Equity, Environment, Energy, Economy: An investigation into the equity, efficiency, and acceptability of carbon pricing in Belgium (E4BEL)

As the acronym suggests, the E4BEL project is about putting Equity at the forefront of the climate policy debate in Belgium. We seek to advance that debate by charting preferences of individuals and stakeholders on carbon pricing, equivalent regulatory policies, and potential revenue recycling options, and by novel economic modelling of the direct and indirect distributional impact of such policies, especially the loss of purchasing power through increases in consumer prices and adverse labor market outcomes for low-skilled occupations in carbon intensive sectors, the so-called “brown jobs”. To this end, we deploy two methods. First, we construct an integrated micro-macro economic model, by embedding a microsimulation model (MSM) in a macro-economic computable general-equilibrium model (CGE) of the Belgian economy. Special focus will be on job choice and the impact of energy pricing on labor demand for occupations. 
Second, we will use sociological survey methods to gauge societal support for green tax reform in Belgium. This survey will be complemented with a round of in-depth interviews with representatives of civil society and business interests. 
The ex-ante simulated welfare impact of several carbon pricing and revenue recycling options will be combined with public acceptance scores so that we arrive at an integrated design for a policy mix for Belgium, reconciling effectiveness, equity, efficiency, and public and societal support.