Australia's first term prime minister Julia Gillard announced a carbon tax that will charge $23 per metric ton. Though Australia is one of the world's top carbon polluters, the program will start next year, reports Sarah Laskow, GOOD Magazine.
In a country where 80 percent of its electricity is generated from coal-fired plants, Laskow reports, Gillards sell of the carbon tax was a political gamble:
"Right now about three-fifths of voters oppose the tax."
"In 2009, its parliament twice rejected carbon trading schemes."
"In the face of this political reality, Gillard has drawn up a plan that puts her country on track to create a carbon market second only in size to the European Union's. She has also lined up the votes necessary to ensure the plan's success: the main planks of her policy are certain to pass."
Read the full story: Australia Is About To Have A Totally Reasonable Climate Policy
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