Sustainability Language

Policy & governance

Environmental tax

A compulsory, unrequited payment to government levied on a tax base of particular environmental relevance.

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Definition

An environmental (environmentally related) tax is a compulsory, unrequited payment to general government levied on tax bases deemed to be of particular environmental relevance — such as energy products, transport, pollution and resources (OECD/Eurostat statistical definition). The definition follows the tax base, not the stated purpose: a fuel tax introduced for revenue reasons has the same environmental effect as one introduced for climate reasons.

References

Eurostat

tax-base approach, motivation excluded, SEEA consistency

Overview

What it means

Environmental taxes work by changing relative prices to steer producer and consumer behaviour, complementing or replacing command-and-control regulation; Eurostat's statistical guide (2024) operationalises the concept for cross-country comparison, consistent with the SEEA and OECD usage.

How it is used

Used in fiscal policy (carbon taxes, energy duties, landfill and plastic taxes), environmental fiscal reform and double-dividend debates; monitored in OECD/Eurostat databases.

Why it matters

Taxation is among the most powerful and revenue-generating environmental instruments, and a central element of green fiscal reform.

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