Exxon Australia In Favor Of Carbon Tax

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

02 September 2009

The Australian government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was defeated in parliament last month, and there is still no consensus as to how Australia’s emissions of greenhouse gases should be reduced.

Had the emissions trading scheme been accepted, the government would have introduced an Australian emissions unit auction charge, the cost of which would have been established in the first half of 2010 through an auction mechanism. Although no timing has been given, it is still expected that the government will re-propose the scheme before the year-end and the December climate change conference in Copenhagen.

The new chairman of ExxonMobil Australia, John Dashwood recently gave his opinion on the issue, observing according to reports in the national and international media that the required target of 20% of electricity being provided from renewable sources by 2020 would be very difficult to achieve, and that a carbon tax would be a preferable way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He was said to be of the opinion that a carbon tax would be clearer to consumers, and would provide better results in reducing emissions than a trading scheme.

He was also quoted as suggesting that the present tax system is biased towards coal and against gas-fired power stations, but that the opposite should be the case in order to support the objective of cutting greenhouse gases.

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