Asian Institute of International Financial Law (AIIFL), HKU

AIIFL events you might like

AIIFL Series

Events by this programme

Meet the Team

Taxation and Climate Change

Taxation Law Research Programme (TLRP)

Date & Time Wednesday, 9 April 2025 1:00-2:00 pm (HKT)
Duration 1:00
Location Online via Zoom
New update Recording available  ,  

This seminar will explore the role taxation currently plays in addressing climate change (intentionally and unintentionally) and whether such taxes and tax incentives are “good taxes” or “bad taxes” in terms of tax policy principles used for evaluating taxation measures.

The foundation will be set by briefly examining the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015). The seminar will consider commitments countries have made under the Paris Agreement to submit emissions reduction pledges known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and how taxation fits into different countries’ NDCs (or not). Thereafter, the seminar will briefly examine (1) carbon taxes, (2) emissions trading systems (a variant of carbon taxes), (3) carbon border adjustments (which are tariffs and thus a variant of taxes), and (4) tax incentives that encourage and tax measures that discourage climate mitigation.

The seminar will then turn to the principles of taxation examining statements of the IMF, the OECD and other commentators on tax principles. What are such principles? Are income taxes different from regulatory taxes for this purpose? The seminar will conclude by examining what is a “good tax” and a “bad tax” in the climate change mitigation area.

Enquiries: Flora Leung at aiiflhku@hku.hk (mailto:aiiflhku@hku.hk)

About the Speaker

Professor Archie Parnell

Professor of Law at Jindal Global University Law School in India; (AIIFL Fellowship: 7-9 November 2025 / 9 April 2025)

Archie Parnell teaches two courses at the Law School of Jindal Global University in India: (1) A Tale of Two Tax Systems: Discerning Solutions for India-US Tax Disputes and (2) How Taxation Can Help Address Climate Change. His research interests include international tax policy, climate change taxation, and cross-border tax disputes. He has published in law reviews ranging from the Tax Lawyer to the Yale Law Journal. Before academia, Archie was a trial attorney at the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and on the staff of the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He held senior tax roles at Exxon, Coudert Brothers and Goldman Sachs in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He has also served on various tax committees and advisory boards, including the OECD’s Business and Investment Advisory Committee (BIAC). In Hong Kong, he was a member of the Board of Review for 10 years. Archie was also Chair of the Capital Markets Tax Committee of Asia for multiple years and participated in the Hong Kong Joint Liaison Tax Committee during that time.

Chair

Adjunct Professor Richard Cullen

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law