An efficient instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the pricing of energy carriers by CO2 content. However, higher prices for fossil fuels will be most likely regressive, i.e., burden poorer households relatively more than richer households. The thesis should assess the distributional impacts of CO2 emission pricing across households and come up with potential policy measures to avoid regressiveness of climate policies.

The thesis should discuss alternative metrics for measuring the incidence of policy regulation, in this case CO2 emission pricing. A literature review should identify key drivers for CO2 emisison pricing to be regressive and discuss options -- e.g. the recycling of rents from emission pricing via an ecobonus -- that are likely to reduce regressives impacts. If appropriate, quantitative studies (simulations) can complement the thesis.