Economic Instruments for Environmental and Climate Protection

In view of the worsening climate and environmental policy problems both globally and at national level and the increasingly noticeable effects of climate change, the search for and implementation of effective instruments for environmental policy and transformation are becoming ever more urgent. Against this background, scientifically sound proposals for measures and reforms are of interest, for which this Policy Brief provides a basis for discus-sion. The focus is on economic and market-based climate policy instruments, which play an important role in the environmental and climate policy mix. The starting point is the analysis of the status quo in Austria, which also includes the identification of the need for catching up, improvement and reform. This is followed by a screening of international ex-amples and international experiences in general, which include green tax incentives for companies, increased parking fees for SUVs, a municipal land trading system, resource taxes, a compensation fund for hard-to-abate industries, instruments to promote the energy efficiency of buildings and instruments for space-saving housing. Based on this, recommendations for measures for Austria are derived.