e360 digest

08 Nov 2011: Australian Parliament Passes
Landmark Tax on Carbon Emissions

The Australian government has passed the world’s first tax on carbon emissions, a landmark reform proponents say will promote better energy efficiency and increased reliance on renewable sources of energy, while also significantly cutting air pollution. The legislation, which was passed by the Senate in a 36-32 vote, will require the nation’s 500 biggest carbon emitters to pay a price of 23 Australian dollars ($23.78 U.S.) per ton of carbon beginning in July 2012. It then will shift to an emissions trading scheme beginning in 2015. Those companies — most of which are electricity generators, heavy industry manufacturers, and mining companies — will need to obtain a permit for each ton of carbon they emit. According to government officials, the new tax will reduce carbon emissions by at least 160 million tons annually by 2020 — or the equivalent of taking 45 million vehicles off the road. Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who staked her political career on the controversial legislation, called it a significant victory for the environment and for the emerging green energy economy. “It’s the right thing to do,” she said. “It’s the most effective way we can cut carbon pollution and create a clean energy future.”

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

SEARCH e360

CONNECT

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

ABOUT

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

e360 PHOTO GALLERY

South African photojournalist Adam Welz documents the harrowing relocation of six white rhinos to a region that has lost all its rhinos to poaching. View the gallery.

DEPARTMENTS

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Podcasts
Video Reports

TOPICS

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

REGIONS

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

e360 VIDEO

A Yale Environment 360 video explores Ecuador’s threatened Yasuni Biosphere Reserve with scientists inventorying its stunning forests and wildlife. Watch the video.

e360 MOBILE

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

e360 VIDEO

In a Yale Environment 360 video, photographer Pete McBride documents how increasing water demands have transformed the Colorado River, the lifeblood of the arid Southwest. Watch the video.




Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

e360 VIDEO

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

OF INTEREST