Towards A Green Economy: Exploring the Political Feasibility of Carbon Tax Policy in Ireland

Abstract: The thesis research aims to enrich us with knowledge about the concept of a green economy in a time of financial crisis and climate change, with the carbon tax as a policy instrument to achieve the green economy. The political feasibility of a carbon tax is one of the key policy evaluation criteria, to identify a correlation between the green economy and the carbon tax and what critical design elements most affect the political feasibility. To achieve this we will look at a fresh case study exploring the political feasibility of carbon tax policy in Ireland after it was implemented in December 2009 towards a green economy. The case study is based on the cross-sector surveys on the four critical elements of political feasibility: political context, social equity, environmental effectiveness, and economic effectiveness. The key findings from the surveys are analyzed and discussed, to reach the final conclusions.