This thesis explores questions in environmental and political economics over four chapters. In the first chapter, I investigate theoretically how and why some polluting firms may politically support environmental taxes. In chapter two I present a new theoretical framework for quantifying the impact of environmental taxes on firm profits, and then estimate profit impacts for US airlines. Chapter three is an empirical analysis of the role of the urban environment in Victorian Britain. Chapter four presents an empirical analysis of the political economy of rebellions by legislators against their governing parties, using novel data from the UK parliament in 2019.