Fluorescent Efficiency

Australia is currently having a very lively debate surrounding the implementation of a carbon tax as a solution to the climate change dilemma. While skepticism about global warming has been growing in some sections of the world’s population, the Australian government has nevertheless pushed forward with plans to put a firm price on carbon by July 2012.

This is actually one of the first wide-ranging carbon pricing schemes being implemented, and will have some major economic ramifications for Australia. At a starting price of $23 per tonne of carbon, many businesses are being asked to get ready to pay many billions of dollars in tax.

Economic Reinvestment

The clever thing about the implementation is the way this tax is being redistributed. More than 50% of the tax takings actually goes back to the public to compensate for the inevitable price increases that will come with a carbon price. The rest goes to subsidize companies that will be worst hit by the carbon price – so-called trade exposed industries involved in things like mining and smelting.

Investing in Renewable Energy

There will be some great boons for alternative energy with this implementation as well. Many billions of dollars have been earmarked for large renewable energy projects like solar concentrating stations. There has also been a big chunk of cash set aside for more research into alternative energy technology.

One wonders whether more countries will follow in implementing their own carbon tax.

President Obama had planned to introduce a cap and trade scheme, but that has long been on the backburner since Republicans took control of congress. Some of the Republican candidates have spoken in support of a carbon tax, however.

China’s (Non)Involvement

China, the world’s emerging economic power, has been spending up big in renewable energy – although they have no plans to introduce a carbon price or anything like it.

That said, they have pledged to quadruple their current spending of almost $50 billion per year on renewables, with the ultimate aim of reaching 500GW of renewable energy output by 2020.

They already have 44.7GW of wind energy producion, and of all the energy infrastructure built in China in 2010, 26% of it was renewable.

Clearly, this is a rapidly developing field. In most ways, it is a bright one for the alternative energy sector.

Written by Ecosystem Conscious

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