After months of hard work the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott succeeded in repealing that great carbon cutting tool that is the carbon tax. This is a monumental error that is going in the exact opposite direction where all countries are going.
As RTCC noted : ” The removal of the tax, which priced carbon at $21.50 per tonne, isolates Australia at a time when global moves to address climate change are accelerating.”
” Countries are currently in advanced stages of talks at the UN to agree a deal to curb emissions and limit warming to below 2C above pre industrial levels.”
Here is an extract from Connie Hedegaard’s blog on this decision :
Commenting on the repeal of the Carbon Pricing Mechanism, EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: “The European Union regrets the repeal of Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism just as new carbon pricing initiatives are emerging all around the world.
The EU is convinced that pricing carbon is not only the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions, but also THE tool to make the economic paradigm shift the world needs. This is why the EU will continue to work towards global carbon pricing with all international partners.
With today’s repeal of the Carbon Pricing Mechanism, the discussions to link the Australian system and Europe’s carbon market will evidently be discontinued”
The carbon tax had been one of the reasons why renewable energy sources – and more particularly solar – had been skyrocketing down under. I have no idea what will happen next for Australia’s solar industry and other related businesses.