Environmental taxes made up 6.3% of tax revenues in the EU in 2014 with taxes on energy contributing most in all Member States according to a recent Eurostat publication. In Ireland, environmental taxes generated over €4.5bn in 2014 while environmental taxes in the UK generated €55bn in 2014 according to Eurostat.

In the European Union, environmental taxes amounted to €343.6bn in 2014, compared with €282.0 bn in 2004. However, the share of environment taxes in total revenues from taxes and social contributions has decreased over this 10-year period, from 6.8% in 2004 to 6.3% in 2014. An environmental tax is defined in Regulation (EU) N°691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts as a tax whose tax base is a physical unit (or a proxy of a physical unit) of something that has a proven, specific negative impact on the environment, and which is identified in ESA 2010 as a tax.