Gillard Sets A$23 Carbon Tax to Cut Australia Coal Reliance
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Prime Minister Julia Gillard unveiled Australia’s first tax on greenhouse gas emissions from July 2012 to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and encourage renewable energy in the world’s biggest-coal exporting country.
Australia expects to raise some A$27.8 billion ($30 billion) in three years by making polluters pay an initial charge of A$23 ($24.74) a ton of carbon dioxide, then lifting the price by 2.5 percent a year, plus inflation, Gillard said today in Canberra. The tax will switch to a cap-and-trade system in 2015, while the plan provides about A$47 billion through 2020 to help households and industries and spur renewable energy.