Climate policies: distributive effects and recycling revenue

Implementing the Environment Grenelle will involve the introduction of a 'climate-energy' contribution, compensated by a drop in overall tax burden. Last February, the French President ordered a study into the extent to which this contribution could compensate for the abolition of professional taxes. The Senate's Finance Commission has since constituted a work group on environmental taxation, chaired by Fabienne Keller, to analyse, by the yardstick of foreign experiences, the conditions for creating a 'carbon tax' in France. Such a tax could have a negative impact on the most disadvantaged households. However, it is possible - following the example of other countries - to use part of this new tax to neutralise regressive effects and allocate another part to an objective of growth, competitiveness and employment. (author)