AUTHORS: Samuela Bassi – Patrick ten Brink – Marc Pallemaerts – Ingmar von Homeyer

The study provides an analysis of the legal feasibility and political acceptability of a radical Environmental Tax Reform (ETR) within the broader context of EU policies. It explores the scope for using ETR to address current and future environmental challenges, and looks at possible paths to develop a more harmonised approach to ETR across the EU, in particular through enhanced cooperation and the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). It also investigates the perceived potential and barriers of ETR. Inputs from questionnaire replies and interviews helped understand the possible future size of ETR and its contribution to environmental policy in the near future and in the long term. The report is part of a broader study for the European Environment Agency (EEA) on ‘Tax Reform in Europe over the next decades: implication for the environment, for eco-innovation and for household distribution’.