Carbon Tax Australia 2012 free essay sample

Carbon tax A carbon tax is a form of carbon pricing. It is all about cutting the pollution and driving investment in cleaner energy sources, such as solar, gas and wind, along with new energy sources like geothermal and wave energy. Carbon taxes offer a potentially cost-effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They help to address the problem of emitters of greenhouse gases not facing the full (social) costs of their actions. Carbon taxes are a regressive tax, in that they disproportionally affect low-income groups. essay writing service illegal The regressive nature of carbon taxes can be addressed by using tax revenues to favour low-income groups. (Some of the costs paid by polluters will be passed through to the prices of the goods you buy). That is why over half of the money raised from the carbon price will be used to fund tax cuts, pension increases and higher family payments. We will write a custom essay sample on Carbon Tax Australia 2012 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The remaining money will be invested to support jobs and help build Australia’s clean energy future. Households will receive assistance to help meet the impact of the carbon price on their costs of living. The carbon price package will ensure that by the end of the decade, Australia will cut 160 million tonnes of pollution from the atmosphere each year. That’s equivalent of taking 45 million cars off the road. Putting a price on carbon is a big change for Australia – but it will help protect the economy, environment and future generations. Carbon Price + Renewable Energy + Energy Efficiency + Land Use = Clean Energy Future Climate change is happening and risks are damaging Australia’s environment and way of life. The world is warming and high levels of carbon pollution risk environmental and economic damage. For example, extreme weather events, such as droughts, heatwaves and bushfires, are likely to become more frequent and severe. This threatens Australian’s homes, businesses and communities, and vital industries such as agriculture. Countries are already taking action on climate change. In addition, 89 countries – representing 80 per cent of global emissions and 90 per cent of the world’s economy – have already pledged to take action on climate change. The government’s plan to clean energy future will: * Introducing carbon price – significantly cut pollution Promoting innovation and investment in renewable energy – foster invocation and investment worth billions of dollars in renewable energy * Encouraging energy efficiency – transform energy sector away from high polluting sources, like brown coal * Creating opportunities in the land sector to cut pollution – store millions of carbon in land through better land and waste management Australia generates more pollution per person than any other developed country, including India and China. Australia’s carbon pollution is high because electricity is mainly generated by burning coal. Transport, mining, industry, farming and deforestation also contribute. Reducing carbon pollution means we have to produce and use energy in a cleaner, smarter way. The price on the carbon pollution that Australia’s largest polluters produce create a powerful incentive for businesses to cut their pollution, by investing in clean technology or finding more efficient ways of operating. A carbon price is paid by the 500 biggest polluters. These businesses lower their pollution, the amount they pay will be less. This is how carbon price provides an incentive for businesses to invest in cleaner ways of doing businesses and to operate more efficiently. It is also recognised that businesses may pass some of their costs on to consumers and that is why half of money raised under the carbon price will be used by the Government to cut taxes, and increase payments to assist households. Measure to support jobs and competitiveness are designed to ensure that Australia continues to experience strong jobs growth while at the same time providing economic incentives to cut pollution. A carbon price is designed to change production processes of large polluters, so they pollute less. On Sunday, July 10, 2011, the Gillard Government announced publicly that the 500 largest polluters in Australia would be taxed at $23/ tonne of carbon emission, effective from July 1, 2012. The carbon price also means that there is a financial incentive for households to consider changes to improve their energy efficiency. Household assistance does not blunt these incentives. People who make these changes can still keep all of their household assistance and end up ahead.