Current Status and Future Perspectives of Carbon Pricing Research in Austria

In the context of the European Green Deal, the European Commission and the European Parliament proposed to intensify Europe's ambition for its 2030 climate targets. In the case of Austria, the current government set itself the goal of being carbon neutral by 2040. The Federal Chancellery of Austria also presented a plan to introduce a carbon price for emissions from the non-EU ETS; a task force is underway to launch a formal proposal in 2022, and thus it is relevant to investigate the present stage of scientific research on carbon pricing in Austria. Therefore, the present paper examines and evaluates scientific publications using bibliometric techniques, combined with a systematic literature review (SLR). Our results show that even though the current government presented a plan to introduce a carbon price, there are still uncertainties about the design of the carbon pricing instrument, the institutional and regulatory framework, revenue recycling policies, impacts on sectoral GDP, competitiveness indicators and international trade. Furthermore, the transport sector was the largest contributor to the increase in total emissions in recent years in Austria; therefore, it requires special attention in terms of mitigating and adaptive measures.

Automated summary

This study investigates and evaluates the current scientific research on carbon pricing in Austria using bibliometric techniques and a systematic literature review. The results indicate uncertainties regarding the design of the carbon pricing instrument, institutional and regulatory framework, revenue recycling policies, impacts on sectoral GDP, competitiveness indicators, and international trade, despite the government's plan to introduce a carbon price. Additionally, the transport sector, which has been the largest contributor to the increase in total emissions in recent years in Austria, requires particular attention in terms of mitigation and adaptive measures.