Australian Carbon Tax: Big Coal Not Scared

On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced a plan to make Oz the first nation to put a price on carbon pollution. In a world sorely lacking for signs that political leaders are taking the threat of global warming seriously, it is big news – especially given the fact that Australia has the largest per-capita carbon footprint in the world. The plan, which is expected to pass both houses of parliament before the end of the year, would require the nation’s 500 biggest CO2 emitters to pay a tax of $24 per ton of carbon dioxide, with that price increasing by 2.5 percent each year until 2015, when the tax will end and an emissions-trading scheme will be introduced. By 2050, Gillard's plan will reduce emissions by 80 percent and channel about $10 billion into energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. "I want people to understand we are seizing a clean energy future," Gillard said.