2. Methodology and scope

The countries covered in the analysis are Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Two environmental economic instruments (focus on taxes and charges) have been analysed for each country. The instruments chosen should both be considered to have had the “desired effect” and not. By desired effect, it means the intended outcome in market behavioural change.

The research has primarily taken the point of departure in the latest publication of environmental economic policy instruments in the Nordics Use of Economic Instruments in Nordic Environmental Policy 2018-2020, from 2023. The report outlines the environmental economic instruments between 2018-2021 in all the Nordic countries. From this report, a literature review of the instruments was created to map the instruments by looking at parameters such as sector targeted, target group, use of revenue, motivation behind the implementation, and intended effect. Apart from instruments covered by the report, updated research on instruments implemented after 2021 has also been conducted. However, for a better assessment foundation and available policy analysis, there has been a restriction that the instrument should at least be implemented for 2–3 years on the market to be able to analyse any effect on the market.

From the long list, a short list per country was chosen, looking at a minimum of three instruments that seem to have had the desired effect and at least three that do not seem to have had the desired effect. Different sectors and target groups (consumer/producer) were taken into consideration, to ensure a broad coverage. Another criterion was that the economic instruments should be relevant to support the green transition in the Nordic region. At least some of the instruments should be present in more than one country (FI, DK, NO, SE). Based on the introductory literature review, the availability of peer-reviewed and governmental policy analysis for the instruments was also screened, which played a significant role in the final choices.

The eight charges decided upon for analysis are:

To support the analysis for each charge, dedicated in-depth, semi-qualitative interviews have been conducted, with researchers specialised in the specific tax/charge from each country respectively. The interviews have been important for the validation of findings as well as a deeper understanding of the effect of the instrument and causality.

To ensure the cross-Nordic perspective, a workshop with invited researchers from all four Nordic countries was held. In total, eight researchers participated to discuss uncertainties in findings and similarities and differences across the countries for a more nuanced and up-to-date understanding of Nordic policymaking.

Based on the findings from the workshop, the comparative analysis discusses the success of the different policy instruments, looking at a set of chosen criteria. The criteria were selected to reflect both the design of the charge and external factors that significantly influence market outcomes.

The parameters chosen for the comparative analysis are: