Économie d'une fiscalité carbone en France - Rapport d'étude réalisée avec le soutien de l'ADEME et de la CFDT‐IRES

In a TV allocution held on February 5 2009, president Sarkozy reopened a debate about carbon taxation that had been closed since the political failure of the écotaxe of the Jospin government in 1999. Although it is the outcome of a research programme launched almost 3 years ago, with the support of the CFDT (second largest union of French workers) and ADEME (French environmental and energy efficiency agency), the report summarised here must be considered in this context . It aims at providing the reader with analyses on the implementation of a carbon tax in France, first and foremost on the consequences of the use made of the tax proceeds. It thus assesses how different recycling options fare on various economic, social and political criteria: growth, employment, income distribution, public debt management and trade competitiveness. The viewpoint adopted is that, beyond the political vagaries that will dictate the final decision of the government, environmental policies can potentially offer a paramount contribution to the re-foundation of the French tax and benefit system--a re-foundation that is required by the growing tensions between economic globalisation and the financing of public pension and healthcare systems.