The necessity for creating a new economic paradigm or for elaborating a new approach to economics can most efficiently be justified by providing a critical analysis of conventional economic theories. Following this view the teaching material introduces basic theories of environmental economics belonging to the branch of economics dealing with environmental factors and based on conventional or neoclassical foundations (problems of public welfare, Pigouvian taxes, the Coase theorem, optimal utilisation of natural resources, the standard price theory) and presents critical views related to these issues.