In 2024, the hottest year on record, and following devastating floods in Spain and Austria, the urgency of addressing climate change is brought to our attention once again. Global emissions are rising, and social inequalities are deepening while humanity exceeds planetary boundaries. Facing these crises, we have to assess the tools available to governments for reducing CO2 emissions swiftly and fostering a sustainable future.
The event will examine various governmental instruments—taxation, regulation, subsidies, and incentives—and their effectiveness in combating climate change while promoting just and sustainable practices. A key focus will be on the role of taxation in funding adaptation and mitigation efforts, in presenting the new VIDC paper “A Climate of Equality. Protecting the Environment and Safeguarding Justice in a Progressive Tax System”, co-authored by Jacqueline Cottrell and Tatiana Falcão.
We will particularly emphasize green policy experiences from the Global South, focusing on Africa, and South Africa in particular. The dialogue will also address the role of the Global North in the field of international cooperation in advancing equitable and effective climate solutions worldwide.
However, these instruments often come with challenges, particularly concerning social equity and their effects on vulnerable communities. Consequently, effective strategies and the most impactful approaches for reducing emissions and adapting to climate change, while simultaneously addressing inequalities, will be presented.
Panel
Moritz Schwarz
is a Climate Economist based at TU Berlin and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research as well as the University of Oxford. Alongside academia, he has been involved in various policy roles, including numerous engagements as a negotiator at the UNFCCC climate negotiations. In his research, he is focused on quantifying the effects of climate policies. Mr. Schwarz is co-author of the international study “Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades”, published in “Science” in August 2024.
Jacqueline Cottrell
is a consultant specializing in green fiscal policy and green public finance in low and middle-income countries. She works for a wide range of clients, including the French and German development agencies AFD and GIZ and UN organizations. She is a Director of ECOTTRELL Ltd. and freelance associate of Green Budget Germany - Forum Ökologisch-Soziale Marktwirtschaft. Mrs. Cottrell is co-author of the VIDC Study “A Climate of Fairness. Environmental Taxation and Tax Justice in Developing Countries” (2018) and a follow-up VIDC Paper “A Climate of Equality. Protecting the Environment and Safeguarding Justice in a Progressive Tax System”, to be released on 26 November 2024.
Roshelle Ramfol
is a green finance and extractive sector governance expert, and founder of Financing Net Earth, a consultancy with expertise in finance and fiscal policy solutions for the trajectory to net zero carbon emissions. She is Associate Professor at the Department of Auditing, University of South Africa. Prof. Ramfol has worked with many international agencies to develop energy transition policies for the extractives sector. Her most recent study investigated the role of financial and fiscal reforms in upscaling renewable energy access for the business sector in South Africa.
Kgalalelo Makamela
is a Chartered Accountant and academic with expertise in finance, taxation, and sustainable development, focusing on carbon pricing. After being Lecturer at the University of Pretoria, she currently is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at the University of Johannesburg, Mrs. Makamela is a also a Technical Specialist on carbon pricing at Financing Net Earth, where she applies her expertise to support sustainable financing initiatives. She is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (SAICA) Carbon Tax Sub-Committee.
Sigrid Stagl
is an economist and full professor at WU in Vienna. Currently she works on (1) institutional arrangements that support sustainable work, (2) developing socio-economic theories of human behaviour and (3) the effects of financialisation on the Environment. She is Founder and Director of the Institute for Ecological Economics and Director of the Competence Center for Sustainability Transformation at WU.