The carbon tax in the concept of sustainable development

Sustainable development necessitates the reorganization of the relationship between the environment, the economy, and society to ensure and strengthen, through legal norms, a healthy environment, a sustainable economy, and an order based on social justice. Within this framework and with the aim of mitigating the negative impacts of the climate crisis, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use has become a global priority, leading to the development of carbon pricing mechanisms designed to reduce environmental pollution through economic instruments. One such mechanism, the carbon tax, seeks to assign a price to carbon emissions to internalize negative externalities and ensure that the polluter bears the consequences of their pollution. In this way, the environmental damage caused by fossil fuel use is reduced, and the adoption of environmentally friendly alternatives is encouraged. Therefore, in the functioning of the carbon tax, the guiding nature of taxes and sustainable development goals emerge as fundamental determinants. This study aims to examine the role of the carbon tax in maintaining the balance between the environment, the economy, and human welfare within the framework of sustainable development, to analyze the nature and components of the tax, and to evaluate the environmental effectiveness of existing regulations within the Turkish tax system, while also analyzing how a potential regulation should be designed and its social legitimacy ensured.