How can you not be cynical.
the government’s solution to carbon dioxide pollution just happens to involve paying the government a s&%t load of money.
What they are saying is that you can continue to pollute, but you just have to pay us money to do so. They try an justify this by saying this cost will drive people and companies to implement carbon reducing technologies. - That’s a cop out for two main reasons.
1) They could simply legislate for improvements in the polluting segments (mainly power and transport). Like a Co2 per KWh ratio or god forbid the govt actually implement a clean technology (nuclear power any one)
2)These are the industries that will get compensation under the Carbon Tax therefor resulting in no need to improve + the initial price will be too small to drive change so why do it .
Look at the pollution beak down below:
http://ectec.com.au/cmsa/index.php?o...ience&Itemid=4
Australia's net Greenhouse emissions totalled 576 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or about 1.5 precent of world emissions.
Emissions in 2006 were 4.2 percent higher than 1990 levels, despite a 47 precent increase from stationary energy.
Australia emits 28.1 tonnes of carbon per person, the highest per capita level in the developed world and five times more per person than China, due to use of coal for electricity.
Transport and Energy account for 69.6 percent of Australian emissions, or 400.9 million tonnes.
Stationary energy, which includes electricity generation, petroleum refining and gas processing, accounts for 49.9 percent of emissions, or 287.4 million tonnes.
Transport accounts for 14 percent of emissions, or 79.1 million tonnes. Road transport and passenger cars accounted for 12 percent of national emissions.
Agriculture created 15.6 percent of emissions, or 90.1 million tonnes.
10.9 percent of Australian emissions, or 62.8 million tonnes, come from sheep and cattle, due to gases produced when they digest food.
Land use and forestry account for 6.9 percent of emissions, or 40 million tonnes, down more than 70 percent from 96.5 million tonnes in 1990.
Carbon dioxide represents 74 percent of Australian emissions (427.8 million tonnes), methane 20.5 percent (118 million tonnes), and nitrous oxide 4 percent (24.2 million tonnes).
The energy sector is the main source of carbon dioxide (86 percent), while agriculture is the main source of methane (59 percent).
Australia is the world's biggest coal exporter, with coal used to generate about 77 percent of Australia's electricity. Poland, China and South Africa also rely on coal for more than 75 percent of electricity generation.
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Basically you have electricity generation and transport - two easy things to legislate.
I guarantee in 7 years the govt will increase the bejesus out of this tax (and they'll say they are saving the planet at the same time - sort of like speed camera fines)
And don’t forget we as consumers will pay for every single increase (businesses wont absorb the cost, they’ll pase it on). Which might be hard as more businesses move off shore to countries that don’t have a carbon tax.