Australia moves close to enacting a carbon tax

The Australian House of Representatives has passed a package of clean-energy bills that would for the first time impose a carbon cost on polluters.

The package of 19 bills is next due to go to the Senate for consideration, and is expected to pass by the end of the year.

In addition to pricing carbon, the legislation is aimed at promoting investment in renewable and clean-energy technologies.

Backers of the measures say they are needed in a country that is one of the world’s top 20 polluters and has the highest per-capita carbon emissions on the planet. It’s also by far the top exporter of coal, although Indonesia is fast catching up.

The burning of fossil fuels like coal is responsible for rising global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Climate-change activists point out that, while Australian leaders have been slow to take action (they adopted the 1997 Kyoto Protocol just four years ago), the arid country is already experiencing drought, wildfires and other costly impacts believed to be caused by global warming.

In introducing her carbon-price proposal this past summer, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the measure would help to generate 1.6 clean-energy jobs by 2020 and another 4.4 million by 2050. A cost on carbon would also provide $100 billion in investments in renewables over the next 40 years, she said.