Australia unveiled plans today for one of the world’s largest carbon trading schemes, according to a Reuters report.
The trading scheme, which will include 1,000 of the nation’s biggest-polluting companies, will go into effecty July 1, 2010, covering rougly 75% of the Australian economy, which is valued at roughly US$980 billion.
Depending on the level of greenhouse gas emissions a company produces, it will be required to pay for between 10% and 40% of those emissions. Over time, the companies will be responsible for purchasing more permits.
The plan is expected to produce as much as A$20 billion in payments, which the government said will be used to assist low-income citizens who may have difficulty dealing with increases in consumer prices, caused by the plan. Prices on goods and services are expected to rise 0.9%in the first year of the trading scheme.
The government will also give grants to companies in energy-intensive like cement and aluminum production, to help them remain competitive with manufacturers in other parts of the world.
Environmental critics say the plan will not have a significant effect on curtailing emissions from the dirtiest industries.
"All this proposed ETS does is prop up dirty industries, such as coal-fired electricity generation, allowing them to maintain the status quo. It will result in nothing more than paper shuffling," Greenpeace Climate spokesman Simon Roz said.
Others were more optimistic, suggesting the scheme could serve as a model for Asian econimes to adopt.
"What is good is that the coverage is broad. Unfortunately some parts of the science are crudely handled, and this matters in terms of its effectiveness," said Barry Brook, Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at Adelaide University.
The Australian government did not announce an overall emissions cap, or announce a set price per ton of carbon emissions.
The scheme is broader in range than the one put in place by the European Union, which gave away 100% of emission allowances, versus 30% in the proposed Austrailian system.
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