Book excerpt: Critical Issues in Environmental Taxation is an internationally refereed publication devoted to environmental taxation issues on a worldwide basis. It seeks to provide insights and analysis for achieving environmental goals through tax policy. By sharing the perspectives of the authors in response to the diverse challenges posed by environmental taxation issues, effective approaches used in one country may be considered and possibly implemented by governmental authorities in other countries. Each volume contains pioneering and thought-provoking articles contributed by the world's leading environmental tax scholars. This seventh volume focuses on the special problems of the urban environment and the challenges which confront cities and mega-cities. It examines tax issues relating to congestion and pollution control, road pricing and other forms of transportation management, housing and the construction industry, energy generation and consumption, trade, carbon taxes and new eco-service markets, research and development taxes. It contains case studies from developed as well as developing countries. Contributors come from various disciplines, particularly law, accounting and economics. The countries examined include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain, Uganda, and the United States.