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Australia is one of the largest per capita greenhouse gas emitters due to its reliance on coal-burning power stations to power homes and industry.
After almost a decade of heated political debate, Australia’s Conservative government repealed a much questioned carbon tax on the nation’s worst greenhouse gas polluters on Thursday.
The decision makes of Australia the world’s first developed nation to repeal carbon laws that put a price on greenhouse-gas emissions.
The Senate, News.com.au reports, voted 39 to 32 to axe the A$25 (US$$23.45) tax per metric tonne of carbon dioxide that was introduced by centre-left Labour government Prime Minister Julia Gillard in July 2012.
It was the current administration’s third attempt to repeal the tax since introducing the legislation last November.
Australia is one of the largest per capita greenhouse gas emitters due to its reliance on coal-burning power stations to power homes and industry. The tax was devised to penalize hundreds the country’s biggest polluters.
Tony Abbot, who took office last year, had made repealing the tax a central pledge of his campaign, arguing that doing so would reduce electricity prices and enhance economic growth.
After the vote Thursday, Abbot characterized the revoked measure as a “useless destructive tax, which damaged jobs, which hurt families’ cost of living and which didn’t actually help the environment,” as quoted by The Guardian.
The carbon tax and plans for an eventual emissions market dominated Australian politics for years, gaining momentum in 2007, when former Labour Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called climate change “the greatest moral challenge of our time” and made signature of the Kyoto climate protocol one of his first political acts after taking office.
9 Comments
litera
This was very likely a correct decision substantiated by factual data, that every reduction of CO2 emissions in Australia chokes economic growth to the unacceptable point. This in turn creates opportunity to re-ignite the economic growth in countries that do not share the concern for CO2 emissions, or are unable to legislate it due to impotent legislative structures within authoritarian systems.
DJR96
Most people even here in Australia would support some means of financial encouragement to reduce carbon emissions. That’s not the issue.
But this legislation was brought in by a government that had expressly stated it would not do so. And won an election on that mandate, then turn around and do so. The deciet was blatant. And then what was implemented was extremely complicated and inefficient, and not even very effective. It was an abomination of legislation. It simply had to go.
Now that it is gone we can get on with formulating something that will work effectively and efficiently. This whole saga has set us back a few years.
Geosteff
Kudos to the Aussie government. However, when Australia possesses huge uranium resources but fails to use them to generate its own electricity, it still does nothing beneficial for the environment. The nation’s greatest need is for pure water, but when the government fails to use nuclear power to produce desalinated water, there is no long term sensible planning. Even nations like Dubai are planning on nuclear power for desalination…….come on Australia’s leaders. Take courage and do what will benefit the next generation, not just the next election vote!
David R.(Canada)
Australia has a huge number of solar cells on the rooves of private homes; more than any other country. There are so many, the electrical companies are barely making a profit anymore. As more solar cells are installed less electricity will be taken from the coal-fired plants, eventually they won’t be needed.
Talk of nuclear power is simply being a shill for the nuclear industry.
Talk of carbon-tax is just Enviro-Nazism.
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In fact, everything is slowly working out just fine. I consider this a good and healthy trend.
Paul G
http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/climate-records-shattered-in-2013-140719.htm
Gary
Good on you Tony, you have actually achieved something unlike the previous wimpy government that was in office.
USrugger
Shame, Australia! Shame!!! Long will you live with this blot…
bob ashworth
CO2 and all other gases cool the planet! CO2 causing warming is a lie beyond my comprehension!!!
CashMcCall
Good for Australia. It finally broke free from the global warming lunatics.