ENVIRONMENTAL TAXES AND EMISSIONS OF POLLUTANTS IN THE EU: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The system of environmental taxes in EU countries is expected to have an impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2010 the emphasis on environmental regulation has shifted towards the EU 2020 strategy. This research continues the previous author's studies about the environmental measurement of welfare economics. The article tests the hypothesis of the inverse effect of the environmental taxation level on CO2 emissions. The method of cross-correlation analysis was used to confirm the hypothesis. As the dependent variables were chosen emission indicators (CO2, PM2.5mg), and the independent variables were selected environmental taxes, the share of renewable energy, the number of businesses in the country that have an environmental certificate ISO 14001. The level of environmental taxation has a significant impact on the amount of CO2 emissions in the direction of their reduction. The share of renewable energy in final consumption also has a significant impact on the dynamics of changes in the amount of CO2. The analysis of environmental tax revenues in the EU showed the dominance of their fiscal component over the regulatory one.