ECONOMIC-EFFECTS OF A CARBON TAX IN BELGIUM - APPLICATION WITH THE MACROSECTORAL MODEL HERMES

This paper proposes to evaluate the consequences of the introduction of a carbon tax for the Belgian economy. To this end, two scenarios are studied. The first scenario introduces a carbon tax of about 23.5 ecus per ton of CO2 emitted and the second scenario combines the tax with incentives to energy savings investments. The results suggest that the tax, alone, is not sufficient to meet the international requirements as far as a stabilization of CO2 emissions is required. It is therefore suggested that a policy-mix of pure taxation measures with various forms of subsidies to investments should be achieved.