La taxe carbone : une idée toujours d’avenir si..

The transition from theory to practice is a difficult exercise for carbon tax. This article explains why the ambitious projects of carbon tax are generally all doomed to fail. Past experience shows that individual adjustment costs are perceived as immediate and very high while benefits are perceived as weak, uncertain and delayed, which induces a strong opposition from both households and companies. Yet the double dividend ?carbon emission reduction and gains in employment - is potentially high. One solution consists inencompassing the environmental taxation issues in a global view of public finance and managingthis tax as a component of a new social contract. The current period of low oil prices is favorable to adopt such a change, but this window of opportunity could be short-lived.