restructuring in a more competitive European market. Since natural gas is an important input — with a competitive edge vis-à-vis alternative inputs — in electricity generation the liberalization of the gas market in the EU initiated by the European Commission will reinforce the liberalization of the energy market. Energy generation and use are in turn key elements for several emissions, most notably CO2 and SO2. These gaseous emissions naturally create transboundary pollution problems, other international aspects of ecological tax reforms concern the competitiveness of the tradable goods industry and trade in energy resources and electricity. Moreover there will be effects on international capital markets to the extent that there will be relocation of energy intensive industries or intensified merger and acquisition activities in the energy sector or in energy-intensive industries facing sharper price and cost competition.
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
1. Energy Policy as a Strategic Element of Economic Policy in Dynamic Open Economies
Abstract
Energy policy is an element of infrastructure policy and thus is important for competitiveness and growth, at the same time it is a crucial element of environmental policy since the generation and use of fossil and nuclear fuels goes along with negative national and international external effects. Following the EU electricity liberalization initiative Germany has not chosen to implement the minimum gradual liberalization required by the EU, rather it fully liberalized the electricity market in April 1998 which will lead to falling electricity prices and industry restructuring in a more competitive European market. Since natural gas is an important input — with a competitive edge vis-à-vis alternative inputs — in electricity generation the liberalization of the gas market in the EU initiated by the European Commission will reinforce the liberalization of the energy market. Energy generation and use are in turnkey elements for several emissions, most notably CO2 and S02. These gaseous emissions naturally create transboundary pollution problems, other international aspects of ecological tax reforms concern competitiveness of the tradable goods industry and trade in energy resources and electricity. Moreover there will be effects on international capital markets to the extent that there will be relocation of energy intensive industries or intensified merger and acquisition activities in the energy sector or in energy-intensive industries facing sharper price and cost competition.
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
2. Phasing out Nuclear Energy and Core Elements of Sustainable Energy Strategy
Abstract
How to replace the present electricity generation using nuclear power plants in the future? Technically it is no problem to introduce modern huge power stations operating on the basis of natural gas or coal as a substitute. On the other hand, there are certain problems of location related to particular plants, because replacement plants, needing a different infrastructure, sometimes cannot be built at sites where today’s nuclear plants are located. In general there are solutions to these problems of location, but they might lead to shifts in the market shares of enterprises or call new suppliers into action. This is a strain for single companies, but that is economically acceptable.
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
3. Ecological Tax Reform: Theory, Modified Double Dividend and International Aspects
Abstract
Economists have discussed the options of an ecological tax reform for many years. There is indeed a broad range of literature on ecological tax reform (e.g. BOVENBERG et al., 1994, 1995; SCHOLZ, 1997; KLEPPER/ SCHOLZ/ PEFFEKOVEN/ VON WEIZSÄCKER, 1998; WELFENS, 1999) which suggests that raising energy taxes could internalize negative external effects from production and energy-intensive consumption while reducing labour costs from the additional tax revenue in order to stimulate more employment. As regards the objective of internalizing negative external effects in energy generation charges should be differentiated according to the specific CO2 content (we disregard other emissions) which is rather high in the case of coal but low for gas and zero for hydroelectricity.
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
4. The Policy Framework in Europe and Germany
Abstract
The main aim of EU energy policy is to achieve security of supply and protecting the environment while maintaining international competitiveness. Each Member States’ energy policy must be evaluated in terms of these objectives and, in addition to this, with compatibility with the single market as well as the EU’s international climate policy.
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
5. Optimal Ecological Tax Reform: Options and Recommendations for an EU-Action Plan
Abstract
An ecological tax reform should bring a true double dividend, namely reduced emissions and higher employment. For several EU countries with high unemployment problems and high labour taxes the option of an ecological tax reform offers some prospect for a double dividend. This holds, however, only if nuclear energy is not artificially subsidized as is still the case in most OECD countries with nuclear energy — not facing the true cost of nuclear energy generation as energy generators face only limited liability (i.e. pay no full insurance) and as nuclear waste storage costs and risks are only partly covered. Only Sweden decided to introduce a special nuclear fuel levy in 1999. Another caveat concerns the expected output reduction in the context of a pure ecological tax reform. The negative output effect can, however, be avoided if government devotes a certain share of ecological tax revenue to growth-enhancing measures where higher R&D promotion is particularly relevant for EU countries, possibly except for Sweden which already has achieved a relatively high R&D-GDP ratio.
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
6. Conclusions
Abstract
Germany’s energy policy has introduced new elements in the form of phasing-out nuclear energy and of introducing an ecological tax reform. At the core of energy policies in the 1990s is the electricity and gas market. With the share of nuclear energy declining in the long run the import of gas and gas-fired power plants are likely to become more important — creating new opportunities for importing gas from Russia which, however, represents some supply risk due to political uncertainties and economic instabilities (WELFENS, 1999c). Gas imports and electricity imports, respectively, will increase in the long run. There are also prospects for rising German/EU electricity imports from transforming economies in eastern Europe where governments increasingly are aware of the need to combine modernization of the energy sector with requirements of environmental protection; but with respect to individual countries of the Visegrad group there are considerable differences (WELFENS/ YARROW, 1997; JASINSKI/ SKOCZNY, 1996a and 1996b; JASINSKI/ PFAFFENBERGER, 1999; WELFENS/ GRAACK/ GRINBERG/ YARROW, 1999).
Paul J. J. Welfens, Bernd Meyer, Wolfgang Pfaffenberger, Piotr Jasinski, Andre Jungmittag
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
Energy Policies in the European Union
verfasst von
Prof. Dr. Paul J. J. Welfens
Prof. Dr. Bernd Meyer
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Pfaffenberger
Piotr Jasinski
Dr. Andre Jungmittag
Copyright-Jahr
2001
Verlag
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Electronic ISBN
978-3-662-04394-3
Print ISBN
978-3-642-07497-4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04394-3