Australian PM backs Obama's greenhouse gas plan

Source: Associated Press

Australian PM backs Obama's greenhouse gas plan
Jun 3, 2:47 AM EDT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who wants to remove Australia's unpopular carbon tax on industrial polluters, has described President Barack Obama's plan to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as sensible steps.

Abbott's conservative government faces resistance in the Senate to its plan to remove the tax that Australia's largest polluters pay for every metric ton of carbon dioxide that they produce. The tax was introduced by a previous government in 2012 as a transitional measure before Australia joined the European Union's carbon emissions trading scheme in mid-2015.

Instead, Abbott wants to pay polluters taxpayer-funded incentives to reduce their emissions.

He likened his policy on Tuesday to Obama's plan to force a 30 percent cut in carbon dioxide by 2030 from 2005 levels.


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