Hydropower production and environmental regulation: opting for a performance-based tax approach

Federico Pontoni (), Andrea Goltara, Alessandro De Carli and Antonio Massarutto ()

ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, 2014, vol. 2014/2, issue 2, 137-152

Abstract: This paper discusses the case for reforming the actual mechanism for charging water abstractions for hydropower production in Italy and proposes to introduce a performance-based environmental fee. This should be able, on the one hand, to internalize the environmental costs that hydropower production causes and, on the other, to stimulate producers to opt for more environment-friendly management of hydropower plants. We think, in fact, that the re-issue of several expired hydropower concessions represents an opportunity to redefine the taxation system to which hydropower is currently subject to, in order to introduce finally a form of environmental taxation coherent with the Water Framework Directive. In particular, the proposed fee is a real environmental tax, as it aims at changing the environmentally impacting behavior by increasing the marginal cost of damaging river ecosystems. Therefore, it is equitable, as it does not tax all producers the same way, but according to the impacts that their production generates. Finally, it is immediately applicable, as it is based on the successful experience of performance-based regulation in several other sectors.

JEL-codes: H21 H23 L51 Q25 Q28 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.francoangeli.it/riviste/Scheda_Rivista. ... 527&Tipo=ArticoloPDF (text/html)
Single articles can be downloaded buying download credits, for info: https://www.francoangeli.it/DownloadCredit

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fan:efeefe:v:html10.3280/efe2014-002007

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.francoang ... io.aspx?IDRivista=10

Access Statistics for this article

ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT is currently edited by FrancoAngeli

More articles in ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT from FrancoAngeli Editore
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Stefania Rosato ().