Much of Western Europe is facing an intense heatwave, with exceptionally high temperatures and constant temperature records being broken.
This unusual climate for this time of year is the result of a heatwave caused by a strong high-pressure atmospheric system originating in North Africa and moving slowly. It is trapping hot air over Europe, acting like the lid of a pot of boiling water.
Indeed, Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average. The average temperature on the continent has increased by 2.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels of the late 19th century. Globally, researchers have recorded an average increase of 1.4°C.
Climate change is an important issue for humanity, but it requires appropriate and rational treatment, accurate information, and less dramatization.
In another area, “green” taxes are not proportional to the rational level of severity of the situation.
Green taxes in Europe are part of the European Green Deal and apply to energy, pollution, and transport. In 2024, these taxes generated approximately €5.9 billion for the Portuguese treasury, representing 5.7% of total tax revenue.
European Union countries collected €325.8 billion in environment-related taxes throughout 2021, according to Eurostat, the European statistics office.
The total amount of “green” taxes corresponds to around 2.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the 27 European Union (EU) countries combined. “EU environmental tax revenues recorded a remarkable increase of 8.5% in 2021 (the latest available data), representing an additional €25.6 billion compared with 2020,” Eurostat notes. Between 2000 and 2019, EU environmental taxes followed a consistent upward trend, with average annual growth of 2.6%.
The United States applies “green taxation” mainly through tax incentives rather than heavy penalties.
Concern about climate change is important, but does it justify the scale of the tax burden borne by taxpayers in light of a temperature increase of 1.4 degrees on the planet over the past two hundred years?
The imposed dramatization and constant misinformation are evident, with underlying fiscal objectives.
More heat, more taxes.
* University Lecturer
Financial Consultant
07/07/2026
