Politique environnementale et politique de la concurrence

This article studies the conflictingobjectives ofanenvironmental protection agencyanda competition-policyauthorityin an asymmetric duopoly. We examine cases where the competition-policy authority may oppose an environmental tax in order to prevent a firm from acquiring a dominant position and/or to minimize the risk of tacit collusion. We then study an environmental policy based on pollution-abatement investments, which may involve, for example, a design standard or voluntary agreement. We show that the competition authority may prefer such a policy to a tax when the most efficient producer is also the most polluting.