The additional public investment need required to meet the European Union's climate goals is between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of GDP annually during this decade. Increasing green public investment while consolidating deficits will be a major challenge. While our simulations show that budget...

This paper studies the impact of green fiscal rules – designed to protect climate-related spending –on debt dynamics. Simulations of green rules that exempt green spending from the rule limits for an emergingmarket economy illustrate that they can lead to unsustainable debt dynamics when the...

Belgium's current policies fall short of achieving its climate targets and promoting emissions reductions at limited economic costs. We recommend that domestic carbon pricing form the centerpiece of an emissions reduction package, as pricing promotes mitigation at the lowest economic cost, can...

"The Political Ecology of Austerity explores the scholarly and political debates surrounding the environmental dimension of austerity policies that has thus far escaped academic, policy and media attention. By contributing to a better comprehension of the full socio-environmental impact of...

This paper analyzes the political economy of government debt when elected politicians decide about the distribution of public funds between a clean and a polluting public good. When provision of the polluting good creates a stock of climate externalities, strategic incentives for the incumbent...