Should the Australian government introduce a carbon tax aimed at Lab Report

Should the Australian government introduce a carbon tax aimed at reducing carbon emissions - Lab Report Example In that context, Australia has a great stake in the goal and objective of opting for a sustainable economic growth and development. At the minimum, Australia needs to play a proportionate role in the achievement of the environmental objectives set by the world community (Garnaut 2011, p. 12). If Australia does not cooperate and collaborate in the achievement of these objectives, it stands more to lose as compared to any other developed nation (Garnaut 2011, p.15). The objective of this report is to ponder on the viability of the Australian government imposing a carbon tax so as to reduce the carbon emissions. The report analysis this proposal in a holistic context while taking into consideration the possible pros and cons of imposing this tax. The report came to the conclusion that imposing such a tax tends to benefit Australia in the long run. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................ 4 2.0 Discussion ........................................................................................... 5 2.1 The Impact of Carbon Tax on Carbon Emissions ...................... 5 2.2 Advantages of Carbon Tax ........................................................... ... ......................................................... 10 1.0 Introduction To put it simply, carbon tax is a type of environmental tax that is imposed with context to the carbon content of fuels (Burney 2010, p. 4). It is a way of placing a price on the carbon emissions produced by individuals and corporations. Fossils fuels do tend to have very high carbon content, which on combustion release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. On the contrary there exist many cleaner sources of energy like the nuclear energy, solar energy and hydropower which do not contribute any carbon emissions to the environment. The purpose of a carbon tax is to place a price on the carbon emissions, thereby motivating the individuals and corporations to opt for cleaner sources of energy (Anderson & Ekins 2010, p. 12). It goes without saying that the Australian economy is today dependent on many emission intensive industries (Garnaut 2011, p. 22). In the contemporary context, Australia has far higher carbon emissions per capita as compared to any other developed nation (Garnaut 2011, p. 24). So, reasonably speaking, the international community has very high expectations with regards to Australia’s ability to check carbon emissions (Ayers 2006, p. 38). Besides, by achieving tolerable carbon emission rates, Australia stands to benefit tremendously as far as the objective of safeguarding its natural environment and ecology is concerned (Garnaut 2011, p. 11). Yes, it is possible to avoid change by citing varied excuses for the nation’s inability to opt for an environment friendly future. However, such an approach could have an unwarranted impact on the Australian economy in the form of facilitating a reason for the introduction of discriminatory trade interventions by other nations (Harris