Revealing the environmental influences of energy, transport, and pollution taxes on different transportation modes

Abstract

The need for transportation is increasing with the effect of globalization in the developing economic system. The transportation sector, which is essential for economic development, may pose some threats to a sustainable environment. Although European countries have achieved various successes in reducing carbon emissions, they are struggling to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transportation. To overcome this difficulty, European countries are using various policy instruments such as environmental taxes. In this context, this study investigated the impact of disaggregated environmental taxes (pollution, energy, and transport), structural change, and institutional quality on transport-related carbon emissions (water, air, and road transport) in 24 European countries over the period 2008-2022. To this end, the study uses the novel half-panel jackknife estimation and the bias-corrected method of moments. The results indicate that there is no long-term relationship between environmental taxes and water transportation-related CO2 emissions. In contrast, structural changes and pollution taxes are effective in reducing road and air transport-related CO2 emissions. These results suggest that European countries should focus on reducing CO2 emissions through effective pollution taxes and encourage carbon taxes instead of energy and transport taxes, thereby supporting the European Green Deal's goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent.