Ecological Tax Reform: A Policy Proposal for Sustainable Development

by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker

Carbon taxes, energy taxes and related measures are gaining increasing popularity around the world, as governments, activists and international bodies seek an effective way of integrating economic and environmental policies. Ecological Tax Reform offers a timely exploration of this key component of the global fight against climate change.

Providing a useful overview of the arguments for and against environmental taxation, the book's central proposition is that such taxes can play an instrumental role in promoting environmentally friendly industry, as well as raising valuable funds for economic development and state efforts to combat global warming. The authors go on to argue that such taxes could be usefully applied to such diverse economic areas as fossil fuel consumption, nuclear energy, water, raw materials and waste.

Concise and accessible to undergraduates as well as the general reader, Ecological Tax Reform represents the perfect introduction for those seeking to understand the role which taxation can play in achieving a more sustainable society.

96 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1992

About the author

Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (born 25 June 1939 in Zürich, Switzerland) is a German scientist and politician (SPD). He was a member of the German Bundestag and currently serves as co-president of the Club of Rome jointly with Anders Wijkman.