Environmental Taxation - What is it?

Was discussing environment, sustainability and the likes the other day and learned that at least one first degree course in environmental science and one masters degree course in wider aspects of the environement do not, it seems, touch environmental taxation.   I know that the nomenclature is relatively new - say 20 years or so - but the subject seems important enough for all graduates to get hooked on it!

What does "environmental taxation" mean? "Environmental tax" was defined in "The Glossaryof Property Terms" as:
      "An impost or charge which is designed to protect or fortuitously protect the environemnt, eg landfill tax, congetsion charge and climate change levy."

Of course such taxes as landfill tax should be taken in the context of the times. "Revenue generation" is perhaps a cynic's perspective of environmetal taxation but one needs to get behind the tax and any policies and complementary policy measures which might be linked to it. For instance, the landfill tax is accompanied by the following statutory measures;

• the Landfill Community Fund;
• landfill allowance trading scheme; and,
• variable charging and incentives scheme.

Other taxes or aspects of taxes which might be treated as being within environmental taxation include:

• community infrastructure levy (CIL);
• aspects of stamp duty;
• aspects of rating and council tax;
• aspects of most capital taxes, eg inheritance tax, capital gains tax;
• capital allowances for income taxation, ie on environmental capital of certain categories.