This book is about getting energy prices right, starting from the well-established principle that fiscal instruments must be center stage in “correcting” the major environmental side effects of energy use. It aims to help put this principle into practice by setting out a practicable methodology and associated tools for determining the right price. The book provides estimates, data permitting, for 156 countries of the taxes on coal, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel needed to reflect environmental costs. Underpinning the policy recommendations is the notion that taxation (or tax-like instruments) can influence behavior; in much the same way that taxes on cigarettes discourage their overuse, appropriate taxes can discourage overuse of environmentally harmful energy sources.
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