The unequal costs of carbon pricing in European regions

Mihai Prelipcean

Carbon pricing has become a central tool in Europe’s strategy to mitigate climate change. This column presents new evidence on the impact of carbon pricing across European regions. The authors find that an increase in carbon prices is associated with a significant decline in output and a rise in unemployment. Carbon pricing also has important political ramifications, increasing the vote shares of extremist and populist parties. These costs are not borne equally, with carbon-intensive regions