ABSTRACT
Both sweden and france impose special charges as supplementary instruments to command-and-control (CAC) regulation of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) from energy sector and industrial boilers. The revenues from the Swedish charge (which dates to 1992) are automatically recycled through payments to industry based on the energy produced. The French tax, which in some respects is similar, applies to four categories of air pollution but at a much lower level, and the refunding of tax revenues is more targeted. The origin of the French tax system goes back to the mid-1980s and the debate on acid rain. The Swedish tax was also prompted primarily by concern over acid rain and introduced as a specific policy tool to accelerate the reduction of NO x emissions from industry. Both systems build on existing CAC legislation, and at least in the French case the tax complements rather than substitutes for this legislation.
