Scholarly record
DO ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES INCREASE INEQUALITY? EVIDENCE FROM EU COUNTRIES
Abstract
The transition toward sustainable development and climate neutrality has intensified the implementation of environmental policies across the European Union (EU), including carbon taxation, emissions trading systems, renewable energy subsidies, green taxation, and regulatory measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. While these policies are essential for achieving environmental sustainability and the objectives of the European Green Deal, growing concerns have emerged regarding their potential social consequences, particularly their impact on income distribution and social inequality. The debate over whether environmental policies disproportionately burden low-income households and vulnerable social groups has become central to both academic research and policy design. This study investigates whether environmental policies increase inequality in EU countries by examining the relationship between environmental regulation intensity and socio-economic disparities across member states. The research focuses on key policy instruments such as carbon pricing, energy taxation, environmental subsidies, green investments, and climate adaptation policies, analyzing their direct and indirect effects on income inequality, energy poverty, labor market restructuring, and regional disparities. Special attention is given to the differentiated impacts across urban and rural areas, industrial and post-industrial regions, and households with varying socio-economic profiles. Using a mixed methodological framework combining panel data econometric analysis, comparative policy evaluation, and spatial analysis across EU countries, the study assesses the extent to which environmental policies contribute to or mitigate inequality. Indicators such as the Gini coefficient, poverty rates, energy affordability, unemployment in carbon-intensive sectors, and access to green infrastructure are integrated with environmental performance indicators including carbon emissions, environmental tax revenues, and renewable energy transition measures. The analysis also considers the role of compensatory social policies, redistribution mechanisms, and just transition frameworks in balancing environmental and social objectives.
Publication details
References11
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