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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Environmental Policy and Law

Carbon tax

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ˈkɑːrbən tæks/nounCommon term

In environment & climate, carbon tax means: A tax charged on fossil fuels or on greenhouse gas emissions, usually set as a fixed amount per tonne of CO2, to make polluting activities more expensive.

In Turkish: karbon vergisi

How it is used

Compared with an ETS, a carbon tax gives a predictable price but not a fixed limit on emissions. Governments introduce, levy, raise or phase in a carbon tax; the revenue may be returned to households or used for green investment. Sweden's carbon tax, introduced in 1991, is a well-known early example.

Example sentences

  1. The carbon tax added about 10 cents to the price of a liter of diesel.

  2. Economists debated whether the carbon tax revenue should go back to households.

Common collocations

  • introduce a carbon tax
  • carbon tax rate
  • carbon tax revenue
  • levy a carbon tax
  • carbon pricingPolicies that put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, mainly through carbon taxes or emissions trading systems, so that polluters pay and cleaner options become more attractive.
  • emissions trading system (ETS)A market-based scheme that sets a cap on total emissions and lets companies buy and sell allowances, each giving the right to emit one tonne of CO2 or its equivalent.
  • polluter pays principleThe idea that whoever causes pollution should pay the costs of preventing it, cleaning it up and repairing the damage, instead of the public paying.
  • fossil fuelA fuel such as coal, oil or natural gas, formed underground over millions of years from the remains of plants and animals. Burning it releases carbon dioxide.

More terms: Environmental Policy and Law

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