News & Views item - October 2011 |
Will Australia's Carbon Tax Cause the Sky to Fall?
(October 17, 2011)
ScienceInsider's
Australian stringer, Elizabeth Finkel, notes: "A whopping 80% of Australia's
electricity comes from burning coal—a figure that surpasses China and most other
countries and has made Australia the developed world's highest per capita carbon
dioxide emitter. The tax of Australian $23 (U.S. $23.4) per ton of emitted CO2
would apply to 500 of the biggest-polluting companies, which account for 60% of
the country's CO2 emissions. It would operate over 3 years,
increasing 2.5% per year, and segue into a carbon trading scheme in July 2015."
Then citing a short list of statistics:
by 2020, the tax would have cut emissions by 159 million tons, equating to a 5% emissions reduction,
Some $24.5 billion (U.S. $24.9 billion) in tax revenues over 3 years would help endow $10 billion (U.S. $10.2 billion) Clean Energy Fund.
Richard Corkish, head of the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at the University of New South Wales told Dr Finkel: "It will bring to prominence Australia's special place in the world as an R&D leader in renewable energy technology."
Ah but will the heavens collapse over Oz, that is the coal fired question?